There are plenty of NBA greats to choose from when it comes to picking a favorite player, but for Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards, that choice is NBA icon Kevin Durant.
Speaking with Interview Magazine, Edwards explained why Durant is his favorite player instead of other NBA legends like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Stephen Curry.
“Before I met him, I felt like he was super cool, and then when I met him, I realized we are the same,” Edwards said of Durant. “All we want to do is hoop. We let our people control our stuff, but we just want to get on the court and hoop. That’s what I realized when I first got around him. Every time he walks in the gym, he grabs a ball and goes straight to the court before he puts his clothes on, and just starts shooting. And then off the court we’d just be chilling.”
During the 2024 NBA Playoffs, Edwards’ Timberwolves faced off against Durant’s Phoenix Suns in the first round. The Timberwolves made quick work of the Suns, sweeping Phoenix as part of a playoff run that ended in the Western Conference Finals.
During the Minnesota-Phoenix series, Edwards was dominant, and the series produced a viral moment with the youngster talking trash to his favorite NBA player ever.
Edwards ultimately averaged 31.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game during the Phoenix series. He knocked down 51.2 percent of his shots from the field and 43.8 percent of his shots from deep.
The future is bright for Edwards and the Timberwolves, though they’re going to have a new look this season. They recently traded big man Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks as part of a deal that netted them fellow big man Julius Randle. Other players and picks were also involved, and so were the Charlotte Hornets, making it a three-team deal.
The deal will complicate both NBA conferences, and it will be fascinating to see what the trade does for Minnesota’s title hopes after the team came within three wins of reaching the NBA Finals last season.
Regardless, Edwards will likely keep the Timberwolves entertaining as long as he’s with them, and right now, he’s on track to be with them for a good while. He’s under contract through the 2028-29 season and could certainly opt to stick around for longer if a chance for a new deal pops up.
The 23-year-old will likely only get better in the coming years after he earned the first All-NBA nod of his career last season. Some see him becoming a legitimate MVP threat, and he finished seventh in the most recent race.
