He’s just 20 years old and only in his second year in the NBA, but Anthony Edwards has surged up the ladder on the Minnesota Timberwolves leadership hierarchy. Edwards is often outspoken, but it always serves a purpose, and he doesn’t care who his message is directed at.
Surprisingly, the former No. 1 overall pick has a big brother role on this Minnesota team.
While it’s difficult to find a starting point, there have been many instances where he’s taken the role of the older sibling this year. For example, when the Miami Heat were in town back in November, Jimmy Butler tried stirring the pot with Edwards on the court. Instead of backing down and retreating the other way, Edwards gave Butler a playful shove, letting the All-Star know he wasn’t going to take the nonsense.
Afterward, Edwards called Butler’s bluff perfectly.
“He ain’t finna fight nobody out there,” Edwards said of Butler.
“All that walking up on each other, that’s stuff for the birds, man. I ain’t about to fight. I don’t get into all that. That sh*t be fake.”
It may seem minute viewing it from Edwards’ lens, but it’s not. Butler has made a living getting under the opposition’s skin and getting them to bend the knee even just a little bit to prove to him who has the upper hand. In most cases, Butler is holding that winning hand, but Edwards decided to re-raise and push some chips in himself. If nothing else, respect was earned that night in November.
It extends further out for Edwards.
Karl-Anthony Towns had a mentor in Kevin Garnett when he was drafted by the Timberwolves in 2015. Garnett helped show Towns the way in the tail end of his career as KG attempted his version of a passing of the torch. Many labeled it a big brother/little brother-type relationship between Garnett and Towns. After all, KAT was just dipping his toes into NBA waters. As weird as it sounds looking at the scope of things with this current team, Edwards has taken on the role of brother with KAT. It was none more evident than when Ant described a recent conversation with Towns. Edwards said he was directing and guiding while pushing Towns into making the right choices on the floor after a loss to the Utah Jazz.
“I told KAT, you catching the ball and you holding it,” Edwards said. “You waiting for the double, telling them to come double me instead of catching it and going. They can’t guard you…I tell him every game, every practice. You can shoot the ball, you can handle the ball, you got touch, everything. They can’t guard you, bruh. If he just stop waiting on the double team, we would be a way better team.”
If that isn’t enough for you, these words came after a game against Utah. Edwards made it well known that he isn’t afraid of attacking the rim with Rudy Gobert in the paint.
“To me the best rim protector in the league is [Dallas’ Kristaps] Porzingis,” Edwards said. “Anytime I go against Porzingis, I don’t get no layups. I don’t get why we couldn’t finish on Rudy Gobert. He don’t put no fear in my heart. I don’t know why.”
It’s one thing to be chaotic and outspoken to be noticed and get attention. That isn’t the purpose for Edwards. It’s not what he’s aiming for. He is starving to be great and play on a great team surrounded by just that. In his short time so far with Minnesota, he’s realized that he will need to spearhead much of the urgency that the Timberwolves need. Whether by design or not, Edwards is becoming a big brother of sorts for the rest of his teammates.
Others on a national scale have veered their own eyes over to witness it as well.
What’s even better for Minnesota is that it would appear on the surface that his teammates have been receptive to him taking on this role.
Some veterans wouldn’t necessarily vibe with this method of the 20-year-old, second-year player becoming the vocal leader of the franchise. Regardless of the sport, superstars emerge at a young age but bite their lips and keep things in check vocally until they deem it appropriate to speak up.
That’s not the case with Edwards.
He has etched his footprint right from the get-go. It was needed for a franchise that’s constantly looking for direction and its best players to take the initiative by holding others accountable.
Edwards not only holds himself accountable; he holds the entire team accountable. He’ll stir it up with Butler and others when that line in the sand needs to be drawn. In just over a year, Ant became the big brother for the rest of the team.
