Minnesota has a long, deep history of sending athletes around the world to dominate for Team USA. Suni Lee came out of nowhere to win the gymnastics all-around gold medal at the 2021 Summer Olympics. More than half of the Miracle on Ice hockey team that beat the Soviet Union and won gold was proud Minnesotans, including head coach Herb Brooks. And Charlie Conway and his rag-tag group of mostly Minnesota-based youth hockey players took down mighty Iceland at the Junior Goodwill Games in the early 1990s.
With all of this international sporting success coming from the land of 10,000 athletes, it’s disappointing that very little of that success has come on a basketball court. Kevin McHale never made it as an amateur and was on the decline by the time NBA players were allowed to assemble on the Dream Team in 1992. Aside from Kevin Garnett dominating his own teammates on his way to a gold medal at the 2000 Olympics, and Kevin Love taking him FIBA gold in 2010 and Olympic gold in 2012, no other Minnesota Timberwolves have been called up to international duty.
But that 11-year-long national nightmare has mercifully come to an end. It was announced earlier this week that Anthony Edwards will be taking his talents to the Philippines this summer for his national team debut in the FIBA World Cup. It’s an obvious next step in the career of a rising star, but it’s still an exciting development for Wolves fans who have been singing his praises for the last three years. Edwards has been around Team USA before, leading the USA select team in competitive scrimmages against the Olympic squad bound for Tokyo in 2021.
He now joins a roster that includes DPOY Jaren Jackson Jr., Tyrese Haliburton, Jalen Brunson, and a host of other young stars. They will convene in Las Vegas two days ahead of Edwards’ 22nd birthday, then play their first game against New Zealand on August 26th.
Ant’s been through a lot of ups and downs in his development since the Wolves took him first overall in 2020. They drafted him in November and had a month onboard him into the NBA because of the pandemic. The Timberwolves fired Edwards’ first coach, Ryan Saunders, 31 games into his rookie year. Gersson Rosas conducted an abnormal and controversial hiring process that brought Chris Finch to Minnesota. The Wolves fired Rosas, the GM who drafted Edwards, for having an inappropriate work relationship. Tim Connelly traded half of his teammates and draft capital for Rudy Gobert.
All of that turnover and turmoil would have squashed pretty much any other young player’s hopes and dreams. But Anthony Edwards is thriving and has led the Wolves to back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time since 2004. He’s already developed into an All-Star. Joining Team USA could be the best thing yet for him to continue his trajectory toward superstardom.
After swiftly losing in five games in the first round to the Denver Nuggets, Edwards seems to be all-in on using this offseason to take his game to another level. Edwards has said he wants to travel to France to train with Gobert to strengthen their connection ahead of their second season together. Adding his European summer training tour to a busy international schedule shows a commitment to improving himself and doing whatever it takes to improve his team.
Training and playing with some of the best young players for a month and a half right before training camp begins is going to help keep Edwards in the best shape of his life. If there’s one thing that Edwards struggles with in his ascent to stardom, it’s kicking the comfort food and staying in tip-top shape in the offseason. Karl-Anthony Towns worries about his diet and conditioning. However, competing against other rising stars and immersing himself in the Team USA culture should do wonders for Ant’s conditioning.
He’ll also be playing for one of the best coaches in the NBA. At the end of 2021, Steve Kerr took over as the head coach of Team USA for Gregg Popovich. After winning five NBA championships as a player, Kerr has led Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and the rest of the Golden State Warriors to four NBA Championships since taking over in 2014. Two-time NBA Champion Erik Spoelstra will join Kerr in the Philippines. Spolstra is currently trying to lead Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and a bunch of randos to a shocking win in this year’s NBA Finals. Edwards has been lucky to have a good coaching staff for most of his young career led by Finch. But being around and learning from some of the best coaches of all time will give Ant a chance to learn how to be a winner.
Anthony Edwards has proven himself as one of the best young players in the game. He’s finally getting the recognition he deserves by getting the call-up to Team USA. Now Edwards will have to opportunity to take his game to the next level with non-stop competition and some of the best coaching in the world all summer.
