Tag: Anthony Edwards

Christian Braun said Nikola Jokic scaring Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert over play prediction is normal

Nikola Jokic keeps finding new ways to amaze everyone.

The Denver Nuggets may have lost their first matchup this season with the fellow Western Conference heavyweight Minnesota Timberwolves in a thriller last Friday night, but reigning MVP Nikola Jokic still did enough to spook star Minnesota guard Anthony Edwards and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert during a key late-game sequence.

In the Minnesota locker room, Edwards and Gobert openly chatted about how Jokic knew one of their plays out of a timeout before they got into position. The two Timberwolves franchise players couldn’t believe that Jokic telegraphed precisely what they were planning to do.

While it’s not confirmed that the video below was the sequence, it sure seems like it is based on how Edwards and Gobert watch in clear disbelief as Jokic gives directions and tells the other Nuggets where to stand.

The Nuggets obviously got a stop on the play:

On Monday, as the Nuggets prepared for a home game against the Toronto Raptors, Denver starting shooting guard Christian Braun was asked about Jokic spooking Edwards and Gobert after their conversation went viral. Braun claimed that Jokic really does this kind of thing every game.

For Braun, who is made better by Jokic’s uncanny intelligence and feel for the game, this is just a regular occurrence. That’s absurd, man:

At face value, it’s not surprising that a superstar like Jokic probably watches a lot of film and studies opposing teams’ tendencies. That’s a prerequisite task if you’re going to be an exceptional professional athlete. No elite talent goes out there every night and wings it that much.

But this Jokic instance felt a bit different. Basketball is much more of a free-flowing game than other sports, where film study comes in even handier. The Timberwolves hadn’t even entered their set yet. And Jokic knew exactly what they wanted to do before they initiated it anyway, much to the shock of Minnesota’s two best players.

Jokic is in Year 10 of an illustrious career. Somehow, he’s still finding new ways to shock and amaze everyone who watches him play.

Former Georgia Bulldog shines in 2024 NBA season debut

Anthony Edwards plays well in Timberwolves’ season opener

Former Georgia Bulldog Anthony Edwards has been the face of the Minnesota Timberwolves franchise for a few years, and he proved it in the second game of the NBA season. He scored 27 points, which led the team, along with six rebounds and three assists, making 10 of his 25 attempts. Unfortunately, his prowess couldn’t lift the Timberwolves over the Lakers, losing 110-103.

Edwards had this to say in the press conference after the game.

“I feel like we got really good shots. I feel like we just missed a lot of shots, me included.”

On getting open looks:

“I feel like I got a lot of open looks tonight. Like I said, we got great looks. If we make those shots we win the game. It’s that simple. If I make the open shots I missed I’ll win the game.”

On the first half turnovers:

“We made some lazy passes. We weren’t ready to play yet. We came too relaxed,” said Edwards.

Here is the link to the full post-game interview:

Edwards is one of three Georgia Bulldogs in the NBA along with Orlando Magic guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton.

WATCH: Derrick Henry responds to NBA star Anthony Edwards saying he could tackle the Ravens RB

Derrick Henry responds to T’Wolves star Anthony Edwards saying he could tackle the Ravens RB

Anthony Edwards is one of the most talented athletes on the planet and a first-team All-NBA shooting guard for the Timberwolves.

Edwards is tough and physical. He played football in his youth. Edwards recently participated in an iconic photo shoot with Vikings star wide receiver Justin Jefferson. During that interaction, Edwards told Jefferson that “he could play safety” in the NFL.

Edwards took things further, stating that he could tackle Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry.

On Wednesday, King Henry weighed in.

Henry is averaging a league-best 124.7 yards rushing through seven games in his first season with the Ravens.

He is on pace for 2,120 yards rushing, which would eclipse Eric Dickerson’s 40-year-old record. Dickerson ran for 2,105 yards for the Rams in 1984.

Minnesota sports stars Justin Jefferson, Anthony Edwards recreate iconic photo

The Minnesota legends lived up to the billing by doing this.

Back in 2000, Viking star wide receiver Randy Moss and Timberwolves legend Kevin Garnett teamed up for one of the most epic photos in recent memory. It was on ESPN magazine, and Moss wore a Garnett jersey, and Garnett wore a Moss jersey.

On Tuesday, the photo was recreated between the newest Minnesota stars. Justin Jefferson and Anthony Edwards teamed up to recreate the photo that Minnesota fans will always remember.

In the original photo, Randy Moss wore diamond studs, and Kevin Garnett boasted miniature gold hoops and a nondescript band around his left wrist. Now, Jefferson pairs larger diamond studs with a layered diamond chain; Edwards also wears a necklace, along with a black hoop through his right earlobe.

With the NBA opening up on Tuesday night, the photo was perfect for spreading across the internet.

 

Anthony Edwards wants to play in the NFL and fans shouldn’t doubt how serious he is

Anthony Edwards REALLY wants to play in the NFL.

Minnesota Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards says a lot of fascinating stuff but his latest comments are particularly intriguing.

Edwards, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft and is establishing himself as one of the most exciting young basketball players in the world, has big plans for his next few years.

The 23-year-old guard recently spoke to ESPN for a story about him and Minnesota Vikings star wide receiver Justin Jefferson. According to Edwards, if he wins an NBA championship in the next three to four years, he will play football.

If you read this quote plainly, you may think he is joking or trying to get a laugh from the interviewer.

But watch the way that Edwards said what he said and it is pretty obvious that he meant what he said. Remember: Edwards has said that football was his first love (via ESPN):

He says if he were drafted by the NFL tomorrow, he’d let basketball go. “Because you can do anything on the field,” he explains. “You can spike the ball. You can dance. You can do all type of disrespectful stuff.” In the NBA, he says, “you can’t do any of that. You’ll get fined.”

Edwards was an excellent football player when he was growing up and he almost certainly still believes he could compete at the highest level.

While it is unclear if there is any chance this could actually happen, fans should believe that Edwards actually would want to make this dream into a reality.

This is not the first time Edwards has said he wants to become the first athlete to play in both the NBA and the NFL, and he is athletic enough to at least try if the Timberwolves can win a title.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1373]

Netflix’s Starting 5 trailer for the NBA version of Drive to Survive is here and it looks amazing

The show features LeBron James, Jayson Tatum, Jimmy Butler, Anthony Edwards and Domantas Sabonis.

Netflix will soon have a show about the NBA, releasing October 9, and we finally have a trailer to get excited about.

Starting 5 features a primary cast of LeBron James, Jayson Tatum, Jimmy Butler, Anthony Edwards and Domantas Sabonis. It is a 10-part series that provides an inside look at the 2023-24 NBA season. Each episode is a 45-minute long insight into their lives on and off the court.

This series will operate a bit like Drive to Survive about F1 racing, Break Point about tennis, Quarterback and Receiver about the NFL, as well as Full Swing about golf.

This trailer has some fun moments, including voiceovers from all of the main stars as well as LeBron James’ daughter Zhuri and a weird moment of James dressed as The Joker from Batman.

We also see Anthony Edwards singing, some mic’d up moments on the court, and a lot of the stars hanging with their families.

The series is produced by UNINTERRUPTED (from Maverick Carter) as well as Higher Ground Productions (from Barack and Michelle Obama) and Omaha Productions (from Peyton Manning).

Here are a few of the features still images from the show:

LeBron James

Courtesy of Netflix © 2024

Jimmy Butler

Courtesy of Netflix © 2024

Anthony Edwards

Courtesy of Netflix © 2024

Domantas Sabonis

Courtesy of Netflix © 2024

Jayson Tatum

Courtesy of Netflix © 2024

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1373]

Magic Johnson ripped Anthony Edwards after hearing his controversial thoughts about older NBA generations

Anthony Edwards really offended the nicest man on the planet.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that if you want to offend Magic Johnson, you really have to go out of your way.

Beyond his jovial charm whenever he appears in public, the Los Angeles Lakers legend is famous for almost always making anodyne, often completely neutral statements about the NBA and other sports on his Twitter account — except for when the Boston Celtics won the 2024 title — because he doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.

However, Johnson couldn’t help himself when he heard about Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards ripping the apparent lack of skill from older NBA players. Once again, Johnson broke character.

In an interview with Stephen A. Smith, Johnson said he wouldn’t respond to Edwards’ opinion … before stating that he doesn’t acknowledge basketball players who haven’t won championships. PHEW.

The crucial part of that insult is that Johnson wasn’t just talking about Edwards not winning an NBA title. He also meant in college (Edwards played at Georgia from 2019 to 2020, where the Bulldogs didn’t qualify for the men’s NCAA tournament on either occasion) and in high school (Edwards did actually win a Georgia high school state championship, which Johnson admitted to being unsure about).

From that perspective, what a fiery comeback from a guy who won a high school state title in Lansing, the men’s NCAA title with Michigan State, five NBA championships with the Lakers, and championed the high-octane “Showtime Lakers” as one of the flashiest, most skillful passers ever.

Edwards was just being himself by ripping older generations for what he perceived as a lack of basketball ability. That’s classic Anthony Edwards shining through. Take it or leave it. But now he has drawn the ire of Magic Johnson, perhaps the nicest man in major American sports — a guy who might drop a fancy coat on a pothole filled with rainwater in the street for a random stranger to walk across.

It’s not quite winning an NBA championship, but I’d almost consider that an achievement in itself.

Anthony Edwards trashed every 90s NBA player (except Michael Jordan) in a delightfully uninformed rant

Anthony Edwards knows that the best hating is uninformed hating.

Everyone knows that the best form of hating comes from a lack of first-hand knowledge.

Don’t like that TV show’s premise and never plan to watch it? It’s actually stupid and written poorly. Hate that new ice cream flavor because it just looks gross? Ew, you’d never spend your money on that. And so on and so forth.

Minnesota Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards took this principle and applied it to the 1990s NBA in a new interview with the Wall Street Journal. One of the questions posed to Edwards centered on his thoughts about older generations in the NBA, particularly the 1990s, at least based on his answer.

While admitting he didn’t watch any of that basketball, Edwards delivered a hilarious criticism, saying only Michael Jordan had any skill back then. Truly, top-notch stuff.

More from the Wall Street Journal:

“I didn’t watch it back in the day so I can’t speak on it,” Edwards said. “They say it was tougher back then than it is now, but I don’t think anybody had skill back then. [Michael Jordan] was the only one that really had skill, you know what I mean? So that’s why when they saw Kobe [Bryant], they were like, ‘Oh, my God.’ But now everybody has skill.”

Honestly, is he wrong? Does one really have to watch the NBA of old to understand that the players are, on average, much more athletic and much more talented in 2024? There might be at least one guy on every NBA team who is a glorified role player now who would’ve been a star on ability alone back in the day.

I’m not even exaggerating. (Note: I also didn’t watch that basketball back in the day.)

And even if you do think Edwards is wrong, you can’t deny his charming bravado to confidently state his opinion despite being so uninformed. You only say that kind of thing out loud when you know you’re right (i.e., you don’t care about other opinions).

Edwards has hating down to a science. He is an artist.

OKC Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves to face off 3 times in 4-game stretch

OKC Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves to face off 3 times in 4-game stretch.

The Oklahoma City Thunder revealed their 2024-25 regular season schedule. This means that it’s time to examine how the slate is laid out during the 82-game grind.

After a first-seed finish last season, the Thunder hope to repeat that accomplishment this upcoming campaign. They enter the year as title favorites after a productive offseason.

One important stretch during the Thunder’s season will happen in February 2025. They will play the Minnesota Timberwolves three out of four games from Feb. 13-24.

All three contests will be on national television. The Thunder travel to Minnesota to face the Timberwolves via TNT on Feb. 13. It is OKC’s final contest before the 2025 All-Star break.

After the break, the Thunder will travel to face the Utah Jazz on Feb. 21. It’s a nice one-game break before they battle the Timberwolves in a road-and-home back-to-back from Feb. 23-24.

The first contest will be on ESPN with an 8:30 p.m. CT tip. A back-to-back that features travel is already grueling as is. Toss in the layer that includes the late tip on the first night and standard tip on the second night — 7 p.m. CT — then it complicates important games.

The Thunder and Timberwolves were two of the best teams in the Western Conference last year. Their seeding wasn’t finalized until the last day of the regular season. Expect a similar finish this upcoming season between the squads.

Tiebreakers could prove vital once more. That’s why this three-in-four-games stretch will be crucial for seeding aspirations for both the Thunder and Timberwolves.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Projecting the U.S. men’s basketball roster for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles

Anthony Edwards called next.

Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Win’s basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Have feedback for the Layup Lines Crew? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey. Now, here’s Bryan Kalbrosky.

The 2024 Paris Olympics are in the rearview mirror and to no surprise, the United States once again earned a gold medal in basketball.

Led by a trio of NBA veterans, the U.S. men’s basketball roster was thrilling. Basketball fans were delighted to see LeBron James play with Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant at the same time and the results were incredible.

Now that the Olympics will leave France and the United States will become the next host nation, the focus will shift to what the roster could look like in 2028.

It is an impossible question to answer because so much of this depends on health, interest, coaching, development, and various other circumstances we can’t predict.

But based on what we know so far, factoring in age and relationships with the USA Basketball, here is our best guess as of right now:

GUARDS

Anthony Edwards

Devin Booker

Tyrese Haliburton

Donovan Mitchell

Tyrese Maxey

FORWARDS

Jayson Tatum

Paolo Banchero

Scottie Barnes

Cooper Flagg

BIGS

Bam Adebayo

Chet Holmgren

Evan Mobley

Noah Lyles denies beef with Anthony Edwards

Photos by MARTIN BERNETTI Damien MEYER / AFP

U.S. track and field sprinter Noah Lyles caused some more controversy this weekend:

“Two of the biggest stars from the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics were Noah Lyles and Anthony Edwards.

Lyles and Edwards both became first-time Olympic gold medalists this summer. Before testing positive for COVID-19 and withdrawing from the Olympics this year, Lyles won a gold medal in the 100 meter for track and field. Edwards was a standout performer on the U.S. men’s basketball roster.

Both gold medalists have signed endorsement deals with the shoe company adidas. Recent reporting suggests that there is potentially animosity between the two, but Lyles is attempting to squash those growing rumors.”

You can read more here.

Shootaround

— 5 things we learned about the NBA (Victor Wembanyama’s rise is truly inevitable) at the Paris Olympics

— Tyrese Haliburton had the most perfect post after winning a gold medal despite limited playing time

— Hoops fans thought A’ja Wilson and Bam Adebayo’s polite handshake was so unsubtle amid dating rumors

— An earthquake interrupted ESPN’s NBA Today show but Malika Andrews handled it like a pro