With the Denver Nuggets on the ropes and their crowd in panic, Anthony Edwards took his time as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – a champion and one of the best ball defenders in the league – followed his every move. movements. With the help of the hidden defenders, Edwards directed Minnesota Timberwolves teammate Karl-Anthony Towns to move to the weak side.
Edwards and KCP are friends, other roses have bloomed in the red clay of Georgia. Their proximity is the context for the scene that followed. It was 1:40 a.m. on the clock when Towns left the scene. Minnesota was up nine points in the fourth quarter. And Edwards was intentionally trying to, as he put it, “kill everything in front of me.” Friends included. Once he had Caldwell-Pope on his back and had room to work on the left wing, his dribbling changed. It had a rhythm to it as he took small steps back from the Nuggets’ best defender. Bounce. One. Two. Bounce. One. Two. Bounce. One. Two. But instead of the next rebound, Edwards went back toward the baseline. Its fluid pivot allowed it to take off smoothly.
Caldwell-Pope has an inch on Edwards, according to NBA data. But at the time of the shot, Edwards was an imposing figure compared to his Nuggets counterpart. Edwards’ flip and fadeaway splashed, Denver was ready for the opener and we all had a moment to marvel.
THIS F Æ DEAWAY THOOOOOO 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/iKsU035uMm
– Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) May 5, 2024
“I’m not saying who, Reg,” Jamal Crawford, an NBA legend in his own right, told broadcast partner and Hall of Famer Reggie Miller on TNT. “But this looks really familiar.” End of match, takeover in the middle of the post, fade-away style.
“Tell who Jamal is,” Miller replied. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m getting there, Reg. I arrive there. »
Anthony Edwards is just Michael Jordan with a 4K trailer pic.twitter.com/KSoU5nlkAN
– Tony Clements (@TonyCMKE) May 5, 2024
Here we are. We have seen enough. That’s it. We need – in the same room, ASAP – Michael Jordan, Anthony Edwards and Maury Povich with a sealed envelope.
We must know.
In the era of foul contact and 3-pointers, who choreographs a fadeaway jumper as the signature of their 43-point performance? Unless you’re the son of the long-lost GOAT and don’t even know it.
In all seriousness, before the hyperbolic jokes become offensive, let’s be clear. Edwards’ biological father is Roger Caruth and his mother is Yvette Edwards. Pops wasn’t there. His mother tragically died of cancer in January 2015, when he was 14 years old. Her grandmother died seven months later of cancer. During the most critical periods of his development, his older siblings, Antoine and Antionette, were his father figures.
He didn’t move up to number 5 this season as Jordan’s heir (although 2+3 = 5 all day). He did this to honor his late mother and grandmother, both of whom are said to have died on the fifth day of the month.
So, it must be recognized, he has a family. The one who poured out everything he had within him, shaping the foundations of the Goliathan figure we witness emerge.
However, the resemblance is uncanny. The way the bracelet rests under her left elbow and her left calf is covered. Just like Jordan. The way each step has a little bounce and the way he glides when he’s in the air. Just like Jordan. The cheekiness of his facade and the way he smiles at times and at his opponents with a certainty he has yet to earn.
Remember Game 4 against Phoenix? He punctuated his career night and series sweep by taking off for a “Kiss the Rim” dunk over Kevin Durant. You just know, wherever they are, Alonzo Mourning, Patrick Ewing, Sam Perkins and many more came out of nowhere randomly.
ANTHONY EDWARDS ARE YOU SERIOUS 🤯🤯🤯
WOLVES UP 4 WITH 2 MINUTES REMAINING ON TNT pic.twitter.com/P1DX4w8Cj4
-NBA (@NBA) April 29, 2024
In his last two playoff games, Edwards scored 40 points, then a career-high 43. Both produced a Jordan-esque moment to drive home the zeitgeist.
For some, the comparison is sacrilege. Jordan is a basketball deity whose name should never be used in vain. Comparisons to his lightness can only be triggered by the most miraculous basketball performances. Or, “until I saw him drop 63 in the backyard…” as my colleague, Hall of Famer David Aldridge, who watched Jordan live, repeatedly says on our Hoops Adjacent podcast , referencing Jordan’s huge night in a 1986 first-round game in Boston. .
The feeling is legitimate. Count me among this legion. I am a devoted Jordan sentimentalist who considers my youthful memories of his “Come Fly With Me” days to be spiritual experiences. But, to borrow from the wisdom of Maya Angelou, when people show you who they really are, believe them.
I started to see the light in 2021 when he told Stephen Curry to his face that he was aiming for 50. Who do this ? Unless …
No, Ant hasn’t had that all-time great performance yet, not one mind-blowing enough to evoke comparisons to Jordan. But he has time. He is only 22 years old. Jordan was 23 when he torched the Celtics.
And, at the current rate, Edwards could be dancing on the floor in Boston in about a month. Because the Nuggets, reigning champions, are in difficulty. Minnesota is a problem. Mainly because Edwards is good enough to match Nikola Jokić. He seems as intractable for his opponent as Jokić – which gives the advantage to the Timberwolves’ other weapons and depth.
As it stands: Only two players 22 or younger have scored 40 or more in consecutive playoff games – Edwards and Kobe Bryantthe original heir to Michael Jordan.
Side note: Michael Jordan’s first consecutive games with at least 40 came when he was 23. He scored 49 in the first game in Boston, then 63 in Game 2. I know that doesn’t help my argument.
But the Edwards-Jordan correlation isn’t so much about ability as it is about similarity. This is less a comparison of substance than of style. The urban myth that Edwards is Jordan’s lost son is just a nod to the feeling of déjà vu when watching him. A reminder of Jordan’s transcendence and the enduring nature of his aura. Perhaps even a mirage created by our hope of seeing such a figure again.
He looks like Jordan. He moves like Jordan. He talks like Jordan.
“I love this guy, man,” Edwards said of Kevin Durant, his favorite player growing up, after knocking out the Suns. “I’m excited to play with him this summer, man. Talk a little trash. Let him know I sent him home.
He raised a modest franchise like Jordan. He instills his philosophy in his teammates like Jordan. He’s must-see TV like Jordan. More and more, he leaves opponents in his wake like Jordan. He controls games late, bending the court and defense to his will, like Jordan.
This summer, he heads to Paris to play in what many are calling the greatest collection of American men’s basketball since the Dream Team in 1992. Back then, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were the reigning superstars. But when they left, Michael Jordan had the throne.
This time, Durant, LeBron James and Steph Curry play the role of the old guard. Who do you expect to come home with a gold medal and the crown as the king of American basketball?
Go ahead and say who. You will get there too.
GO FURTHER
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(Photo by Anthony Edwards: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)