There's No Superstar In The NBA Like Anthony Edwards

Andy Hoops

In this video, we take a detailed look at Anthony Edwards unfathomable rise to superstardom and what separates him from the rest of the pack.  I make all kinds of NBA videos which include analysis, player stories, countdowns, and mysteries. Make sure to leave a like and subscribe if you enjoyed this video!  ► X (Twitter): @AndyHoopsYT ► TikTok: @AndyHoopsYT ► Music:  Upbeat Rock Travel by Infraction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzwiWVHT5JY Music: Bay Breeze by FortyThr33 is licensed under a Creative Commons License. Support by RFM - NCM:    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8q_nZXa6a2g  Floating Cities by Kevin MacLeod Eternity by Kevin MacLeod Basic Implosion by Kevin MacLeod  Available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. Find all of his songs and download them for free here: http://incompetech.com  ► Sources: Stats and box-scores from Basketball-Reference.com, NBA.com, Statmuse.com, PBPstats.com  #nba #nbaplayoffs

Transcript

00:06He elevates and then just goes a little bit higher when he knows he needs to get it up.

00:11Edwards working, leaning, spinning, shot. Sticks it! Sticks it!

00:19Go ahead, Neesmith.

00:22And I mean Anthony Edwards.

00:24He hit his head under the backboard.

00:27He hit his head under the backboard.

00:31There's no player in the NBA today who's similar to Anthony Edwards.

00:35In an era dominated by hyper-efficient big men,

00:39or perimeter players who do everything for their team,

00:41or scorers who take the most analytically effective shots.

00:46Edwards is none of those.

00:47He's a throwback to an old-school style of play that most folks thought has become irrelevant.

00:53A player who thrives off of tough, contested shots.

00:56And he exuberates a level of swagger and charisma unseen from the stars of this generation.

01:02At such a young age, he already has that aura around him that makes you want to watch him.

01:08The media has constantly bombarded us with comparisons to a young Michael Jordan.

01:13A comparison that Edwards himself does not like.

01:16But unlike MJ, Edwards has never said a single bad thing about his teammates.

01:22Yet, despite all this, and with the Wolves fighting for the top spot in a hyper-competitive Western Conference all

01:28season long,

01:29he honestly wasn't talked about as much as he should have been.

01:32Cause at a glance, his regular season numbers don't pop out, compared to other MVP candidates.

01:38How's going folks? My name's Andy.

01:40And today, let's take a look at what separates Anthony Edwards from every other star of this generation.

01:46What makes him such a unique player to begin with?

01:52For many years, Jamal Murray has been the poster boy for the best playoff riser.

01:57For his career, his points and efficiency both rise drastically from the regular season.

02:03But statistically, it's actually Anthony Edwards, who's the greatest playoff riser in the current NBA.

02:10Although a smaller sample size, Edwards has made astronomical leaps from the regular season to playoffs.

02:15And it's happened every year since he came in.

02:18It's not just his raw stats that stand out.

02:21His advanced stats skyrocket.

02:24In terms of estimated plus minus, Edwards went from plus 4.4 in the regular season to plus 8.7

02:31in the playoffs.

02:33That's comparable to Jokic in 2023 or Giannis in 2021, the years they led their team to the championship.

02:40In the playoffs, his production rivals that of the NBA's greatest players.

02:45And he's 22 years old.

02:56His playoff scoring is beyond impressive.

02:59While most superstars see their percentages drop when the playoffs begin, Edwards is the complete opposite.

03:05He thrives when the pressure is at its highest.

03:08Even when the defense focuses on him more, he loves taking these kind of shots.

03:14In every single metric, every single advanced stat in every postseason, Edwards makes a massive jump from a typical all

03:22-star during the season to an all-time great in the playoffs.

03:27Ant's playstyle is a breath of fresh air and unique in its own way.

03:31You might take a glance at his skill set and see a ton of tough contested looks, a lot of

03:37hard layups at the basket.

03:38And it makes you wonder, is this sustainable?

03:42According to NBA.com's tracking dashboard, Edwards has a ridiculous effective field goal percentage of 58% on contested looks.

03:51That's the best out of all guards or wing players in the 2024 playoffs.

03:55You might think, this has to be an anomaly, right?

03:59Hmm, nope.

04:01In the 2023 and 2022 playoffs, Edwards actually shot better on contested shots before.

04:08Over 63% affected field goal percentage in both of those postseasons.

04:13And on even more attempts per game than now.

04:17If it happens three postseasons in a row, it's not a coincidence.

04:20Anthony Edwards is the best in the NBA at hitting contested shots.

04:26The only players with comparable efficiency and volume are all elite big men.

04:31He still hits them at a better rate than Gobert and Towns.

04:35We've never seen a perimeter player be defended this tightly and still shoot this well with this kind of confidence

04:41and swagger.

04:43Hmm, dare I say it?

04:44He does remind me of a young MJ.

04:50There's been a question that occasionally gets floated around now and then.

04:54And it's which young American player can be the face of the NBA?

04:58We all know the league is dominated by international superstars.

05:02We're coming on six straight years of MVPs all going to players born outside of the US.

05:07As the old era of LeBron, Kevin Durant, and Steph Curry fade away,

05:12the NBA has been searching for the next great American superstar.

05:16Someone who's not only a great player but also has a style of play that draws people in

05:21and a personality that people want to root for.

05:24For a long time, we believed Jason Tatum could be the face of American basketball.

05:30Ever since he was 19 years old, he's been competing in the playoffs at the highest stakes.

05:36But over the years, he never seemed like he wanted that label.

05:41As talented and as incredibly gifted as he is, Tatum doesn't have the same level of charisma as Edwards.

05:48Nor is he as flashy.

05:50Fans aren't really enamored with Tatum like they used to be.

05:54For Edwards, every play, every possession that he has the ball, everyone's watching him closely,

06:00anticipating what he's going to do next.

06:02It's been a long time since a player of his allure has dominated the NBA.

06:22With all the extravagance of Anthony Edwards, the most impressive part for me is how much of an incredible leader

06:29he is.

06:30There were times earlier in the season when his teammate, Jaden McDaniels, was struggling to shoot the ball.

06:35A reporter asked Anthony Edwards, since McDaniels had a tough time shooting, do you want to keep feeding him the

06:42ball?

06:42Edwards responded,

06:44Well, yeah, because when I start off cold, they keep feeding me.

06:48So it shouldn't change with him.

06:50He never puts his teammates below him.

06:53This didn't happen overnight either.

06:55Edwards has always been this way right from the get-go.

06:58Imagine coming into the NBA as a 19-year-old and giving advice to your franchise player immediately.

07:04I mean, kudos to Towns for accepting his new role, as he was never cut out to be the main

07:10guy.

07:10All the flack he's gotten over the years, it takes a lot of courage to let your younger co-star

07:16be the new face of the franchise.

07:19Thankfully, Cat has no ego.

07:21Edwards has an unwavering trust of his teammates and always tries to lift them up, and that extends beyond the

07:28Timberwolves.

07:28In the 2023 FIBA World Cup, a tournament that Team USA would love to forget.

07:34But lost in the misery was how Edwards blossomed into the leader of that team.

07:38He led the team in minutes and points, and more importantly, his teammates called him a natural-born leader.

07:45Regardless of the disappointing run in the World Cup, Edwards always kept their spirits high and instilled confidence in his

07:52peers even when they were having a rough time.

07:54To have this level of maturity and poise at the age of 22, while still being the unequivocal alpha of

08:01the team, it makes everyone around him want to embrace him and love playing with him.

08:07The Wolves are stacked to the brim with incredible defenders.

08:11From Defensive Player of the Year Gobert anchoring the paint, to McDaniels and Alexander Walker smothering opposing guards and wing

08:18players.

08:19Here's a fun fact, the Wolves were number one in the entire NBA in defense this year.

08:24But in the 1000 plus minutes without Gobert on the floor, the Wolves were still a top 3 defensive team.

08:31Their defense without Gobert is still around the same as the Magic or Celtics.

08:36That's how deep their defense goes, it's not just Gobert.

08:40From top to bottom, there are no bad defenders.

08:44However, I think Anthony Edwards' contributions on defense get overlooked.

08:48On most other playoff teams, he'd probably be the best defensive guard on their roster.

08:53In the playoffs, he's held his opponents to just a ridiculously low percentage from most areas of the court,

08:59and he's contesting a high number of attempts too.

09:03With a larger sample size in the regular season, his defensive stats still look very good,

09:09holding 3-point shooters to just 32%, holding shots closer to the basket at a percent lower than league average.

09:16We always love to promote players who are hyper-athletic, with such extreme physical attributes that make us go,

09:23Oh wow, what in the world did he just do?

09:26However, in most cases, just because somebody is athletic,

09:30doesn't mean they have good defensive instincts, or they put in the effort on defense.

09:35Edwards is special, because he truly takes advantage of his superior athleticism in all aspects of the game.

09:41He knows he's the primary option on offense, but he doesn't take plays off on defense either.

09:48Very few players have the body control, like Edwards.

09:52It's just as exciting to see him demolish a defender with a devastating dunk,

09:56as it is to see him rise up for an absurd block that seems impossible for anyone else.

10:02It's rare for a player to dominate on both sides of the court, even more rare to see it from

10:07a 22-year-old.

10:10Let's talk about a different conversation.

10:13In most cases, if you're the best player on a team fighting for the top seed of your conference,

10:18naturally, you'd expect to get MVP recognition.

10:21Nikola Jokic and Shea Gilgis-Alexander, their teams fought tooth and nail with the Wolves to claim the top spots

10:28of the West.

10:29Yet, they got way more MVP noise than Edwards.

10:33Well, it's because Edwards' MVP case suffers due to the strength of his teammates.

10:37Same reason why Tatum did not get much MVP consideration either.

10:42Statistically, Edwards' numbers don't look as nice,

10:45because he doesn't need to do as much for his team to succeed.

10:49Contrary to guys like Jokic, Luka, or Giannis, who have to do so much for their team and rack up

10:55the rebounds and assists,

10:57Edwards, on the other hand, has a designated role on this roster.

11:00And that's to score.

11:02Hence why his rebounds and assists will never be as high as other MVP candidates.

11:07Like I mentioned earlier, he's also a tough shot taker,

11:11and over the course of the season, his overall shooting efficiency will not be as high as some others.

11:16His lower numbers, his lower percentages, and his incredible supporting cast all work against him,

11:22when it comes to individual awards like the MVP.

11:25As the Wolves maintain their dominance in the Western Conference,

11:28he's going to improve as he reaches his prime, and that's when he'll have his best shot at winning it.

11:36There's no superstar in the NBA like Anthony Edwards.

11:39His playstyle, attitude, and enthusiasm for the game brought life to a franchise that desperately needed it.

11:45Prior to the 2024 playoffs, the Minnesota Timberwolves have only made it past the first round once.

11:52That was during Kevin Garnett's MVP season, the only time he actually had a decent supporting cast in Minnesota.

11:59That's how miserable this franchise has always been.

12:03In 35 years, they made it past the first round twice.

12:06Fans are hungry and desperate to have just a little taste of success.

12:12Edwards brought hope to a failing franchise, and even if he doesn't win a championship,

12:17he will be remembered forever in Wolves history.

12:20Thank you all so much for watching, I hope you all enjoyed the video.

12:24What are your thoughts on Anthony Edwards, the NBA's newest superstar?

12:28Do you think he truly has what it takes to become the best player in the NBA?

12:33Let me know your thoughts.

12:34Thank you all so much for watching, I hope you all enjoyed the video,

12:37and of course, as always, I'll see you next time.

12:40Peace.

12:42Peace.

12:42Peace out.

12:44Peace.

12:49Peace.

12:51Peace.

12:51Watch out.

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