Anthony Edwards draws comparisons with 1988 Michael Jordan
With Karl-Anthony Towns out with a torn meniscus, Anthony Edwards put the Timberwolves on his back and carried them to an impressive 113-111 win over the Pacers Thursday night.
The back-and-forth affair swung both ways until Edwards made a dagger three with 1:11 to go, giving Minnesota a 108-105 lead.
However, the real highlight play came with 1.1 seconds left on the clock as Edwards thwarted a layup attempt from Aaron Nesmith to prevent the game from going to overtime.
As seen below, Edwards leaped so high that he hit his head on the backboard.
After the game, Edwards admitted he had never jumped as high in his 22 years of existence.
"I hit my head on the rim. It’s hurting real bad," Edwards said while holding his head. "And I landed on my wrist. I ain't never done that in my life."
The spectacular play got Kevin Garnett — arguably the greatest Timberwolves player in history — to compare Edwards to a 1988 version of Michael Jordan.
Garnett had previously compared the rising Minnesota star to a 1984 rookie version of "His Airness" on his "KG Certified" podcast.
"He's like a young '84 Jordan, boy. You hear me?" Garnett said of Edwards. "If [Karl-Anthony Towns] wasn't on his team, he'd be averaging 30-something points per game."
As great as the 1984 version of Jordan was, he turned into a force on the defensive end of the floor by the 1987-88 season, becoming the first player to win the MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the same year.
Perhaps Garnett feels Edwards' impact on defense is closer to 1988 Jordan, spurring his latest tweet.
Edwards himself embraced the MJ comparisons in an interview with ESPN last month.
"I haven't done anything at his level yet, but I love that they [Garnett and others] have faith in me," Edwards said. "I mean, they're not wrong."
While Edwards is unlikely to win the MVP or DPOY award this season, he's a shoo-in to make his first All-Defensive and All-NBA teams this year after narrowly missing out on the latter last year.
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