Anthony Edwards has improved his game so much over the last 2 seasons that everyone is talking him up as the future of the NBA. But to be sure, the basketball community was waiting to see how he would show up in the playoffs. A battleground where competition brings out the very best and worst in players. After watching what he has done all season and in this playoff series so far, Charles Barkley had nothing but huge praise for the Minnesota Timberwolves superstar.
On their show, Inside the NBA, the Hall of Famer picked up the topic of what Shaquille O’Neal said about Edwards just before the playoffs began.
That Anthony Edwards is a grown a** man. When he said, 'I'm just going to kill everything in front of me'. It reminded me so much of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, they would kill you to win a game. Not many players in today's game, they rather wanna be buddy buddy. Anthony Edwards is letting everyone on notice, 'Yeah I'm not gonna wait for y'all to give me anything, I'm gonna take it all', and I love it. Charles Barkley via Inside The NBA
Barkley said he agrees with O’Neal that Edwards is on another level. He echoed O’Neal’s words that he is a ‘bad boy’.
Charles Barkley has played alongside his once-best friend Michael Jordan and has covered Kobe Bryant all throughout his broadcasting career. He saw the same killer mentality in Anthony Edwards which he has seen from those two players in the past.
He referred to their killer mentality, which goes a long way to show how he sees his opponents. Comparatively, most players in today’s game want to be friends with their opponents. Therefore, Barkley saw the attitude that made some of the greats turn into legends.
Anthony Edwards walking the talk with his play
At the beginning of the season, Charles Barkley was not sold on the Minnesota Timberwolves. He thought that they would choke in the playoffs in the same manner as they did last season. He was still not on the Anthony Edwards‘ bandwagon until he saw the young star help his team maintain their top 3 seeding despite not having both his superstar Big’s on the court.
To top it all, Anthony Edwards has outshone all the superstars the Timberwolves and Phoenix Suns series have. Moreover, as discussed above, his mentality has given the round mound of rebound enough evidence that he is the next big superstar.
If Edwards can dispatch the Suns in the next game, he will move on to probably face the Denver Nuggets in the second round. The same team which led to their exit from the playoffs last season. If he can beat the defending champions, the basketball world will acknowledge him as the face of the NBA.
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