Anthony Edwards On How Michael Jordan Inspired Him To Black Out And Dominate Against Grizzlies

Anthony Edwards was at his destructive best as the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Memphis Grizzlies 141-125 at FedExForum on Thursday. Edwards had his way with the Grizzlies' defense all night and spoke postgame about being inspired to get blacked out by some Michael Jordan videos his trainer Chris Hines had been sending him.

“C Hines, my trainer, told me to blackout tonight, so I tried to do that," Edwards said. "... I know people gonna love this, he sent me MJ videos every day about blacking out. I think MJ said something like, ‘Why would I worry about a miss if I haven’t took the shot yet?’ So, he be sending stuff like that, I appreciate him.”

Edwards knew people would love his bringing up Jordan, with how often he's compared to the Chicago Bulls icon. He once stated that he wants the Jordan comparisons to stop, but that's unlikely to happen anytime soon. 

Edwards' performance here against the Grizzlies was one that even Jordan would have been proud of. The 23-year-old had 44 points (13-19 FG), five rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block to help the Timberwolves improve to 47-33 this season.

With this showing, Edwards set a new franchise record for points in a game against the Grizzlies. The three-time All-Star had also set the previous record when he scored 42 points against them in a 139-125 loss on May 5, 2021.

The Timberwolves also set a franchise record for points in a quarter here with 52 in the third. Edwards had 18 of them as he went a perfect 5-5 from the field, 3-3 from three, and 5-5 from the line. There aren't too many players in the NBA who are capable of taking over a game the way he can.

The Timberwolves have now won six of their last seven games thanks to Edwards, but they remain eighth in the Western Conference. They'll need to win their last two games against the Brooklyn Nets and Utah Jazz at Target Center if they are to get out of the play-in spots and potentially even get home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Anthony Edwards Got Advice From Michael Jordan On Beating Double Teams

While Edwards is all smiles nowadays, he was rather frustrated earlier in the season. Why? Well, back in January, Edwards admitted he was incredibly irritated about facing double teams. It wasn't fun for him to just pass the ball all the time. So what did he decide to do? Well, Edwards asked Jordan for advice on beating double teams.

“I was told by someone in his circle that three weeks ago [Anthony Edwards] reached out to Michael Jordan on advice on how to handle some of the double teams and traps that he's seeing," revealed Mark Jones. "He's been extremely frustrated up until late.”

With how often Jordan was doubled during his storied career, asking him for advice certainly wasn't a bad idea. Whatever he told Edwards appears to have helped as well as he hasn't complained about double teams since.