Did Anthony Edwards Really Call Out Kyrie Irving?

Ernie: “Any thoughts on playing the Mavs [in the next round]?”

Edwards: “It’s gonna be fun, man, you know. Umm, my matchup gonna be Kyrie so that’s gonna be fun. We’ll see what I can do vs him.”

Anthony Edwards after beating the Nuggets in game 7

I was caught by surprise when I heard Anthony Edwards announced that he would be guarding Kyrie Irving, mostly because I wasn’t sure whether or not the Wolves wanted him to disclose that.

Really, there was no guarantee that Ant would be tasked with that matchup, especially given how much the Wolves need Edwards to produce on offense. As was proven last night, it’s difficult to have enough energy offensively when you are chasing Kyrie Irving around on defense all night.

What didn’t cross my mind, was whether or not Kyrie would take Ant’s postgame words as trash talk, as he sat with his family enjoying Sunday evening dinner. But apparently, he did. And it’s been made very clear, since Irving sat down with that same TNT crew after game one, that his incredible performance came, in part, due to motivation he gained after Ant ‘called him out’. Watch for yourself.

Barkley: “You’re at home minding your business the other night with your family. Probably just chilling, having a nice meal. And then [Anthony Edwards] says ‘I got Kyrie’. That’s the most aggressive you have been, in a long time. I know that had to erk you a little bit?”

Kyrie: “Yeah, I used it as a motivational tool [laughs]. When I was sitting home and I saw it, i was like, ‘this is a nod of respect’ and then also, I know what type of game it was going to be for game one and for the rest of the series.”

I hope Kyrie Irving didn’t see what Anthony Edwards said after game 7 and see it as trash talk. And I’m not sure how Charles Barkley saw it that way either. If anything, Ant made a mistake because by giving away his plans to cover Irving because it clearly changed his mindset entering the series.

Media creating narratives for Minnesota Timberwolves vs Dallas Mavericks

Like, "Oh s---, all eyes are going to be on me and the new face of the NBA. I need to prove I’m still a superstar, and at the least, not allow him to embarrass me." That might not have been the words that fell out of Kyrie Irving’s mouth, because Chuck and the others were too busy putting words in his mouth for him, but that’s how the above clip comes off to me.

Once he found out Anthony Edwards was his matchup, he knew he had to bring it, and he did. But all this nonsense that Ant called him out is just media-created propaganda. There’s a reason why ESPN and TNT aren’t showing the clip of Ant’s interview today (the first video above), as they try to create this controversy.

Because once you actually see the clip, most right-minded individuals would realize that Edwards didn’t call Irving out at all. He just made a dumb mistake, from a competitive edge standpoint. He destroyed any matchup surprises the Wolves might have had, entering game one.