Grant Hill envisioned Anthony Edwards taking leap following Olympics

Grant Hill was the youngest player on the gold medal-winning 1996 U.S. Olympic men's basketball team, and the following NBA season, Hill had his best year to that point in his career, with career highs in points, assists and field-goal percentage.

Twenty-eight years later as the managing director for Team USA, Hill envisioned Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards taking a similar leap when Hill selected him as the youngest player for the Americans for the Paris Olympics.

"Ant was one of the first guys I went to see," Hill said in the latest installment of Edwards' YouTube docuseries, Year Five with Anthony Edwards. "... He wanted to do it, and we were glad he wanted to do it. And I knew we needed him, but I also felt like he would learn and that this would help him grow and help him become the player that he can become."

The Olympic opportunity for Edwards allowed him to be around some of the NBA's all-time greats like LeBron James, Steph Curry and Edwards' favorite player, Kevin Durant. Hill had a similar experience in 1996 when he was surrounded by the likes of Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, John Stockton, Karl Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon and others.

"I understood just how impactful and important that was for me, and I was only hoping the same thing would happen for Anthony," Hill said. "And so I think there's a confidence, there's a resolve. There's just a feeling like, 'I did that. We did that. I can do this over here.'"

Edwards was seemingly a sponge around James, Curry and Durant — who Hill said stood out as the three hardest workers and most consistent with their craft — and brought everything he learned back to the NBA. Earlier in the season, Edwards said he started using parts of James' pregame routine. He's said Durant has helped him with catch-and-shoot.

And it certainly seemed like Edwards learned a whole lot from Curry as Edwards finished the season at the NBA's leader in made 3-pointers. Edwards averaged a career-best 40% from 3 on a career-most 10.3 attempts per game from deep this season. Not to mention, Edwards averaged a career-best 27.6 points per game, which ranked fourth in the entire NBA.

"I think naturally with Steph and Ant, there was a mutual respect, just from afar," Hill said. "I vividly remember, Steph had his routine every day after practice, after shootaround, he got his shots up, he did his routine, and it's really a work of art to watch and to witness. I think Ant came away from that, and it's certainly shown itself this past season."

There was one more thing Edwards learned from Curry, too: how to pop a bottle of champaign.

"This might've been his first time winning something on that kind of stage," Hill said. "... Popping champaign for the first time. He had never done that, and Steph is showing him how to do it."

For his part, Edwards said the Olympic run was "probably the best experience I had playing basketball." But still, Edwards was never excited to see his Team USA teammates in the playoffs. He's already knocked James and Curry out of this year's playoffs, though Curry spent their series sidelined with a hamstring injury, which disappointed Edwards. But whether facing his old Team USA teammates or not, when it comes to the playoffs, Edwards only has one goal in mind.

"I want to beat all they a**es," he said.