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Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards get eye-opening compliment from Kendrick Perkins

Originally posted on NBA on ClutchPoints | By Malik Brown | Last updated May 9, 2025 4:42 PM ET

The Minnesota Timberwolves were able to tie the series in Game 2 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and it was a better performance than what they had in Game 1. One of the reasons for the improved play was Anthony Edwards, who had a better outing as well in Game 2, as he finished with 20 points, nine rebounds, and five assists.

Edwards is doing more than just scoring for the Timberwolves, and that has helped the team go to the next level this season. Many have seen the steady growth of Edwards’ leadership throughout the season, including Kendrick Perkins, who recently spoke about Timberwolves’ star on NBA Today.

“[Anthony Edwards] is the best young leader in the game,” Perkins said. “He’s setting the tone not just with his scoring, but he’s setting the tone of how to play basketball the right way. He had five assists, they had 33 assists overall as a team, and when you see Anthony Edwards, he’s basically running the point guard position.

"[Anthony Edwards] is the best young leader in the game… He's setting the tone of how to play basketball the right way."

Kendrick Perkins with some HIGH praise for Ant Man

(via @ESPNNBA)pic.twitter.com/kx4VHjASh7

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“Shout out to coach Finch and the Minnesota Timberwolves because this started at the beginning of the season. He’s been the primary ball handler all season long, so he was able to work out the bumps and bruises. Now we’re watching him in this Golden State series, where you see them trapping him or whatever it may be. He’s figuring it out.”

Anthony Edwards leading Timberwolves during playoff run

Edwards has not had the best games during the Timberwolves’ playoff run, but there are other ways that he has tried to impact the game. He’s not afraid to take on any defensive assignment, he knows how to get his teammates involved, and he does other things on the floor that don’t show up on the stat sheet. The one thing that Edwards is good at is empowering his teammates, which shows how much of a leader he is.

After Game 2, Edwards gave props to Julius Randle, who was the leading scorer for the Timberwolves.

“He’s an alpha male, man. He stands out. When he plays like that, we’re hard to beat,” Edwards said.

With Edwards being able to empower his teammates and let them know he wants the best out of them, he makes the team hard to beat because they all believe in each other. At a young age, it seems like Edwards knows how to lead, and that will go a long way into the Timberwolves trying to capture a championship.

This article first appeared on NBA on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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