SUMMARY
- Anthony Edwards doesn't want to be remembered as the next Michael Jordan.
- The 22-year-old doesn't like the fact that people misinterpret his confidence as arrogance.
Anthony Edwards is certainly proving exactly why he was the No.1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Individuals who get drafted at the top spot always have expectations to be met. Unfortunately, most of them almost never live up to the hype. But this 22-year-old is slowly turning into the next big thing in the NBA.
Yes, Luka Doncic has had his moments, Nikola Jokic is currently the best player in the league, but Anthony Edwards has the GOATs worrying about this status. Especially during the 2024 NBA Playoffs, Edwards has looked extremely dominant over players like Kevin Durant, and Devin Booker, who is arguably the best shooting guard in the NBA. Edwards and his team have been making Jokic look like a washed-up veteran as well.
Anthony Edwards wants to be remembered for his success
During the first-round series versus the Phoenix Suns, Anthony Edwards was seen taunting his biggest idol, 2x NBA Champion Kevin Durant. The guard hit KD with Michael Jordan’s famous shoulder shrug, spewed verbal trash, and simply degraded the Suns as if they were a lottery team. His antics have led people to compare him to MJ himself.
In a recent interview with Malika Andrews, Edwards claimed he doesn’t like being called the “next Michael Jordan”. He said, “Yeah, for sure. They [the comparisons] need to stop.” Edwards claimed he wanted to be remembered as, “Anthony Edwards, like the first Anthony Edwards. Not the next Michael Jordan. I want people to be like, ‘This Anthony Edwards kid, he got his own style. He maybe got a mix of Michael Jordan in him.’”
Interestingly, Edwards brought out one major difference between him and Jordan. It is a fact that Edwards can shoot consistently from deep. He averages 35.3% from deep while making a little over two 3-pointers per game. Jordan only averaged 32.7% while making less than one 3-pointer per game.
Anthony Edwards thinks he is a bit misunderstood
While Anthony Edwards impressed several NBA legends of the past and present, he also managed to get a few eyebrows raised against him. According to him, people often misunderstand his confidence as arrogance. He said, “I’ve always been confident. I grew up like that playing in the backyard with my older brothers. Never being able to beat them. As I got older, I just got really good at it.”
Love how Anthony Edwards is unapologetically himself 100% of the time.
His realness makes him so different from other stars.
pic.twitter.com/CY42OJeGtv— Noel Thompson (@N0ELTHOMPSON) May 8, 2024
He added, “A lot of people be calling me cocky. I think that’s the main thing [people misunderstand about him]. They be like, ‘He’s so cocky.’ It’s not [being] cocky, it’s not arrogance. It’s just [that] I’m a confident person. I just think I’m the best at everything that I do.” Edwards has earned a lot of respect from players like LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Kevin Durant himself. The former league MVP claimed Edwards was one of his favorite players to watch.