Anthony Edwards Trajectory

[eyeatoma]

He's shaping up to be a better version of Kobe. Still not a top 5 player, but he might get there.

What?????

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Did I stutter?

Clearly...

[life_saver]

People saying that he can't be a offensive hub...have you watched him this playoffs? Just rewatch last 2 games and you'll see how great his playmaking has been. Dude has taken his playmaking to nest level in this playoffs.

[life_saver]

The thing about Ant is that he will add new things to his game in such a short span. He is 22 and only in his 4th season and I am amazed at how many things he has added and improved just in span of 3 years. His playmaking and decision making also have improved so much over the last year

[Exp0sed]

yes, that's a fair assesment
peak Wade is his likely trajectory, ANT has been durable so far in his career that's the big question with guys as athletic as ANT - can their bodies hold up? so far so good

[life_saver]

Ant's RS numbers don't tell the entire story. He tries some fancy stuff during RS which affects his efficiency like there was a stretch this year where he was obsessed with bank shots and was attempting even bank 3's until one finally fell..not to mention he is one of the few players who doesn't hesitate launching half court heaves end of Qtr and doesn't care about protecting 3 pt %. In some games against bad teams, he is just content with others on the team taking care of scoring and if the game is close in 3rd Qtr, he starts playing more engaged. There were some games in RS against bad teams where he barely had 7-8 shot attempts. Which is why I don't know whether Ant can become a perennial MVP candidate. I think there will be 1-2 seasons where Ant goes all in and gives full effort during every game just for the sake of winning MVP and if he wins one, he will probably be back to normal in RS

[eyriq]

He looks legit AF. Very fun and likable player.

[shi-woo]

Wade and Kobe are the only comps here. Anything else, and you're talking about players who he's already reached their level, or clearly will at some point in the near future.

As a Celtic fan I can say with pride that Ant right now is already on the level of Pierce at a similar age, and Pierce imo is the most under rated player of his generation, Top 10 for sure. Paul was limited in his athletic ability, Ant won't be, so he projects to be a better player than Pierce. Wade and Kobe are the only players in that time that I would take above Paul on the perimeter/guard spot.

Ant has shown his improved passing, solid IQ (didn't force anything so far this series), great driving ability, and is already a reliable shooter. Oh and HE PLAYS DEFENSE. I don't think he's a psychopath like Kobe, and won't be that selfish to get to that level, but he certainly can reach Wade.

Ant has already shown that he isn't scared of the moment, and Finch has him playing in a team construct. That's ridiculously rare given the talent he has and on his team. It means he's coachable, which means he'll continue to learn and get better.

I think after this year we can start talking about putting him in the Top 10 players in the league, and then after that, like Tatum it will be about how much you can win once you're there. The crazy part though, is if he does it in Minny...watch out All you need is 1 in Minny to cement yourself as a bonafide LEGEND

Love Ant Man and hope he does it. Favorite non Celtic player since Pierce retired, easy.

[HMFFL]

He isn’t offensive hub like Doncic/Lebron/Jokic. More like Wade/Durant/Tatum/Kawhi attacking mode. So his potential is around 4-8th man in the league.

A 22 year old Lebron James was still finding his stroke. He was always on attack mode for the easy buckets at his size and strength compared to his opponent.

Next season will give us a much better indication of who Anthony Edwards will be. I believe this postseason is exactly what he needed and he's showcasing his talent.

I believe Edwards will be far superior to Wade, who seems to be mentioned often in this thread, but time will tell.

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[firedavidkahn]

TBH I think Tatum is a fair ceiling at this point. To date, he's yet to have a truly elite volume scoring performance, even in this era; he averaged 26/5/4 on 57 TS% this year. He seems to rise during the playoffs, but I don't see anywhere near the all-around playmaking IQ of a Dwyane Wade or Michael Jordan or Kobe TBH, and he seems to also lack the nuance of skill. But like Tatum, he' in a situation where his organization has had a run of competence that eventually helped him a lot. Like, how would 2019-2023 healthy Dame look on this team instead of Ant? He's essentially a far better passer and a far better shooter while being someone that can average 30/5/8 on 63 TS%. His efficiency is about 5% worse than Luka's, and he's a far, far worse playmaker and a far less consistent volume scorer. His free throw rate is not yet elite. Ant is scoring less points on worse efficiency than prime/peak wade even *without* considering the relative TS% rank. Wade was averaging 30/5/7.5 on 58 TS% with elite defense in 2008-2009. Ant, even in this era where the average TS% is around 57-58 TS%, is averaging 25/4/5 on 57 TS% while being a worse defender and playmaker than Wade. Wade's equivalent TS% is like 62 TS%, and he would probably be even more dominant today. People gotta remember, Wade was like a top 5 player when LeBron was the GOAT, cp3 was incredible and Kobe was still around. Even 34 year old Kobe averaged 27/5/6 on 58 TS%, which is still clearly better than Ant *before* considering the differences in how easy it is to score now.

Like I said, he kind of reminds me of Tatum; a player that the league somewhat force feeds to give us a prototypical star. The Tatum hype has been so crazy that there were people who seriously considered him to be a better player than Luka. Ant is a top 20 guy right now. He's s0meone who's on a low-key stacked team that doesn't appear to be stacked because there aren't the most obvious marquee names. But Rudy Gobert is the likely DPOY (deservingly) on the best defense in the league, KAT is a big man averaging 22/8/3 on 63 TS%. Naz Reid a 6MOY candidate. Mike Conley averaging 11 ppg on 63 TS% as a super savvy veteran... just goes on and on. I think ANT has top 1% athleticism, above average skill, decent IQ. But I see him as a top 20 player now, a top 10 player at best, and even that would need a big jump as he wasn't all that close this year.

Trust me bro, the NBA is NOT force feeding anything coming from Minnesota. Everything you see is because Ant is taking it

[thinktank]

People don’t understand how important defense is.

[Tomtolbert]

He isn’t offensive hub like Doncic/Lebron/Jokic. More like Wade/Durant/Tatum/Kawhi attacking mode. So his potential is around 4-8th man in the league.

A 22 year old Lebron James was still finding his stroke. He was always on attack mode for the easy buckets at his size and strength compared to his opponent.

Next season will give us a much better indication of who Anthony Edwards will be. I believe this postseason is exactly what he needed and he's showcasing his talent.

I believe Edwards will be far superior to Wade, who seems to be mentioned often in this thread, but time will tell.

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That's quite a statement. There aren't many players in NBA history who I'd say were "far superior" to Wade.

[SpreeS]

He isn’t offensive hub like Doncic/Lebron/Jokic. More like Wade/Durant/Tatum/Kawhi attacking mode. So his potential is around 4-8th man in the league.

A 22 year old Lebron James was still finding his stroke. He was always on attack mode for the easy buckets at his size and strength compared to his opponent.

Next season will give us a much better indication of who Anthony Edwards will be. I believe this postseason is exactly what he needed and he's showcasing his talent.

I believe Edwards will be far superior to Wade, who seems to be mentioned often in this thread, but time will tell.

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That's quite a statement. There aren't many players in NBA history who I'd say were "far superior" to Wade.

Exactly

[Wolveswin]

Too many in this thread speak of Edwards as if he is fully baked. He is 22. But a raw 22yo basketball player. Do we not all remember the draft, he was talking maybe he would be a better football player? I mean, kid is about to be #1 overall in NBA draft and he thinks a whole different sport might be his calling.

Now that he seems to embrace he is legit NBA star with superstar in his sights - he is ascending fast. He is taking this raw superstar talent and making himself a superstar basketball player.

[cupcakesnake]

With all the Wade comparisons, I do want to remind people that Ant is the same age Wade was in his rookie season.

Ant doesn't quite have Wade's "Flash" first step. That thing was one of the greatest physical weapons in NBA history. Ant has all the rest of the mobility, is physically bigger/stronger, and shoots the ball much better than Wade ever did.

It will be interesting to see what Ant can do with his crazy bulk/strength as he continues to mature. At the draft combine, Ant tipped the scales at 225 pounds (12 pounds heavier than Wade who was 4 years older). Ant doesn't really have a natural post game, but it will probably be something he adds as he matures just like Wade, MJ, and Lebron all did. Right now, Ant always plays down hill and counters into pull ups. He likes to play around in the paint though, and if he can add a little post game it will make his scoring and playmaking a lot more versatile and difficult to stop.

[Hair Jordan]

His trajectory is basically Kobe Bryant with an inferior offensive game. In short, a homeless man’s Kobe or a Neanderthals man Jordan.

[shrink]

When you talk about Ant’s ceiling, keep in mind that Ant says right now he’s only 40% of what he thinks he will be!

[shrink]

It’s also interesting that no one has talked about his defense. His man-defense is so good that he got votes for All Defense last year, and will get more this season. He often asks Coach Finch for the hardest assignments. It’s rare that a young, offensively gifted rising star will work so hard on defense.

[shrink]

Man, get me started on Ant, and I can’t shut up! Ok, last one.

I may have mentioned this elsewhere, but the greatest players in league history are often just built differently psychologically. Yes, Ant has tremendous athleticism, but I have been impressed how this 22-year old kid constantly tries to dodge the media telling him he’s a superstar and defects the question to give love to his teammates.

Moreover, he WANTS to be great. At the beginning of last season, the local paper asked him what his goal was, and he said, “to be the greatest SG in NBA history.” When the reporter said, “Um .. Jordan?” he went on to say that he was chasing his boy MJ, and he’d have to work hard.

And man does he work hard! Several have said that Finch coaches him harder than any of the other players, and that’s what Ant wants. I’ve also been stunned how he constantly asks questions, then shuts up and listens! He has had big leaps in his growth, almost on a monthly basis, and he gives credit to his teammates Rubio, Conley and Gobert and the coaching staff for helping him see the game better.

I saw Jordan in his prime, so that has always been my standard for true greatness. I’ve only seen a few players that have had the potential to be truly great in the NBA. It’s an incredibly high bar, and while it’s unlikely, Ant has the chance to be truly great. We say this too often, but Ant is truly different. Enjoy.

[Kawaii Leonard]

Ant does drills doing banker shots and gives Duncan the credit for it. A rarity in this new gen, especially for the position he plays and how everyone wants to be the next mamba protege or curry chucker.

[shrink]

Ant does drills doing banker shots and gives Duncan the credit for it. A rarity in this new gen, especially for the position he plays.

And he gives credit for his slow step move to Luka Garza!

He’ll listen to anybody, current or past, HOF or guy struggling to stay in the NBA, if he thinks it will make him better!