Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards reiterated his belief that today’s NBA players would have success against the previous generation.
Previously, Edwards had claimed that Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan was the only player with skill during his era, and he received a lot of backlash from people around the NBA.
Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson fired back at Edwards, dismissing the former No. 1 overall pick’s opinion since he’s yet to win an NBA title.
“Well, you know, I don’t never respond to a guy that’s never won a championship,” Johnson said. “There’s not nothing to really say. He didn’t win a college championship. I don’t even know if he won a high school championship.”
Timberwolves legend Kevin Garnett also pushed back on Edwards’ comments, but the star guard didn’t back down from the criticism.
“Edwards caught the ire of Garnett this summer after telling The Wall Street Journal that Michael Jordan was the only player with skills during his era,” ESPN’s Jamal Collier wrote. “Legends such as Isiah Thomas and Magic Johnson fired back at Edwards. Garnett took exception, too, questioning whether players of the current generation could have played in the more physically demanding game of the 1990s.
“‘You got to know what you’re talking about to be in the argument or discussion of what we’re talking about,’ Garnett said during an appearance on the ‘All The Smoke’ podcast. ‘I root for you, young fella, but know what you’re talking about, young fella, because [what] you said don’t make no sense.’
“When I bring this up on set, Edwards shifts forward in his seat. He says players such as Garnett could have played in any era but also reiterates his belief in the skill level of the current NBA; he thinks today’s players would have succeeded against the previous generation, no matter how much more physical they might have been.”
Paul George, one of Edwards’ peers in the league right now, also had some criticism for his comments about the previous NBA eras.
“I thought it was kind of disrespectful to the game,” George said. “I thought it was a very immature comment. Obviously, Anthony Edwards is super talented and is a huge talent going forward. But, just how much the game has grown and how far – you gotta pay dues to those dudes that did it before us.”
While Edwards’ opinion may not be received well by everyone, it’s clear that the Timberwolves guard has extreme confidence in his ability.
Last season, Edwards led the Timberwolves to the Western Conference Finals, knocking off the Phoenix Suns (in a sweep) and Denver Nuggets (the defending champions at the time) before losing to the Dallas Mavericks.
Edwards had an All-Star season, averaging 25.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game in the 2023-24 campaign. Now, he’s looking to repeat that success with the Timberwolves in the 2024-25 season.
Minnesota begins the 2024-25 season on Tuesday, Oct. 22 against the Los Angeles Lakers. Edwards will have a lot of eyes on him in that game, and he’ll look to prove that he was right that he could play in any era of NBA basketball.
