It’s just after 9 a.m. ET on the Thursday after Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals and as has seemingly been the case for most of the past month, Anthony Edwards is on my television.
I’m only half-listening, but ESPN’s Get Up is debating the latest Edwards-related controversy. Admittedly, I don’t really know what it is. Something involving his postgame comments and Mike Conley Jr.?
After doing some more digging, this doesn’t actually seem like much of a controversy; in fact, Edwards expressing that he let the 37-year-old Conley down in the Timberwolves’ series defeat at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder seems pretty benign, even if how he framed it was admittedly strange. But even in the dog days of the NFL offseason, topics must be debated. And on this particular Thursday morning, Edwards downplaying his personal disappointment after a postseason exit will have to suffice.
That’s been par for the course this postseason, which has officially cemented the 23-year-old Edwards’ status as an NBA take magnet. Such headlines have included the Georgia product declining to speak to the media, Stephen A. Smith referring to his performance as “inexcusable,” Kendrick Perkins proclaiming that he needs a wife and kids to be the face of the NBA and him disputing that he struggled in a game in which he clearly did.
And that’s just been the last week alone.
While it’s hardly uncommon for a high profile player to take center stage as his team advances in the playoffs, there’s something about Anthony Edwards that allows ESPN’s talking heads to truly embrace debate. You don’t hear them talk this way about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tyrese Haliburton, Jalen Brunson or even Jayson Tatum. In fact, outside of LeBron James, there might not be a current NBA player better equipped at helping fill airtime than Ant.
As our Brendon Kleen laid out earlier this month, Edwards is uniquely positioned to to be the new face of the NBA, even if that’s a status he has publicly dismissed. He’s young, talented, charismatic and no stranger to the tabloids. Factor in that his approval rating seems to range between top-10 player and the next iteration of Michael Jordan and it’s easy to see why he’s become a morning show producer’s dream.
It’s also worth noting that for all of Edwards’ sizzle, there has also been plenty of substance, as this marks the second consecutive season that the Timberwolves’ season has ended in the Western Conference Finals. And while plenty will surely change over the course of what is expected to be one of the craziest offseasons in NBA history, all indications are that Minnesota remains on an upward trajectory. And that means the conversation surrounding its franchise player is only just getting started.