Remember when Anthony Edwards referred to himself as Houdini on the basketball court? Or when Patrick Beverley boldly said Edwards has a chance to be the next Michael Jordan? How about last summer when Edwards joked that if he grows two more inches he’ll be the next MJ?
Ant Man is special, but the way ESPN’s commentators seemed surprised by his greatness during Minnesota’s 130-117 Game 1 win over the Grizzlies is another example of Minnesota sports only existing in the corner of the national media’s eye.
When ESPN’s in-arena audio cut out for the entire second quarter, it was clear that the guys who took over in ESPN’s studio – Mike Greenberg, Jalen Rose and Stephen A. Smith – hadn’t seen much of Edwards and the Wolves.
This ESPN crew hasn’t watched one Timberwolves game this season outside of the Play-In. Guaranteed.
— Shahbaz Khan (@ShahbazMKhan) April 16, 2022
Congrats to all the @espn employees who saw their first complete Timberwolves game today
— Bill Walsh đź’Ž (@BillatCBS58) April 16, 2022
Edwards shredded the Grizzlies with 36 points, routinely killing Memphis rallies with big buckets. Just over three minutes into the game Edwards had already connected on three shots from 21+ feet. It was a sign of things to come as the 20-year-old kept hitting from long range, including buckets from 22, 26 and two from 25 feet out the rest of the game.
Remember how people thought he couldn’t shoot when the Wolves drafted him No. 1 out of Georgia? Turns out he’s the youngest player in NBA history to hit ten threes in a game (he did it in December against the Nuggets) and he’s knocked down 386 triples on 34.4% shooting from deep in two years in the league.
Basketball Houdini’s bag of tricks is amplified by outstanding ball-handling skills, the power of a linebacker and explosive leaping ability. The world got to see it all in Game 1, from rising above the rim for a monster dunk to numerous attacks in traffic that saw him get to the free-throw line eight times.
ESPN, did ya’ notice?
According to Stephen A. Smith, Edwards “has superstar potential written all over him.”
Quick fact check, Mr. Smith: Anthony Edwards is a superstar. You just finally noticed.
Stephen A Smith on Anthony Edwards: “this guy has superstar potential written all over him.” pic.twitter.com/4MdL9wG4at
— Jace frederick (@JaceFrederick) April 17, 2022
https://twitter.com/Hoover_Sham/status/1515432996786122752
Even after the Wolves whipped the Grizzlies, the on-court interview with Edwards was asking him about how Memphis was the team that got all the hype for their pace of play and physicality. Edwards’ response: “We the ones, Jack.”
Sure, decades of miserable basketball has given ESPN and the rest of the nation very little reason to pay attention to the Timberwolves. But it’s still sad that true basketball fans know who the league’s young stars are, regardless of where they play.
Think Minnesota basketball fans don’t know who Scottie Barnes, Evan Mobley, Darius Garland, Jordan Poole, Tyrese Haliburton, Tyrese Maxey and Cole Anthony are? Think again. But those are all players who aren’t on Ant’s level, so the fact that ESPN can sound so surprised about his game is shockingly ignorant.
If you can tell ESPN doesn’t know much about Edwards, just imagine how surprised they were to see other talent on the team besides Karl-Anthony Towns. This isn’t breaking news in Minnesota, but it’s a guarantee that Jaden McDaniels and Jarred Vanderbilt opened some eyes in Game 1 as well.
If the Wolves keep playing the way they did in Game 1, there’s a chance they could keep opening eyes the rest of this month and potentially deep into May, or maybe even June if Ant has a say about it.
