Anthony Edwards is introduced in Netflix’s ‘Starting 5’ at the end of episode one.
“Yeah, I want to cook LeBron one-on-one, like, who don’t? If you say you don’t, you don’t want to compete,” the 23-year-old boldly states.
Edwards is one of the most exciting young players in the NBAAP
The supremely confident — and talented– Minnesota Timberwolves guard is one of five NBA players (along with LeBron James, Jimmy Butler, Jayson Tatum, and Domantas Sabonis) featured in the new docuseries that follows the lives of five NBA superstars throughout last season.
‘Ant-Man’, however, is perhaps the most interesting case study of them all.
During episode two, the rising basketball star is labeled as the next face of the NBA.
“He’s fun to watch, he’s cocky, he’s brash, but he backs it up,” ESPN’s Ramona Shelbourne says.
“People say that I’m going to be the face of the league, it’s cool,” Edwards nonchalantly comments. “If you know me you know I just want to go out there and compete.”
Moments later, the young phenom is billed as the heir apparent to Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan.
“When I see Anthony Edwards I see MJ. Michael Jordan,” Stephen A. Smith narrates as side-by-side footage shows how similar the pair play.
Ant’s natural charisma, fierce trash-talking and proclivity for explosive dunks make the MJ comparison an obvious one, although he claims he has a better three ball than Mike.
Boston Celtics legend Kevin Garnett, who played against Jordan, also sees the similarities.
“I saw that same fire, that same delivery,” KG says in episode two.
Jordan transcended basketball in the ’90s and paved the way for stars like EdwardsGetty
Garnett sees many similarities in Edwards and Jordan’s gameGetty
“If you go back and you pair their dunks up, they were finishing [hard] in the rim.
“Just going in and taking respect.”
Garnett isn’t the only one who sees it.
Trishtan Williams, one of the directors of the series who spent last season observing Edwards behind-the-scenes, sees a lot of the Bulls legend in ‘Ant-Man’.
“He’s going to be the next Michael Jordan,” says Williams. “He’s a machine. He does not mind working out all day long.”
“Mike was able to cultivate a younger generation with his smile, the way you never saw Mike frown, or tell a kid no,” another voice says in the documentary.
“You see Anthony Edwards, you see him in an interview, you just can’t help but like him. He has charisma oozing out of his pores.”
Edwards is a fierce dunker, just like MJGetty
He’s also a great trash-talker like JordanGetty
Air Jordan himself said he sees the similarities in their game.
“I reached out to the GOAT, Michael Jordan,” First Things First co-host Chris Broussard said last year.
“Jordan said there are similarities in their games, and he agreed, so if Jordan says there are similarities, there are similarities.”
Edwards has also paid homage to the GOAT before.
Last year, he explained that MJ was the only player “that really had skill” from past generations, prompting a fierce rebuttal from Lakers icon Magic Johnson, who responded: “I don’t never respond to a guy that’s never won a championship.”
In Starting 5, Edwards once again acknowledges Jordan’s legacy while admitting he’s still got a way to go to catch the six-time champ.
“I don’t know why everybody’s comparing me to Michael Jordan,” Ant says in episode two. “It’s crazy.”
“I wish it stops because he’s done so much, and I’ve done so little.”
It’s a rare moment of humility from Edwards — minutes before he brashly states “nobody can stop me” — but one that plays down his achievements so far.
Edwards enjoyed himself in Paris and won a gold medal alongside his idolsGetty
At 23, he’s already a two-time All-Star, and was a vital member of Team USA Basketball who claimed an Olympic gold medal in Paris this summer.
He also led Minnesota to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2004 last season, before coming unstuck at the hands of Luka Doncic‘s Dallas Mavericks.
But at a similar age, Michael Jordan was already on a different planet.
In Year 4, Edwards averaged an impressive 26 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game while making the All-Star team.
In Jordan’s fourth year in the NBA, he averaged a staggering 35 points per game, 5.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 3.2 steals per game while winning MVP and Defensive Player of the Year.
However, it wasn’t until his seventh year in the league (1991), when he was 28, when he won his first championship.
Edwards may never reach the dizzying heights Jordan did.
But, he’s on a similar early trajectory, and part of a loaded T-Wolves team widely expected to contend for a title this season.
