C. Morgan Engel/Getty Images
Even though some fans and analysts have been trying to compare Anthony Edwards’ style of play to Michael Jordan, Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coach Chris Hines invoked a different athlete from another sport as a more apt analogy.
Speaking to The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski and Joe Vardon, Hines sees elements of Mike Tyson in the way Edwards plays the game because “it’s hard to beat him” when he senses fear in an opponent.
“And I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, they f—d up. It’s over,'” Hines said. “Doesn’t matter who’s in front of him. He’s going to figure out how to lock you the f-ck up or score on you every time and annihilate your entire team.”
The Jordan comparisons are unfair at this point simply because Edwards hasn’t had the time to build a summary that can justify it. He’s only 22 and this is his first extended postseason run.
Jordan’s age-22 season was his second year in the NBA and he only played 18 games due to a broken foot. He returned the following season, kicking off one of the greatest stretches for any athlete in history when he led the league in scoring for seven straight seasons from 1986-87 to 1992-93 and winning three straight titles before his first retirement.
Edwards dismissed the comparisons to Jordan when he told ESPN’s Malika Andrews he wanted to be thought of as his own player before taking a small dig at the Hall of Famer.
“I want people to be like, ‘This Anthony Edwards kid, he’s got his own style. He’s maybe got a mix of Michael Jordan in him,'” Edwards said. “But I’ve got a trey ball, I can shoot the three. So, I think that makes me a little different than Michael Jordan.”
Tyson is an interesting comparison just because he was invincible in the ring until he went up against someone he couldn’t knock out early.
Edwards has a leg up on Tyson in that regard because the Timberwolves were backed into a corner in the Western Conference semifinals against the Denver Nuggets before responding with wins in Games 6 and 7.
A two-time All-Star, Edwards is clearly coming into his own as a superstar. He was named to the All-NBA team for the first time in his career this season. The Georgia native has the top four scoring games for a Timberwolves player in the playoffs, with three of them coming in this postseason.
If Edwards can lead a T-Wolves franchise that has spent most of its existence as an afterthought to an NBA title this season, his already-high stock is going to go through the roof.
