There could already be a new challenger coming for Steph Curry’s long-distance shooting crown, and his name is Anthony Edwards.
Only one night removed from Curry breaking Ray Allen’s all-time 3-pt shots made record, Edwards put on a shooting clinic in the Timberwolves’ 124-107 victory over the Nuggets, draining 10 3-pointers against the Nuggets’ Wednesday night and became the youngest player in NBA history to make that many threes in one game. He was 10-14 from behind the arc and shot over 66 percent from the field overall.
Not only was it a record-setting performance, but Edwards did it with efficiency.
That wasn’t the only record Edwards had in his crosshairs this game. He also became the seventh player in league history to score 2,000 points in his first 100 games at 20 years old or younger. Talk about coming in hot; Edwards has done that and more. He averaged 19.3 ppg in his rookie year last year, and is already over 22 ppg this season. It looks like this kid is going to be one of the more prolific scorers of this next generation of NBA stars.
Fans in Minnesota haven’t been excited about the T-Wolves for quite a few years, and it feels like Edwards is ushering that feeling back into this organization. Not only does he have the game, but he also brings personality. Karl-Anthony Towns is an outstanding player, but it doesn’t feel like his numbers impact winning how they should. Minnesota’s made the playoffs just once since Towns was drafted in 2015. And that’s the only playoff appearance for this franchise since they lost the Western Conference finals in 2004.
Saying there’s been a lack of enthusiasm around the Timberwolves over the past decade-plus would be an understatement. Edwards is doing his best to bring back that feeling from when Kevin Garnett was running the show in Minnesota. Soon enough, Edwards will be the man (even if he didn’t know who A-Rod was last year) on this team, regardless if Towns is still around or not. We know it’s about winning, but the NBA is also about stars, and Edwards has that ‘it’ factor and quality that most players lack.
Minnesota is 13-15 right now, sitting in ninth place in the Western Conference. I can see this team making the play-in, and from there, who knows. The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Golden State Warriors in the play-in last season, and that seemed to be somewhat of a launching pad into this year, where they’re currently fourth out West. Look out for Edwards and these new-look Timberwolves. They could be making some real noise very soon.
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