NBA Scout Praises Wolves' Anthony Edwards: 'Pure Hooper...Really Cares About Winning'
Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star guard Anthony Edwards is on the ascent, and multiple people within the NBA expect huge things out of him moving forward.
ESPN's Tim Bontemps polled 15 anonymous NBA scouts, coaches and executives, and among the questions he asked them was which player will be the best in the NBA five years from now.
Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Dončić was the top pick with six votes, but Edwards finished second with three votes.
A Western Conference scout explained the decision to vote for Edwards, saying: "He enjoys the game. He's a pure hooper, and now I like the trajectory he's showing in his maturity. I've seen things I really like from his competitiveness. He really cares about winning. If he keeps this up, I'm very excited."
Much was expected of the Timberwolves entering last season, and it was largely due to the acquisition of center Rudy Gobert from the Utah Jazz, and the grand plans to pair him with Karl-Anthony Towns.
Gobert had a down year and Towns was limited to 29 games due to injury, but the T-Wolves still squeaked into the playoffs as the No. 8 seed thanks primarily to the play of Edwards.
Selected No. 1 overall in the 2020 NBA draft, Edwards has shown marked improvement in each of his three NBA seasons.
Last season, Ant set new career highs with 24.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He also shot a career-best 45.9 percent from the field and 36.9 percent from beyond the arc.
Edwards was even better in five playoff games against the eventual Western Conference champion Denver Nuggets, averaging 31.6 points, 5.2 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.8 steals.
The positive momentum created during the 2022-23 campaign carried over to the offseason for Edwards, as he was Team USA's best player at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, leading the squad with 18.9 points per game.
Edwards will need more from his supporting cast next season in order for Minnesota to improve upon a first-round playoff loss, but if he continues on his current path, he could be the cornerstone who the Timberwolves build around for many years to come.
