Wolves star Anthony Edwards believes he’s ready to make his Kia MVP case

The last time an American player conquered the NBA’s MVP award was back in 2018, when James Harden still played for Houston. Even though this league was first created by Canadian James Naismith, it has been a sport dominated by the United States, all the way from New York to Los Angeles. 

However, the accolade has been dominated by European stars for the last six seasons, which is why this year a certain player hopes to be the one the returns the crown to an American athlete. We are talking about Anthony Edwards, despite the fact that three-time winner Nikola Jokic keeps pulling off amazing displays, just like last night’s epic triple-double (29-18-16) against Brooklyn.

The young wolf has been endorsed by his own boss, as Minnesota president Tim Connelly believes his All-Star forward has a chance to become the game’s best-ever player. “I think he’s right,” Ant responded recently.

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The 23-year-old had an experience this summer that catapulted him into another level of competition. During Team USA’s Olympic run, he spent time like a sponge around his idol Kevin Durant, plus some of the best of all time like LeBron James and Stephen Curry.

“Playing against the best players in the world in practice all summer, that was the best thing for me,” he said after winning the gold medal in Paris, as Edwards has certainly proved himself this start of the 2024-25 season, showing a lot of development from his shots from range.

“I want to be whatever the team needs me to be,” said Edwards, as he’s become third in the league in total three-point attempts (61) with an impressive shooting 41.5% overall from the deep. “whether it’s scoring, passing, defending, getting rebounds, showing everyone I’m coachable.”

Ant knows he has to put in the work. “Go out on the court and just believe it. I’ve seen a lot of guys who have a chance to be really great at this game but they just don’t believe it,” he assured. “Some guys put the work in but don’t believe it, some guys believe it but don’t put the work in. I believe it and put the work in. If it don’t happen, it doesn’t, if it do, it does.”

Timberwolves expect to maximize Anthony Edwards’ potential this campaign with Karl-Anthony Towns’ trade to the Knicks

Karl-Anthony Towns was involved in what probably became the biggest trade of the summer, as he landed in New York to become into the next star of the Knicks. Ever since the news surfaced, reports have been suggesting that the Wolves are hoping to maximize Anthony Edward’s potential with this trade.

Ever since the start of Minnesota’s season, Ant has been surrounded by more offensive power with new arrivals Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, plus a future first-round pick from the Detroit Pistons. The Athletic‘s Jon Krawczynski explains what was the Timberwolves organization’s train of thought.

“The Wolves made the deal to maximize Edwards’ window for the long haul, team sources told The Athletic,” he wrote. “The Wolves wanted to make sure Edwards could be on a competitive playoff team for much longer than just the next two years and believe the flexibility this move provides will aid that pursuit. Dealing Towns also could help them retain Reid, a wildly popular player in Minnesota who could be a free agent next summer.”

The Wolves hope to gain more flexibility in shaping their squad around the young superstar. “As the Timberwolves analyzed their cap situation and looked at the landscape across the league, it was getting harder and harder for the Wolves to see a scenario where they could keep this team intact beyond this season,” the reporter added.