NBA
Charles Barkley on Anthony Edwards’ regression: “He’s taking too many threes”
Joe Lyons is a sports writer and basketball expert for Basketball Insiders. Joe has a keen eye for the betting markets within the NBA and a great passion for the game of basketball. also been published by Nottingham Forest FC, working with the academy and senior teams to produce content on matchdays. He formerly covered the Premier League and EFL as an on-site reporter during the 2020/21 season for Prost International. He is an expert in a range of other sports including soccer, horse racing darts and American football. Joe specialises in long form SEO content alongside news, tips and betting.
All posts by Joe LyonsUpdated03 Jan 2025
NBA legend and Inside The NBA star Charles Barkley believes Anthony Edwards’ regression is because of over-reliance on threes.
Chuck tells Edwards he’s taking too many threes: “He’s not aggressive enough”
Anthony Edwards is only 23-years-old. Through his first four years in the league, he’s tallied two All-Star appearances alongside All-NBA Second Team honors last season.
In his rookie season, he averaged 19.3 points a game – upped to 21.3 in his sophomore year, 24.6 in his third campaign and a career-best 25.9 in 2023-24.
In 2024-25 however, his scoring has taken a slight dip to an average of 24.5 points a night and the Minnesota Timberwolves are hovering around the .500 mark instead of challenging for the West.
Viewed as one of the future faces of the league after a promising run to the Western Conference Finals last year, many expected Edwards to continue his ascension within the sport – but his game appears to have regressed.
In Thursday’s loss to Boston, Jayson Tatum limited Edwards to 15 points on 5/16 shooting and he looked to have a hard time dealing with the various coverages Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla threw at him.
Barkley, an MVP winner with 11 All-Star nods across a decorated 16-year career in the league, explained why he thinks Edwards hasn’t hit the heights we thought he would:
“I actually think Anthony Edwards has regressed. he’s become an outside shooter. He’s not aggressive like he was last year… He’s taking too many threes in my opinion. He’s such a terrific player.
“I actually think Anthony Edwards has regressed”
Chuck isn’t a fan of Ant’s three-point volume this year 🫣 pic.twitter.com/rtgRjD95Bm
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 3, 2025
As per the best online sportsbooks, Minnesota are a distant +1200 shot to win the conference this year and they’ll need to see a dramatic improvement in form to make a real challenge.
Following the defeat, Edwards told reporters he was frustrated by the way teams are double teaming him – a process made much easier for his opponents following the departure of stretch big Karl Anthony-Towns to the New York Knicks.
He explained it wasn’t how he wanted to play, saying he is ‘wired to score the ball’ – and it appears he still has plenty of work to do to adapt his game and help the Timberwolves.
