The Golden State Warriors are preparing to take on a fired up Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Anthony Edwards is looking to continue his ‘Legend killer’ reputation when the Minnesota Timberwolves being their Western Conference semi-finals with the Golden State Warriors.
After knocking out Kevin Durant last year and LeBron James this year, Stephen Curry serves as another scalp who Edwards could add to his collection.
And there is even more added motivation for Edwards too, considering his pre-draft history with the Golden State Warriors.
Photo by Harry How/Getty ImagesAnthony Edwards met with the Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors picked James Wiseman at number two in the 2020 NBA Draft ahead of LaMelo Ball at number three.
And it was later revealed the Warriors had an opportunity to trade up for Anthony Edwards, and chose not to.
Speaking to ESPN in 2023 after linking up with Steve Kerr for the first time on Team USA, Edwards reflected on his pre-draft meeting with the Warriors.
“I thought I was working hard. When he [Kerr] came, I was going through drills and he kept stopping them, like, ‘That’s all you got? That’s all you got?’
“And I’m like, ‘Bruh, I’m going hard as you want me to go. What you want me to do? I’m sweating crazy.’”
Speaking of a subsequent meeting the same evening with Kerr and then GM Bob Myers, Edwards was told a brutal crushing truth about the Warriors plans.
“He’s like, ‘Man, you’ve got to see Steph [Curry], KD and Klay [Thompson] work out. They still was continuously telling me, ‘You didn’t work hard enough. If we had the No. 1 pick, we wouldn’t take you.’ And I was just like, ‘Damn, that’s crazy.’”
Anthony Edwards was not the player the Golden State Warriors wanted, but perhaps he would not be the player we see today if not for Kerr’s harsh words.
It did not take long for Kerr’s words to resonate and spark something in Edwards, fuelling his determination to improve.
He described: “Me and my trainer riding home after dinner and we’re just talking like we got to pick it up. I don’t know how, I don’t know what we got to do, but we got to pick it up. After that. I became a madman at the gym.”
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Edwards has scored 26 points per game against the Warriors this season and it would not be a surprise to see him lift his game further in the playoffs.
This season he has been striving to improve his game, with one former Warriors star fearing, ‘you can’t really stop him’ ahead of their match-up.
More than anything, Edwards’ work ethic is at a high level, impacted positively by other teammates, while the Timberwolves strength coach believes he could play another sport if he really wanted to.
Edwards spoke during the Lakers series of his desire to improve by studying film too, and he will be giving it absolutely everything to go off against the Warriors and showcase how all of his hard work has paid off.