Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards was named the 2026 NBA All-Star Game MVP on Sunday after leading the USA Stars to a championship in the new round-robin tournament format. Edwards scored a total of 32 points in 26 minutes played over the USA Stars’ three games.

On Monday morning’s edition of First Take, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith made a bold statement about Edwards.

“Ant-Man is gonna be the face of the NBA,” Smith said about Edwards once LeBron James retires. “Mark it down.”

“Ant-Man is gonna be the face of the NBA.”@stephenasmith thinks Anthony Edwards will be the face of the league once LeBron James retires 👀 pic.twitter.com/VvLs91Q4xC

— First Take (@FirstTake) February 16, 2026

“(Victor) Wembanyama, the brother’s special,” Smith said to ESPN NBA analysts Brian Windhorst and Kendrick Perkins. “But that damn Ant-Man. I mean, he is something to behold. He is Jordan-esque. He hasn’t won yet; that’s why we can’t say that. But his game, the purity of it, the handle, the shot, the athleticism, the swag. Ant-Man, he don’t believe it, but his boy Stephen A. gonna tell it to him. You got it all, dog. You got it all.”

“A lot of people can’t relate to somebody seven-feet-five,” Smith explained regarding Wembanyama. “It’s like, he’s seven-feet-five. We can never do that. We can’t be that. It’s just an anomaly. Ant-Man is just like, it’s just like Steph (Curry). The baby-faced assassin. Damn, look at size, and he’s doing what he’s doing. Look at Ant-Man, and he’s doing what he’s doing.”

“31.9 points per game in the 20 games against the 16 (NBA) teams that currently have winning records,” Smith continued. “59 percent on 71 shots, on clutch shots, this season, the best mark among 44 players who have attempted at least 35 shots. Six playoff series- Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, (Nikola) Jokić, Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, Luka Dončić, Steph Curry. Ant-Man has won four of those six series.”

“The brother’s coming,” Smitih elaborated, with the yelling increasing. “He’s special, ladies and gentlemen. Even if he don’t want to admit it. I’m doing it for him… Ant-Man is going to be the face of the NBA. Mark it down. Wembanyama’s right there with him. Might win before, for all we know. But Ant-Man is going to be right there. He is spectacular. Box office. Money. My favorite player; him and Steph Curry. My favorite players in the NBA. Spectacular. I love Ant-Man. Worth the price of admission. All day, every day. Somebody’s gotta tell him. So, I’m telling him.”

Edwards is third in the NBA in scoring at 29.3 points per game, while putting together career-bests in field goal percentage (49.3%) and three-point percentage (40.2%) so far this season. The 24-year-old is undoubtedly one of the most exciting players in the NBA and is an ascending talent. And to Smith’s point, Edwards’ game has a Jordan, Kobe Bryant-esque feel to it from the shooting guard position. His swagger and personality have even carried over to the big screen with an acting role in the 2022 Adam Sandler-led film Hustle.

With that being said, Wembanyama would currently seem to be the best bet at being the next face of the NBA. Wemby is still only 22 years old and has an unprecedented ceiling with his mind-blowing skillset on both ends of the floor out of a 7’5″ frame. We’ve never seen anything like him, and as the San Antonio Spurs continue to grow and improve, Wemby is likely to become a massive global star who will wow NBA fans.

In the end, it might just come down to who wins the championships. Edwards and Wembanyama are each in search of their first. There’s also reigning NBA MVP and Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but the absolutely loaded Oklahoma City Thunder might prevent SGA from standing out to the “face of the league” territory. And there’s Jokić to consider, who should get more attention than he does as the best player in the NBA and three-time league MVP. Cooper Flagg and a plethora of young talent across the league (as well as the incoming draft class) could enter the mix as well.