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Why Anthony Edwards Reminds Charles Barkley of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant

The NBA analyst sees a familiar trait in the Timberwolves' rising 22-year-old star.

Tom Dierberger

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards looks on during a playoff game against the Phoenix Suns.
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards looks on during a playoff game against the Phoenix Suns. / Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
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Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves have put the NBA on notice during their first-round playoff series against the Phoenix Suns.

After scoring a game-high 36 points in Minnesota's 126–109 win over Phoenix on Friday to take a 3–0 series lead, Edwards joined ESPN's Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter and explained his playoff mentality.

"I just want to kill everything in front of me, man," Edwards said. "That's the main thing."

NBA analyst Charles Barkley took note of that interview.

"It reminded me so much of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant," Barkley said Saturday on TNT. "They would kill you to win a game. There's not many players [like that] in today's game—everybody wants to be buddy-buddy. My Suns, clearly [the series] is over. I'm shocked they're down 3-0.

"But man, Anthony Edwards is [putting] everyone on notice: 'Yeah, I'm not going to wait for y'all to give me anything, I'm going to take it all.' And I love it."

Edwards is averaging 28.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists across three playoff games so far. He has yet to reach the second round of the postseason, but the Timberwolves can finish off the first-round sweep in Game 4 at the Footprint Center on Sunday.

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Tom Dierberger

TOM DIERBERGER