Anthony Edwards Is Taking Center Stage This Season. The Results Will Be Spectacular

The NBA is a star-driven league and each season is defined by the remarkable heights those stars achieve. In anticipation of the upcoming 2026–27 season, we chose five players we believe will write the story of this campaign—the names that will echo throughout history when we look back on everything that is to come.

First up was Jayson Tatum. Next was Victor Wembanyama. Now it’s Anthony Edwards’s turn.

Anthony Edwards contains multitudes as a player. Yet everything about his game can be summed up in one quote.

“You don't want me to pass the ball. You want me to shoot it.”

This was not a quote he gave to reporters. This was something he said to his own head coach in the middle of a game, a February win over the Clippers. Edwards took 24 shots that night, the most important of which was a game-sealing step-back three-pointer in the corner over two Los Angeles defenders. After draining it, the Timberwolves’ superstar turned around and barked at Chris Finch like the coach was Juancho Hernangómez in Adam Sandler’s Hustle. Finch had told his star guard to pass the rock after some difficult shot attempts, and a fired-up Edwards wanted him to know without a shadow of a doubt that he was not put on the court to pass. He was there to shoot.

Anthony Edwards on what he said to coach Finch:

"The play before, Finchy, when I took the midrange over two [players], he was like 'Pass the ball!'

"I just told him, like, 'You don't want me to pass the ball. You want me to shoot it.'"pic.twitter.com/Sh53fyJySJ
— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) February 27, 2026

“Me and my coach got the best relationship ever,” Edwards said afterwards. “He be right most of the time—98% of the time. He told me to pass the ball tonight, and I should have passed it, but I shot the ball instead and it went in. The basketball gods were on my side.”

One can interpret such a quote many ways. Through an unflattering lens, it’s the mindset of a ballhog. A chucker. The sort of player who views passing as a sacrificed opportunity to add to their own stats. Someone who sees teamwork as a theoretical concept better suited for those not blessed with all the natural talent in the world and a million-dollar smile.

Through the lens of someone who has watched Edwards since he was picked first in the 2020 NBA draft, however... it’s just Ant. It’s not that he hates giving up the ball, or setting the table for his teammates, or doesn’t see the use in ball movement. He simply believes that, when it comes to putting the ball in the basket, there is nobody in the world who can claim to be better. It’s the hooper’s mentality—the point of the game is to score more points than the other side, and if Edwards can do so better than anyone else, why should he give up the ball?

Knowing that about the superstar, it was no surprise when he spoke fondly of no longer having to focus on distribution after Minnesota traded for star point guard LaMelo Ball. The scorer’s mentality is not a hat Edwards puts on if his team needs it. It’s a mantra, a life ethos, something core to his very being.

Edwards wants to score. He wants to do it a lot. And he wants to do it better than anybody else.

The Timberwolves have pushed him to be more than that over these last few seasons—and he has. When Tim Connelly came to town and transformed a woebegone franchise into a serious contender by trading for the floor-raising Rudy Gobert, Edwards had to grow up quickly. Then the organization placed all their stock into the young star guard by trading his co-star (as well as the most beloved Timberwolf since KG) on the eve of the 2024–25 season. In the span of several seasons, Edwards reinvented himself several times, from a young scorer with obvious upside to a tone-setting defender and finisher to the fulcrum of a contending offense—all on a contending team good enough to make two consecutive Western Conference finals appearances.

In the process, Edwards established his place as a tier-one superstar in the NBA; an elite scorer, two-way player and dazzling personality around which an empire could be built. He can now pass out of a double team and understands the long-term benefits of settling for lay-ups sometimes instead of trying to dunk over every opponent in his path. Yet, even as his counting stats and accolades piled up, Edwards wasn’t quite able to breach the true upper crust of NBA stardom. His play, while excellent, remained a level below genuine championship cornerstones and annual first-team All-NBA members.

That’s far from a disappointment, of course. The Timberwolves are undoubtedly thrilled he’s gotten to this level (particularly in light of the organization’s deeply depressing history). But there’s another rung to climb. Minnesota is hoping the dramatic roster overhaul of the offseason will unlock Edwards and allow him to do so... which is an intimidating proposition given how good he already is.

At the ripe age of 25, Edwards has two second-team All-NBA selections to his name and averaged 28.8 points per game last time out (while battling injuries for the first time ever). In his current stage of evolution, the Georgia product has turned himself into an elite three-point shooter (Edwards’s 39.9% from deep tied for first among all players who averaged at least eight three-pointers per game) to pair with the slashing skills he made his bread with to start his career. He’ll be the first to admit the defense can come and go depending on how much offensive responsibility he has to carry, but we saw Edwards boasts the desire and skill to play lockdown defense in the postseason numerous times.

How good can Anthony Edwards be with LaMelo Ball setting the table? | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

If Edwards never got better, he’d annually stake a strong claim to the best shooting guard in the NBA. He’d even come close to doing justice to all those Dwyane Wade comparisons that get thrown around at peak hype train speed. The Timberwolves’ roster over the last three years has forced the star guard to explore parts of his game well outside his comfort zone. He took ownership of that well enough to win five playoff series in three seasons. But despite that representing literally the greatest stretch in franchise history, Minnesota decided to change everything. The onus will be on Edwards to make it work.

He’ll now largely operate in his areas of strengths rather than spreading himself thin. What will the end result be? Can he ratchet up the defense with less energy needed for offensive playmaking? Is there really scoring talent still to be unlocked by playing with a truly elite point guard for the first time in his career?

Nobody knows the answers to these questions for certain but the Timberwolves are gambling Edwards will prove them right. That he’ll dedicate himself entirely to what makes him great with a lesser burden to shoulder offensively, even if it cost nearly the entire frontcourt. That his dazzling grin and immediate instinct to lighten the mood will carry the franchise through a period of significant transition.

Which could fail catastrophically! Completely reconfiguring a roster, from play style to locker room chemistry, is an incredibly risky game in a business that grows awfully risk-averse when a successful formula is found. It could also cement Minnesota’s place as a contender for years to come. It’s a turning point that we’ll look back on, for both the superstar guard and his team.

The only thing we know for sure: it will be spectacular no matter what. That’s the kind of player Edwards is. Win or lose, succeed or fail, he’ll put on a show. And this season, he will take center stage like never before.

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