"He's gonna be a superstar"- Charles Barkley predicts massive future for Anthony Edwards after clutch shot in Game 4
Charles Barkley believes Anthony Edwards will have a successful future in the NBA. The Minnesota Timberwolves guard has significantly improved his game this season on both ends. Edwards has carried that into the Timberwolves' 2023 NBA playoffs first-round series against the Denver Nuggets.
Anthony Edwards helped the Timberwolves avoid a series sweep by leading them to a 114-108 OT win in Sunday's Game 4 contest. He tallied 34 points, six rebounds, five assists, three blocks, and two steals. Reflecting on Edwards' rise and performance during this playoff run, Barkley said:
"Every NBA team got good players. And if you don't just go out and give maximum effort. You disrespect the other team... The only things that seperates these teams is one star or two stars.
"Every team got really good players, the difference is it's the stars... Every team got others, but they don't got stars. And Anthony Edwards, he's not gonna be a star, he's gonna be a superstar."
Anthony Edwards has evidently upstaged Karl-Anthony Towns as the Timberwolves' best player this season. That notion has only grown stronger after Edwards' playoff performances.
He has been the Timberwolves' lone bright spot, averaging 32.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 2.3 steals, and 2.0 blocks per game against the Nuggets. Edwards has shot on a 48/41/86 clip.
Meanwhile, Towns has managed only 16.3 points and 10.0 rebounds shooting on 43/28/74 splits. That's been the difference between the Timberwolves and the Nuggets, who have received contributions from across the board.
Reigning two-time MVP Nikola Jokic isn't even leading the scoring charts for the team. He is second behind Jamal Murray. The latter topped the scoring charts with 27.0 points per game until Game 3, while Jokic averaged 20.0 points.
Anthony Edwards delivers on his claim to save Timberwolves' season
Anthony Edwards had his superstar moment in Sunday's Game 4 as he came up with a clutch performance to save the Minnesota Timberwolves season. After the T'Wolves' Game 3 loss, when everyone counted them out to avoid a series sweep, Edwards claimed that it was far from over. Here's what he said:
"This series is not over. It's the first to four, not to three. I promise you it ain't over. Everyone's counting us out. It ain't over. I promise you."
Edwards delivered. He had five points and three blocks in overtime to seal the win for the Timberwolves. Edwards also hit a dagger with 11 seconds left from deep to give Minnesota a four-point lead (113-109).
ANTHONY EDWARDS.
CLUTCH.
TIMBERWOLVES LEAD BY 4 ON TNT! https://t.co/4uAadAeD1w
The former No. 1 pick has shown time and again that he is unfazed by the challenge. It will be interesting to see if he can turn the team's fortunes around with another momentum-shifting win in Game 5.