Isiah Thomas rebukes Anthony Edwards' 'skills' comments, says 3-point shot has created the 'illusion'
Anthony Edwards has made waves with some controversial comments about the level of competition in the NBA during Michael Jordan's era in the 1990s. As he explained, although he wasn't around to watch Jordan compete in the 90s, he feels that Jordan was an anomaly for his era, and many of his peers could match his athleticism and his skills.
The comments caught the attention of Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas, who took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to weigh in, chalking Edwards' belief up to propaganda elevating Jordan's legacy.
Now, after former ESPN and Fox Sports commentator Jason Whitlock discussed the situation on his podcast, disagreeing with Anthony Edwards' claim, Isiah Thomas has weighed in once again, sharing his thoughts on the situation.
As he wrote in a follow-up post on X, the only skill that has a greater emphasis placed on it now is 3-point shooting. Because of the uptick in 3-point shooting volume, and the fact that nearly every player on the court on any given night is a 3-point threat, Thomas feels as though an illusion has been created.
"The only skill “emphasized” more is the 3-point shot, creating the illusion that the athlete and skills have magically evolved into another athletic species."
Looking back at Anthony Edwards' comments about Michael Jordan and the 90s
Anthony Edwards' recent comments sparked a slew of reactions across the NBA community. However, as he explained in his controversial statement, he wasn't around to watch Jordan and the rest of the NBA stars of the '90s.
Born in August of 2001, Anthony Edwards turned one year old heading into Jordan's final year in the NBA, where he played all 82 games for the Washington Wizards.
Despite that, he didn't shy away from speaking his mind during a recent Wall Street Journal interview where he compared eras, using Jordan and Kobe Bryant as examples:
"I didn't watch it back in the day so I can't speak on it. They say it was tougher back then than it is now, but I don't think anybody had skill back then.
"[Michael Jordan] was the only one that really had skill, you know what I mean? So that's why when they saw Kobe, they were like, 'Oh, my God.' But now everybody has skill."
In addition to the comments catching the attention of other NBA legends such as Isiah Thomas, his comments also caught the attention of pundits like Stephen A. Smith, who fired back this week in a segment for ESPN where he refuted Edwards' claims.
As other fans on social media were quick to point out, although the average NBA player nowadays may be more athletic than the average player in the 90s, athleticism isn't everything.
In recent years we've seen players like Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic make their presence felt around the league, both of whom are known for their IQ rather than their athleticism.