"We were talking trash to each other" - Anthony Edwards hopes to silence Rudy Gobert with Olympic gold
For the second straight summer, Anthony Edwards is suiting up for Team USA in international competition. As the knockout stage gets ready to begin, he opened up about facing off against one of his NBA teammates.
Aside from Edwards, Rudy Gobert is the only other member of the Minnesota Timberwolves playing in the Summer Games. He is representing the host country this year, France.
Team USA has been viewed as the heavy favorite to win, but France is considered arguably their biggest competition. When asked about squaring off against Gobert, Anthony Edwards said the trash talk between them started last season.
“I talked to [Gobert] when I first got here, but we are competing against each other,” Edwards said. “We ain’t talking. He knows I want to [play against him]. It means a lot [for him]. He loves playing every year for France. He looks forward to it.
“Midseason we were talking trash to each other. I am looking forward to playing against France.”
Edwards and Team USA have their quarter-final matchup on Tuesday, facing off against Brazil. Gobert will also be in action that day, as France has a much tougher matchup in Canada.
How has Anthony Edwards played for Team USA thus far?
In the FIBA World Cup last summer, Anthony Edwards was the focal point of Team USA's offense. Even though that isn't the case in the 2024 Olympics, the All-Star guard is still putting together impressive outings.
Sharing the floor with the likes of LeBron James and Kevin Durant has not stopped Edwards from leaving his mark on games. In the Group Phase round, he posted averages of 16.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists.
Anthony Edwards came out of the gates slow, but has gradually improved throughout the tournament. He started things off by going for 11 points in the opening matchup against Serbia. Edwards then followed that up by scoring 13 points in Team USA's blowout win over South Sudan.
As the knockout round gets ready to begin, Edwards is coming off his best performance of the Olympics. In their latest win over Puerto Rico, he erupted for 26 points on stellar 11-for-15 shooting.
Edwards has played an important role for Steve Kerr in these Olympics, being a microwave scorer off the bench. Having stars like him in the second unit is what has made the United States so hard to keep up with. Even if the first unit manages to keep pace, the momentum completely swings when the benches come in.
With every game being an elimination game now, Edwards will have to try and build off his latest outing. If he can continue to come alive off the bench, Team USA should have an easy path to securing a gold medal.