When Anthony Edwards claimed the All-Star MVP trophy, the Minnesota Timberwolves didn’t expect the conversations to change so quickly. During the presentation ceremony, Wolves had their ears raised when their star guard allegedly spoke about ‘playing at home’. The Atlanta native said this to Hawks star Jalen Johnson, which has become the talking point since.

Amid this, did Anthony Edwards drop an Instagram story to add fuel to the fire? “BREAKING: ANTHONY EDWARDS POSTED THIS ON HIS INSTAGRAM STORY AND THEN DELETED IT WOW.” The post on X gained over 100k views within hours, and features an Instagram story of Edwards and Hawks forward Jalen Johnson in matching blue All-Star tracksuits during practice. The caption, “My brother” with a peace emoji, and the addition of an hourglass emoji piqued people’s interest.

Is the story true? The answer is NO. A Hawks-centric account @PlayoffJohnson, shared this tweet, fueling speculation, especially amid recent rumors. The photo has a giveaway where Edwards’ Instagram id ‘theanthonyedwards_’ is misspelled to ‘theanthonyedwards___’ The fans were quick to spot this error and pointed it out. While this screenshot was fake, the story from the All-Star weekend remains true.

In a clip posted by the Atlanta Hawks, Edwards was chatting it up with Johnson after securing the All-Star Tournament Championship. As their conversation continued, Edwards covered his mouth and appeared to tell Johnson, “I can’t wait to come home.” Within minutes, the clip spread across NBA social media and sparked immediate trade speculation about a potential move to Atlanta in the 2026 offseason.

The connection to the city is pretty straightforward for Anthony Edwards. He grew up in Oakland City in Southwest Atlanta, started at Therrell High School, and then transferred to Holy Spirit Preparatory School on the north side. So, the city shaped his development long before the NBA. And the connection has stayed strong ever since.

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In 2023, he launched his AE 1 signature shoe in Oakland City, hosted a camp, unveiled a mural honoring his late mother and grandmother, and celebrated with community members, including Lil Baby. This is not the only time the 24-year-old is linked to playing for his native team.

Anthony Edwards could have been a Hawk

Two years ago, Edwards was dominating the playoffs and beat Kevin Durant and the Suns 4-0 in the first round, and needed a game 7 to over Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. Amid these performances, the link of Atlanta missing out on Wolves star guard emerged.

The X account of Everything Georgia dropped a congratulatory post, with captions, “The whole state of Georgia is rooting for Ant-Man to win it all.” However, what caught most fans’ attention was Trae Young’s comments under the post. Young wrote, “Should’ve been a Hawk to start, but that’s for another day.”

Indeed, the Hawks did have a high lottery selection during the 2020 Draft in which Edwards was selected number one overall. With him being a native Georgian, the Hawks were in the running to draft Ant. They even had favorable odds to secure a top-four pick in the 2020 draft. However, luck wasn’t on their side as they ended up with the 6th pick, opting for Onyeka Okongwu instead.

Maybe Trae Young, the former Hawks star, was hinting at the missed chance or hinting at the lack of effort from the front office for a pick swap, which meant they missed out on Anthony Edwards.