“It’s Tough”: Anthony Edwards Claims FIBA World Cup Embarrassment With Team USA Helped Him In Game 1 Vs Nuggets

There was a shift in dominance at the Ball Arena tonight, as the Timberwolves ousted the Nuggets in the first game of the second-round series. The home team saw heavy performances by Nikola Jokic and Michael Porter Jr, posting 32 and 20 points, respectively. However, Anthony Edwards went ballistic on the defending champions, churning out more points than minutes on the court (43 points in 42 minutes)! Moreover, he shot an excellent 58% from the field (17 of 29 shots). After the game, he gave a ‘big shoutout’, unexpectedly remembering his national team.

When asked about the reason behind Edwards’ high-scoring game, Antman said “It’s tough” while giving credit to Denver’s “team, their crowd” and the “altitude” and applauding his teammates. However, when asked to look back at his 2023-24 playoff surge, Edwards cited, “Nothing man, I’m putting work this summer. Big shoutout to USA Team man, they got me ready for the season and I appreciate that man.”

Anthony Edwards represented Team USA in the 2023 FIBA World Cup during the previous off-season. He was part of a young lineup, as superstars across the league stepped back from partaking in the global tournament to give them ample rest before the 2023-24 NBA season. Edwards was part of the team’s core and started in all eight games. Even though USA failed to garner a medal, losing to Canada, turned out to be a huge learning curve for Edwards.

The 22-year-old, who was coming out of his best NBA season, learned key leadership lessons and was USA’s leading scorer with 18.9 points per game. Now, as the Wolves dominate to a 5-0 playoff start, it seems like many of those skills and preparedness have translated into Edwards’ post-season performances.

Anthony Edwards’ playoff stats this season

Anthony Edwards broke the barriers to his potential this year. He posted 25.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 79 games this campaign, which is regarded as his break-out season – an arrival party of sorts. However, he has ramped up his production during the intensity of the playoffs.

With the recent win over the defending champions, Ant now averages 33.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game from 5 winning stints. Moreover, he has emerged as a clear leader for the Wolves, despite the presence of Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert.

A lot of that can be transcribed from his young hops and fuel to climb up the superstar ladder. It could have been directed by conditioning and mentorship by some of the biggest coaching names during his brief Team USA stint.

Additionally, it seems like Anthony Edwards learned a lesson or two about endurance as well since he has elevated his shooting touch from all areas of the floor during the post-season. Apart from improvements in steals, blocks, free throw shooting, and frequency of turnover, Ant is also shooting 53.2% from the field – as opposed to 46.1% in the regular season. The same reflects on his 3-point shot, which went from 35.7% to 43.6% over.

The Wolves will expect to repeat Game 1’s success in Denver before inviting the champs to battle on their homecourt for Game 3 on May 10.