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Dwyane Wade and More Left Stumped as Anthony Edwards Repeats Kobe Bryant’s 40-Point History

Published 05/05/2024, 12:02 AM EDT

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The NBA world is awestruck at the performance delivered by Anthony Edwards, who has given the Denver Nuggets a Game 1 home loss in the Western Conference Semi-Finals. Mile-high basketball got demolished by Ant-Man, who dropped 43 points to beat the Nuggets, 106-99. And as usual, the comparison with Michael Jordan has started again, but this time it came from a Los Angeles Lakers legend. Moreover, NBA champions Dwyane Wade and Paul Pierce also had a few words to describe Edwards’ one-man show on Saturday. 

Edwards is the only player in the NBA after Kobe Bryant to record back-to-back 40-point games in the playoffs at the age of 22 or younger. He dropped 40 points in Game 4 against the Phoenix Suns previously. Bryant recorded this stat in 2001 against the Sacramento Kings. 23 years later, Edwards has joined the conversation. Looking at this historic feat, Miami Heat icon Dwyane Wade had only one word to describe Edwards. 

Wade tweeted, DIFFERENT, followed by Paul Pierce, who shared a few words. The 2008 champion wrote on Twitter, I’m not sure what’s developing with this kid Anthony Edwards I just know I’m liking it.” Pierce wants to wait for some more time before he makes a huge claim about Edwards. But that was not the case with Metta Sandiford Artest.

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Formerly known as Ron Artest, the ex-Lakers forward shared without any hesitation, AE=MJ, comparing Ant-Man to the Chicago Bulls legend. He also added, I need his sneakers and a signed jersey. Looks like Edwards has earned a new fan now. Artest did not just join the trend of comparing the Wolves guard to MJ. He had his reasons for it, which he spoke about in a video. 

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“I understand what people are saying”: Artest after watching Anthony Edwards

Artest wanted to share the experience of watching Edwards play in a video. This was the first time he watched a full game of the 22-year-old playing. Artest said, Just watched the Minnesota and Denver game.AE is like MJ. Now I’m not going to say he is better than MJ. I’m not gonna go that far. I’m not gonna discredit the young fella…MJ is a little bit different.

USA Today via Reuters

He added, This kid Anthony Edwards looks like MJ. I understand what people are saying. It’s my first time watching a full game of Anthony…and wow…He is the real deal. This playoffs is going to be interesting.” 

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All the above appreciation has come after just Game 1 of the Conference Semi-Finals. The series is yet to get more interesting. Now, all eyes are on Edwards, but let’s wait for Game 2, to see what he has in his bag!

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Written by:

Rohan Dharmalingam

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Rohan Dharmalingam is an NBA beat writer at EssentiallySports, who extensively covers the Lakers. Be it a multimillion dollar deal breaking or a classic throwback, Rohan has covered the many themes and formats. Most notably, his coverage received a shoutout from the Purple & Gold icon Shaquille O'Neal and the rap legend 50 Cent, on Instagram.
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Edited by:

Pragya Vashisth