The future is promised to no-one, but both Minnesota Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards and Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton are tipped for longevity at the international level as the only USA players from last summer’s World Cup squad called up to feature in Olympic play later this month as part of a stacked club under Steve Kerr. Naturally, this serves as more invaluable experience.
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ANTHONY Edwards’ tongue-in-cheek comment at a media scrum was aggregated all over social media this past week, asserting he was USA’s number one option.
“I’m still the No. 1 option. Y’all might look at it differently, I don’t. I just go out there and be myself, shoot my shots, play defense and they got to fit in to play around me.” – Edwards’ comment quickly went viral
Coming off a campaign where he spearheaded Minnesota’s unlikely charge to the Western Conference Finals, the Atlanta-born shooting guard couldn’t possibly be publicly declaring that given the perennial All-Star depth surrounding him, surely?
Well, not quite.
He admitted to some pre-match nerves before leading the team in scoring during their 86-72 exhibition win over Canada and the Timberwolves star knows just how important embracing this time is alongside players he used to idolise growing up – rather than fiercely battling against them on the court like he does eight months every year.
Per the Star Tribune’s Chris Hine, the four-year NBA pro said: “It’s an honour for me.
I remember watching these guys [Durant, Curry and James] play against each other in the finals. Sitting in front of the TV like, ‘Yeah.’ So now, I’m here with them and just happy to be here, it’s going to be historic.”
Another four-year pro from the 2020 draft class stands alongside him with very similar feelings in Tyrese Haliburton – who also played an influential role as the Pacers overachieved en route to a surprise Finals appearance out East last season.
Haliburton is an intelligent pass-first point guard who does more than just facilitate, while Edwards embraces the responsibility that comes with taking shots and doing it all, so they make a dangerous backcourt for any opposition to contend with.
Edwards turns 23 next month, Haliburton (24) is 18 months older than him and while the 2019 draft class – namely Zion Williamson and Ja Morant – had considerably more star power, both top-two picks have been hamstrung by troublesome injuries.
That’s before delving into off-court issues, controversy and discourse aside which leaves both franchises in a tricky situation out West, where competitive rivals continue building elsewhere like Haliburton’s former side in Sacramento.
More analysis to follow shortly…
Picture source: Getty Images
Mo and Sports 