Anthony Edwards explains why he did not want to come off bench for Team USA
The 2023 FIBA World Cup tips off Friday in the Philippines, and there’s no question that budding Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards is one of the best players who will be playing in the tournament.
Team USA played five tune-up games ahead of their first tournament game on Saturday against New Zealand. They won all five games against Puerto Rico, Slovenia, Spain, Greece and, most recently, Germany, where Team USA crawled back from down 16 in the second half to win by eight (99-91) behind Edwards’ game-high 34 points on 11-of-21 shooting (4-8 3PT).
While Edwards, 22, was a starter in their scrimmage games and will be when Saturday rolls around, he wasn’t in their original starting five–which consisted of Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Brandon Ingram, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Cam Johnson–during team scrimmages prior to the exhibition games.
Head coach Steve Kerr reportedly tried to convince Edwards to come off the bench, similar to former Miami Heat superstar and now Hall-of-Fame guard Dwyane Wade, who came off the bench behind Kobe Bryant in the 2008 Olympics, despite being the team’s best player and their leading scorer (16.0 ppg) that tournament.
Edwards’ response to possibly coming off the bench was epic.
“I mean, of course I wasn’t cool with it,” he said, according to The Athletic. “If that’s what it takes, I mean, I am willing to do it, but nah, I’m never cool with that. … He said Dwyane Wade came off the bench when Kobe played. I was like, ‘All right, we don’t have a Kobe, but all right.’ But it was cool.”
It’s safe to say that Edwards won’t be coming off the bench anytime soon regardless, starting with Brunson, Bridges, Ingram and Jackson with Johnson, Tyrese Haliburton and Austin Reaves coming off the bench.
After its eight-point win against Germany, Kerr had very high praise for Edwards, who willed Team USA to their victory down the stretch.
“He’s unquestionably the guy,” Kerr said. “You can see he knows it. But now the team knows it, and I think the fans see it. But we see it in practice every day. He genuinely believes he’s the best player in the gym every single night. And he’s such a dynamic young player. I think he’s taking a leap.”
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