Anthony Edwards: Michael Jordan was the ‘only’ skilled player during his time

Anthony Edwards: Michael Jordan was the ‘only’ skilled player during his time

Minnesota Timberwolves star guard Anthony Edwards is one of the best young talents the NBA has to offer.

Edwards, 23, was the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft and has already made two All-Star teams while finishing in the top-7 in MVP voting and making second-team All-NBA last season. He just won his first Gold Medal with Team USA alongside legendary stars LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, while being highly viewed as one of the game’s next faces of the sport.

Though when discussing this current generation versus older ones, Edwards didn’t particularly shine too much light on his predecessor’s skillsets.

“I didn’t watch it back in the day so I can’t speak on it,” Edwards recently told Lane Florsheim of the Wall Street Journal. “They say it was tougher back then than it is now, but I don’t think anybody had skill back then. [Michael Jordan] was the only one that really had skill, you know what I mean? So that’s why when they saw Kobe [Bryant], they were like, ‘Oh, my God.’ But now everybody has skill.”

I acknowledge Edwards’ perspective of saying he didn’t watch that era.

Have players and teams evolved? Yes. Is the NBA more skilled than it once was? I’d argue yes, especially internationally. But was there only one skilled player? Absolutely not.

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What about Hakeem Olajuwon, who routinely embarrassed opposing players in the post; Scottie Pippen, an elite defender who had the skillset of a point forward that helped buoy Jordan to six NBA titles; Reggie Miller, an elite 3-point shooter capable of striking fear into his opponents in a single instant; Grant Hill, a remarkably talented and skilled all-around player whose career was cut short due to injury.

I could go on and on. Perhaps the worst part about this narrative is that our (young) generation will take what Edwards says and run with it, even if it’s untrue.

While multiple players NBA in today’s day would feast in the 90s, the same could be said about the inverse. I can’t say I was alive in the 90s, because I wasn’t. Perspective is key, but our ability to learn and study the history of the game–and why it’s come so far–is paramount, even if athletes continue to evolve in ways we’ve never previously seen.

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