Anthony Edwards has spent enough time around the MVP conversation to know what it usually takes. A year ago, he said the formula out loud: win big, score a lot, and the trophy talk takes care of itself.
“We’ve got to win,” Edwards said at last year’s media day (h/t SneakerReporter). “All MVPs win at a high level and average a whole bunch of points. Yeah, I think that is the main recipe: win and average a whole bunch of points.”
That was the version of Edwards who sounded ready to chase the award directly. This year, he sounds different.
“For myself, man, I really don’t have any individual expectations,” Edwards said during Monday’s media day. “I just want to win.
Whatever that looks like. Whatever it takes.”
That shift matters. Edwards is entering his seventh season, already carrying two trips to the Conference Finals and 52 playoff games on his resume. He has also produced plenty of those nights that get the whole building buzzing, the kind that bring out MVP chants at Target Center and even on the road, with Ben Golliver of ESPN noting the same kind of reaction in Denver.
Those moments have always made the case for Edwards as a future MVP. When he’s piling up points, hitting big shots, and turning the crowd loose, he looks every bit like someone who could eventually win the Michael Jordan Trophy.
But Edwards is talking about success differently now. The scoreboard still matters, but not in the old way.
“When I was younger, it used to be how many points I had,” Edwards said at media day. “Now, I look at the plus-minus when I was on the floor. And really just about how good I was playing defense that night.”
That is the real next step. Edwards has already shown he can take over games.
The question is whether he can do it while also becoming the kind of defender that raises his ceiling even higher. He believes the extra ball-handling burden he carried over the last two seasons took something out of his defense, since he was spending more energy initiating offense than he had in the past.
Now he expects that to change with LaMelo Ball alongside him.
Tim Connelly sees the same thing. The Timberwolves president has made it clear that Edwards’ climb to the top depends on becoming a two-way force.
“He’s got to be a two-way player,” Connelly said at media day. “He’s got to be elite on both ends.
He’s shown the ability to be, I think, the best on-ball perimeter defender in the NBA … Do we think it has to be 48 minutes of elite play on both ends? Is that unrealistic?
Probably. But do we think he can be the most impactful perimeter defender in the league?
Absolutely.”
Connelly also believes Ball’s presence in the backcourt should help Edwards on that end, while giving Minnesota’s star a better overall setup to make a serious run at the award.
Jaden McDaniels thinks the offense could open up even more. McDaniels, who came into the league with Edwards in 2020, said defenders won’t be able to crowd him the same way anymore.
“It’s going to be hard to guard him now because you can’t load up on him and trap him,” McDaniels said at media day. “I feel like him coming down pindowns where he already has that head of steam.
It’s going to be hard to guard him. It’s already hard to guard him without it.
I’m just excited for him. I’m just excited for him.
It’s year seven; this could be an MVP year for him.”
That is the path. Not just big scoring nights, but the kind of steady dominance that holds up game after game, no matter what the defense throws at him. Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has done that over the last two years, and that is the standard Edwards has to meet if he wants to win MVP.
Edwards has already made progress as a passer when defenses send help. The issue has been what happens when teams really load up on him, like the Spurs did in the playoffs last year. In those moments, his scoring can disappear and the ball comes out quickly near midcourt.
With Ball next to him, those coverages should be harder to deploy. Ball’s scoring and passing can force defenses to think twice, and that could free Edwards to play with more room and more consistency. If that happens, the MVP conversation becomes a lot more real.
Still, Edwards is not chasing that right now. And for Minnesota, that may be exactly how it should be.
The Wolves do not need him to be the MVP to reach their goals. They already have a deep roster and plenty of scoring.
What they need from Edwards is sharper defense, better answers against double teams, and more attention to the details that can swing a season. If he handles those pieces, the bigger award talk may end up finding him anyway.
In Other News...
Anthony Edwards Knows What This New Timberwolves Team Is Chasing
Minnesotas offseason has already given the Timberwolves a noticeably different look, and Anthony Edwards sounds as eager as anyone to see what it becomes. After a run to the Western Conference semifinals, the front office went out and added LaMelo Ball and Jonathan Kuminga, a pair of talented newcomers who raise the ceiling of a team that was already squarely in the playoff conversation.
Edwards, the face of the franchise, has made clear he likes where this is headed and sees the group chasing something bigger than another strong regular season. The Western Conference is still loaded, of course, which is why the next step matters so much for Minnesota, and why Edwards health and the fit of the new roster will loom as the season approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Anthony Edwards Sounds Sure About One Wolves Risk Fans Cant Ignore
Anthony Edwards is sounding upbeat about the Timberwolves chances of staying elite on defense even after a potential shakeup that would bring LaMelo Ball into the mix. Minnesota has built its identity around high-end defenders, with Rudy Gobert anchoring the paint and Jaden McDaniels handling tough perimeter assignments, so the question is not whether the team has defensive talent. It is whether adding a gifted but imperfect defender changes the balance enough to matter.
Balls offensive creativity would give Minnesota another layer, but his defense is the part that could keep opposing teams hunting for openings. The Wolves would likely need their existing stoppers to do extra work around him, especially in the kinds of lineups that can be exposed over long stretches. Edwards sounds convinced the team can absorb it, but it is the sort of roster gamble that will have fans watching every matchup possession a little closer. [Read more 🡒]
LaMelo Ball Could Change Everything About The Wolves Offense
LaMelo Ball has already started settling in with the Timberwolves after arriving in late June, and the early signs around the group suggest Minnesota believes it added more than just another talented guard. Ball is expected to function as a primary offensive option and facilitator, giving the Wolves a different kind of pressure point alongside Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert while the team continues to sort out how its offense can look with another high-end creator in the mix.
What stands out so far is how naturally Ball has begun fitting into the room, with teammates sounding encouraged by the way he has blended into the group in the opening stages. Chris Finch has also pointed to the positive effect Ball has had on the team, a promising development for a club that needs its new pieces to click quickly if it wants this move to change the shape of its offense. [Read more 🡒]