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This kid doesn't play like an ant
Phenomenal shooting guard Anthony Edwards is a two-time NBA All-Star superstar at just 22.
No one knew 'Ant-man' would
grow up to be a murder hornet
In his last two, best-of-seven games in the Western Conference Semifinals against the defending NBA champs Denver Nuggets, star shooting guard Anthony Edwards notched 27 points (8-17 FG, 4-9 3Pt, 7-8 FT), four rebounds, four assists and three steals in 34 minutes during a 115-70 Game 6 victory.
Edwards bounced back from an ugly outing in Game 5 and led Minnesota in scoring in this pivotal matchup, as he looked far more aggressive than during his previous appearance. Edwards deserves credit for his constant off-the-ball movement as well, as his movements on the perimeter, coupled with the return of Mike Conley from a one-game absence, made things very difficult for Denver on defense.
This was Edwards' fourth game with at least 25 points in the series. In the pivotal Game 7 at Ball Arena, Edwards scored 16 points, pulled down 8 rebounds, and dished out 7 assists.
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Who is this phenom?
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Anthony Edwards (born August 5, 2001), nicknamed "Ant-Man" or simply "Ant," played college basketball for the University of Georgia Bulldogs and was selected with the first overall pick by the Timberwolves in the 2020 NBA draft.
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Edwards finished his high school career at Holy Spirit Preparatory School in his hometown of Atlanta, where he was rated a consensus five-star recruit and one of the best players in the 2019 class by major recruiting services. As a senior, he earned McDonald's All-American and USA Today All-USA first team honors. He committed to play college basketball for Georgia, becoming the highest-rated recruit to do so, and was named SEC Freshman of the Year after his freshman season with the team.
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Edwards spent his early life in Atlanta, Georgia. When he was three years old, he was given the nickname "Ant-Man" by his father. For much of his childhood, Edwards played football in the running back, quarterback, and cornerback positions. He played youth football for the Atlanta Vikings and became one of the best Pop Warner running backs in the country by age 10.
Edwards switched his focus to basketball because he "thought it looked more fun" after watching his brothers play the sport. He often played basketball with his brothers at their grandmother's house. Entering ninth grade, he began training with Justin Holland, a former college basketball player for Liberty and an Atlanta-based basketball trainer.
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High school career
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Due to his success with the Atlanta Xpress 15-under Amateur Athletic Union team, Edwards was considered a four-star recruit by Rivals in 2016. He began playing high school basketball for Therrell High School in Atlanta as a member of the 2019 class. In early January 2017, Edwards transferred to Holy Spirit Preparatory School in Atlanta and reclassified to the 2020 class. He made the move in an effort to improve his academic performance, since Holy Spirit Preparatory had "small class sizes and support to help that."
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In March 2018, Edwards helped Holy Spirit Preparatory defeat The Heritage School for the Georgia Independent School Association (GISA) Class AAA state championship.[8] He reclassified back to the 2019 class in November 2018 after seeing academic improvement. As a result, Edwards rose to become the number one recruit in the Top247 rankings by recruiting website 247Sports.
In his senior season, his team finished as GISA Class AAA runners-up to The Heritage School, despite 27 points from Edwards. At the end of the season, he was averaging 29 points, nine rebounds, and two assists per game. Edwards garnered USA Today All-USA first team recognition. He played in the McDonald's All-American Game and Jordan Brand Classic in March and April 2019, respectively.
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By consensus among major recruiting services 247Sports, ESPN, and Rivals, Edwards was rated a five-star recruit, top-five player, and the top shooting guard in the 2019 class. On Feb. 11, 2019, he committed to play college basketball for Georgia, becoming the program's best recruit in the modern recruiting era. Edwards chose the Bulldogs over offers from Florida State, Kansas, Kentucky, and North Carolina. He was drawn to Georgia because two of his favorite players, Dwyane Wade and Victor Oladipo, had been coached in college by head coach Tom Crean.
College career
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On Nov. 5, 2019, the 6-4, 205 lb. Edwards made his debut for the Georgia Bulldogs, recording 24 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 steals in a 91-72 win over Western Carolina. It was the most points by a Georgia freshman debutant since Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Dominique Wilkins in 1979. On Nov. 26, he scored a season-high 37 points, including 33 in the second half, and posted six rebounds, four steals, and three blocks in a 93-85 loss to third-ranked Michigan State at the Maui Invitational.
Edwards became the first Georgia freshman to score at least 37 points in a game since Jacky Dorsey in 1975. In his final game at the tournament, he led all scorers with 24 points and made the game-winning shot versus NCAA Division II team Chaminade.
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On Feb. 1, 2020, Edwards recorded 29 points and 15 rebounds, both game-highs, in a 63-48 victory over Texas A&M. In his next game, he led all scorers with 32 points in an 81-75 loss to Florida. On Feb. 26, Edwards scored 36 points and collected seven rebounds, four assists and four steals, in a 94-90 overtime defeat to South Carolina.
As a freshman, he averaged 19.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Edwards was the top scorer on his team and among freshmen nationally. He earned second-team All-SEC and SEC Freshman of the Year honors.] Edwards collected SEC Freshman of the Week accolades four times during the season, the most in program history. He was also one of five finalists for the Jerry West Award, which recognizes the top collegiate shooting guard.
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On March 20, 2020, in the spring of his freshman year, Edwards declared for the 2020 NBA draft as one of the most touted prospects in his class. He signed with an agent, forgoing his remaining college basketball eligibility.
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Professional career
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Minnesota Timberwolves (2020–present): The 2020 NBA draft was delayed by five months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In November 2020, the Minnesota Timberwolves selected Edwards as the No. 1 overall pick on draft night. On Dec. 23, 2020, he made his NBA debut, putting up 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists in 25 minutes, in a 111-101 win against the Detroit Pistons.
On March 18, 2021, Edwards scored a then career-high 42 points, along with 7 rebounds and 3 assists, in a game against the Phoenix Suns, becoming the third-youngest player to score 40+ points in NBA history. After the season, he finished second in Rookie of the Year voting and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.]
First playoff appearance
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On Nov. 10, 2021, Edwards scored a then career-high 48 points on 7 three-pointers in a 123-110 loss to the Golden State Warriors. On Jan. 25, 2022, in a 109-107 win over the Portland Trail Blazers, he became the first player in NBA history to record a stat line of at least 40 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks, 3 steals, and 5 three-pointers in a single game; he joined Carmelo Anthony as the only players to score 40 points without an assist at 20 years old or younger.
On April 7, 2022, Edwards scored a career-high 49 points in a 127-121 win over the San Antonio Spurs. In his playoff debut on April 16, 2022, he logged 36 points and 6 assists in a 130-117 Game 1 win over the Memphis Grizzlies in the opening round of the 2022 NBA playoffs. Minnesota lost to Memphis despite Edwards's 30-point, 5-rebound, 5-assist, 2-steal and 2-block outing in the 114-106 close-out loss in Game 6.
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First All-Star appearance
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On Jan. 21, 2023, Edwards scored a season-high 44 points, including a season-high 8 three-pointers, along with 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks in a 113-104 win over the Houston Rockets. On Feb. 10, 2023, he was named an All-Star for the first time in his career as a reserve. Edwards and De'Aaron Fox were announced as injury replacements for injured stars Stephen Curry and Zion Williamson.
On April 9, in the final game of the 2022-23 season, Edwards recorded 26 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, and 4 blocks to help lead the Timberwolves to a 113-108 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, earning the eight seed in the Western Conference play-in tournament.
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In Game 2 of the Timberwolves' first-round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets, Edwards put up 41 points in a 122-113 loss. His 41 points also set a Timberwolves franchise record for the most points scored in a playoff game, surpassing Sam Cassell's previous record of 40. On April 21, in Game 3 of the first round of the playoffs, Edwards scored 36 points in a 120-111 loss. He joined Kobe Bryant with the second-most 30-point NBA playoff games before turning 22 years old.
In Game 4, Edwards had 34 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks and scored a crucial 3-pointer to lead the Timberwolves to a 114-108 overtime win. In Game 5, the Timberwolves were eliminated from the playoffs by the eventual NBA champion Nuggets despite 29 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 blocks by Edwards. With the Nuggets leading 112-109 in the final seconds of the game, Edwards missed a game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer.
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2023-24 season
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Edwards changed his jersey number from #1 to #5 before the 2023-24 season. On Nov.r 13, 2023, he was named the NBA Western Conference Player of the Week for the first time in his career after leading Minnesota to an undefeated week (4-0) with averages of 31.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 2.0 steals.
On Jan. 27, 2024, Edwards recorded 32 points, 6 rebounds and a career-high 12 assists in a 113-112 loss against the San Antonio Spurs. On Feb. 1, Edwards was named to his second All-Star Game as an Western Conference reserve. On April 9, Edwards put up a career-high 51 points in a 130-121 win over the Washington Wizards.
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In Game 4 of the first round of the playoffs against Phoenix, Edwards scored 31 of his 40 points in the second half, along with nine rebounds and six assists in a 122-116 win to close out the series. It was the T-wolves' first playoff series win in 20 years. He also surpassed Kevin Garnett for the most 30-point playoff games in Timberwolves franchise history, with eight.
In Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals, Edwards scored a then playoff career-high and franchise postseason-record 43 points in a 106-99 victory over the Nuggets. He joined Kobe Bryant as the only players with consecutive 40-point games at age 22 or younger in NBA postseason history. In Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals, Edwards scored a playoff career-high and franchise postseason-record 44 points, along with five rebounds and five assists, in a 115-107 loss to the Nuggets.
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In his last two, best-of-seven games in the Western Conference Semifinals against the defending NBA champs Denver Nuggets, Edwards notched 27 points (8-17 FG, 4-9 3Pt, 7-8 FT), four rebounds, four assists and three steals in 34 minutes during a 115-70 Game 6 victory.
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In the pivotal Game 7 at Ball Arena, Edwards scored 16 points, pulled down 8 rebounds, and dished out 7 assists, helping a huge team effort knock the defending NBA champion Nuggets out of contention to repeat as NBA champs for 2023-24.
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HOLMGREN'S H.S. NO. RETIRED
The Oklahoma City Thunder team and members of the organiza- zation showed up in support of Chet Holmgren as his high school jersey was retired at Minnehaha Academy in Minneapolis, MN recently. Holmgren, who starred for Gonzaga, and currently is in the running for Rookie of the Year for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA, concluded his high school basketball career with 1,567 points, 964 rebounds and 456 blocked shots, becoming one of the most storied hoopsters in Minnesota high school basketball history.​
TIMBERWOLVES
STRENGTHEN THE PACK
Timberwolves swingman Naz Reid reportedly has agreed on a new three-year deal to stay in Minnesota, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The reported deal includes a player option and is worth up $42 million.
Timberwolves retooling for 2023-24
Sportswriter At-large
MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL (NBA.com)—Back-up swingman Naz Reid, who went undrafted in 2019, is expected to ink a new contract to stay in Minnesota. Reid averaged a career-high 11.5 points and 4.9 rebounds for Minnesota during the 2022-23 season.
After going undrafted in 2019, Reid signed with the Timberwolves on a two-way contract that offseason. Since then, Reid has emerged as a key backup option in Minnesota behind star centers Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert.
The fourth-year forward-center led the Timberwolves in scoring in six games during the 2022-23 season, and averaged 11.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game with 53.7 percent shooting from the floor — all career highs. He proved to be particularly viable when Towns missed 52 games with a severely strained right calf muscle.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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In other news, the Timberwolves have acquired the draft rights to forward Leonard Miller, the 33rd overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft from the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for two future second-round picks. Miller, 6-10, averaged 16.9 points and led the NBA G League Ignite with 10.1 rebounds per game. Miller also tallied 1.0 steals and 0.8 blocks in 29.7 minutes per contest in 38 games during the 2022-23 campaign.
Miller scored a season-high 33 points on 13-of-17 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds on March 9 vs. the College Park Skyhawks. Miller set an Ignite team-record with 21 rebounds to go along with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting on March 12 vs. the Texas Legends. He tallied 17 double-doubles and improved his averages to 20.7 points and 12.9 rebounds per game following the All-Star break.
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A native of Toronto, Miller represented Team World at the 2022 Nike Hoop Summit and was named the 2021-22 BioSteel Canadian Boys Player of the Year at Fort Erie International Academy in Ontario. He also partici- pated in the NBA Rising Stars and NBA League Next Up Game at 2023 All-Star Weekend in Salt Lake City.
Elsewhere, the Timberwolves selected guard Jaylen Clark with the 53rd overall pick in the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft presented by State Farm. Clark, 6-5, was named the 2022-23 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, 2022-23 NABC Defensive Player of the Year and 2022-23 Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, UCLA’s first defensive player of the year winner since Russell Westbrook in 2007-08. He averaged 13.0 points, 1.9 assists and a Pac-12 leading 2.6 steals per game (tied for fourth-best in the nation).
Additionally, Clark was named to the 2022-23 All-Pac-12 Second Team and was a two-time Pac 12 All-Defen- sive Team honoree (2021-22 and 2022-23). The Riverside, Calif., native played on an AAU team with current NBA players Evan and Isaiah Mobley and Onyeka Okongwu. Clark attended the same high school (Etwanda High School) as current Timberwolves guard Jordan McLaughlin.
ZINGED A 2ND TIME
Ja Morant. Courtesy Memphis Grizzlies
NBA suspends Ja Morant 25 games with conditions for reinstatement
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NEW YORK (MNS)—The NBA announced June 16 that Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant has been suspended 25 games without pay for conduct detrimental to the league.
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Morant posed with a firearm in a car during a live-streamed video on May 13, less than two months after he was suspended eight games without pay for the live streaming of a video on March 4 in which he displayed a firearm while in an intoxicated state at a Denver area nightclub.
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The league office found that, on May 13, Morant intentionally and prominently displayed a gun while in a car with several other individuals as they were leaving a social gathering in Memphis. Morant wielded the firearm while knowing that he was being recorded and that the recording was being live streamed on Instagram Live, despite having made commitments to the NBA and statements that he would not repeat the conduct for which he was previously suspended. On May 16, Morant issued a statement taking full accountability for his actions.
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Morant’s suspension begins immediately and will remain in effect through the first 25 games of the 2023-24 NBA regular season for which he is otherwise eligible and able to play. He will also be required to meet certain conditions before he returns to play and will be ineligible to participate in any public league or team activities, including preseason games, during the course of his suspension.
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"Ja Morant’s decision to once again wield a firearm on social media is alarming and disconcerting given his similar conduct in March for which he was already suspended eight games," said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. "The potential for other young people to emulate Ja’s conduct is particularly concerning. Under these circumstances, we believe a suspension of 25 games is appropriate and makes clear that engaging in reckless and irresponsible behavior with guns will not be tolerated.
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"For Ja, basketball needs to take a back seat at this time. Prior to his return to play, he will be required to formulate and fulfill a program with the league that directly addresses the circumstances that led him to repeat this destructive behavior."
The Wolves low percentage shooting, combined with 12 straight points by the Lakers' Anthony Davis sealed their doom.
Wolves implode in 123-111 loss to LA Lakers
TARGET CENTER—The Wolves shot just 32 percent from the field in the second half as the blew a 10-point halftime lead​ Anthony Davis scored 12 straight points for the Lakers in a three-minute stretch late in the fourth quarter to lead Los Angeles in a second half comeback at Target Center.
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The Wolves were anything but sloppy in the first half, committing just five fouls, shooting 56 percent held a 10 point lead at the break. In the second half the Wolves crumbled, committing 17 fouls and shooting just 32 percent from the field.
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The experienced Lakers side took advantage of every Wolves mistake in the second half, going on a 24-2 run late in the third to turn a 13 point deficit into a 7 point lead going into the final quarter. Davis' 38 points powered the Lakers to a decisive late season victory as Minnesota falls below Los Angeles in the standings with just four games left in the standings.
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Anthony Edwards was on the teams Status Report with illness before the game and seemed more effected by the illness than anyone, shooting an abysmal 4-14 for just eleven points and committing three turnovers.
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The much talked about free throw disparity was on display again at Target Center as the Lakers were awarded 30 attempts from the strip to the Wolves' 19 attempts on the night.
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Minnesota takes on Portland Sunday with tip off set for 2:30 p.m. at Target Center.
NBA legend Bill Russell dies
LOS ANGELES (MNS)—National Basketball Association Hall-of-Famer and 11-time NBA champion Bill Russell, has died at the age of 88, his family announced Sunday, according to CBS News.
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CBS reported Russell passed away peacefully with his wife Jeannine by his side.
As a player and coach with the Boston Celtics and one of the most important figures in NBA history, some
of the most celebrated duels in NBA history involved the Celtics and Los Lakers featuring Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, and later Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, and James Worthy.
Born in Louisiana in 1934, Russell was not initially considered a top basketball prospect out of San Francisco's McClymonds High School. His first scholarship offer came from the University of San Francisco (USF), a school hardly known for its basketball prowess but one that Russell was able to carry to consecutive national championships in 1955 and 1956.
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Despite his collegiate excellence, Russell was not the first pick in the 1956 NBA Draft. That honor went to Duquesne wing Si Green. That left Russell available at No. 2, where the St. Louis Hawks were drafting. However, circumstances worked in Russell's favor. Boston Celtics star Ed Macauley's son was being treated for spinal meningitis in St. Louis, so he asked the team to send him there as a favor. They did so, and Boston landed the No. 2 pick in exchange for Macauley and fellow Hall-of-Famer Cliff Hagan.
The deal didn't exactly blow up in St. Louis' face. Though they lost the 1957 Finals to Boston, the Hawks came back to win it all in a 1958 rematch with the Celtics. But that would be the last championship they'd ever win. Russell won 10 more, including the next eight in a row.
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The trade was just as important to Russell as it was to the Celtics. "If I would've gotten drafted by St. Louis, I wouldn't have been in the NBA," Russell said in an interview with NBATV. "St. Louis was overwhelmingly racist." Sadly, Russell faced racism throughout his early life in the South and his entire career in Boston, and he became one of the most socially conscious athletes in US history.
Russell, who was not only a basketball standout, but competed in the high jump in track and field at USF, attended Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech in person and was one of several black athletes and leaders to attend the 1967 Cleveland Summit in support of Muhammad Ali.
In 1966, Russell became the first Black head coach in American sports history when he replaced Red Auerbach in Boston. He retained his role as the team's starting center while coaching the team on his way to its last two championships.