Stephen A.Smith reveals Michael Jordan's take on Anthony Edwards' electrifying Playoffs performance

Michael Jordan may have been busy watching his NASCAR team win at Talladega on Sunday. However, he still took in some of the first-round playoff action, at least the Minnesota Timberwolves' game against the Phoenix Suns. Jordan apparently had high praise for Anthony Edwards’ stellar performance in a 120-95 Game 1 win on Saturday.

ESPN host and NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith said he talked to Jordan about Edwards after Game 1. And seemingly, Michael Jordan was impressed with what he saw.

“The brother is special, no question about it,” Jordan told Smith.

Smith was also in awe of Anthony Edwards' performance in Game 1. The T’Wolves star led his team to the win with 33 points and was talking trash the whole game. Smith noticed the passion Edwards played with.

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“He was looking for dudes,” Smith said.

Edwards had 33 to best Kevin Durant’s 31 points. Edwards constantly went at his former idol and talked trash right into the NBA legend’s face all game.

“Anthony Edwards only scored two more points than (Durant), but their impact appeared oceans apart,” Smith said.

Smith was critical of the Suns’ response to Edwards’ heroics. He thought they could have done more defensively to try and match Edwards' energy and production. Smith thought the Suns' defensive intensity was nowhere to be found.

"You see somebody coming, how do you stop their momentum?” Smith said. "You stop their momentum by saying, 'Yeah, you coming, but dammit, I'm here. Who do you think you dealing with?' We didn't see that Saturday. What we saw was a Suns team that had to bow down to what was being brought upon them by this brother."

Michael Jordan tops LeBron James in G.O.A.T player poll

The Athletic conducted a player poll, with one of the questions being about who is the G.O.A.T. of the NBA. The site polled 133 NBA players.

The results were tight, with Michael Jordan and LeBron James neck-to-neck. Kobe Bryant was a distant third.

Jordan edged out James with 45.9% of the votes. James received 42.1%. Bryant was third with 9.8%. Steph Curry, Magic Johnson and Paul Pierce (shockingly) all got one vote.

There was no release on which NBA players were polled or their ages. All 133 were on active rosters.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain were nowhere to be seen on the list. Others snubbed included Tim Duncan, Kevin Durant, and Larry Bird.

James could keep boosting his profile if he can lead the LA Lakers to a stunning upset against the Denver Nuggets in the playoffs this season. LeBron James has won four titles for three different franchises and is still chasing Michael Jordan’s six NBA championships.