Julius Randle compares Anthony Edwards' killer mentality to former teammate Kobe Bryant

It didn't take long before Anthony Edwards proved to be special. He didn't get a regular collegiate basketball season or NBA draft because of COVID, but he didn't need much time to show why scouts were so high on him.

He's now established himself as one of the best players in the game. He's taken big strides to improve as a defender and 3-point shooter, perhaps the lone question marks in his game.

But more than his mesmerizing athleticism and ability to fill up the stat sheet, his mindset and leadership have set him apart from most young players.

That's why Julius Randle, who got to learn the ropes of the game from the great Kobe Bryant, believes there's a lot of the legendary shooting guard in Edwards:

"I have been around a lot of great players. He is as confident in his belief in himself as. ... it's Kobe-like. And I was around Kobe," Randle told ESPN. "He's not scared of any moment and he wants those moments. His belief and confidence in who he is as a player is the highest I've ever seen or been around, for anybody."

Edwards, unlike Kobe, looks like someone who's having fun out there, but he carries himself with the same seriousness Bryant did, at least when he's on the court.

He doesn't just want to win, he seemingly wants to dominate and make a statement every single time he's out there. The higher the stakes, the better, and the better the competition is, the harder he's going to play.

Anthony Edwards explains his new offensive approach

Even so, Edwards' aggressive approach doesn't mean that he's going to take every shot. While he can do most of the heavy lifting and take over at crucial times, he's looking to make the right play, even if that means deferring to his teammates:

"Every three possessions, I'm going to shoot one out of three," Edwards said. "Especially down the stretch."

Edwards wants to get everybody involved and going, making sure they all get their touches and lifting them when they play well. That wasn't always the case with Kobe, although, to be fair, he didn't always have the most reliable supporting cast.

The three-time All-Star is blossoming like a two-way superstar right before our eyes, and he's gotten better every single year he's been in the league.

Anthony Edwards has the Minnesota Timberwolves just a win away from reaching the Western Conference Finals for the second year in a row, and he's not going to allow anybody to stand in his way.