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Minnesota Timberwolves star shooting guard Anthony Edwards has been carrying Team USA at the FIBA World Cup 2023.
Following his strong display in the tournament, many have been raving about Edwards, proclaiming him the future of the league. This includes NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal and former champion Kendrick Perkins. It looks like former NBA champion Nick Young can be added to the list as well.
In a recently surfaced clip, Young called Edwards the next Michael Jordan. He also said that if Team USA gave Edwards the ball more, they wouldn’t have lost to Lithuania in the group stage of the tournament:
“The league is about to be Anthony Edwards’,” Young said.
“This is Anthony Edwards league now, the new MJ. That boy looks just like MJ out there. They should have gave it to Anthony Edwards. They would have never lost to Lithuania.”
Through six games, Edwards is currently leading the U.S. with an average of 17.3 points per game. He is also averaging 4.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game on 45.9% shooting. The team is 5-1 entering Friday’s semifinal matchup against Germany.
Anthony Edwards says Team USA is peaking at the right time
After Team USA dispatched Italy 100-63 in the quarterfinals, Edwards spoke about how both he and his team were peaking at the right time:
“I play my best basketball when the competition is hot, so I feel like that’s what I probably gotta do.
“(As a team), I think we're peaking at the right time.”
Meanwhile, Team USA coach Steve Kerr spoke about how talented Edwards is on offense. However, Kerr said that Edwards just needs to make sure to play team basketball moving forward:
“As for Ant, he’s one of the most talented players on Earth. He’s still very young so the challenge, and I’ve talked to him about this, is to figure out when to attack and when to make a pass. We’re gonna need both. Last time we played Germany, he completely took over the game.
"But as you saw the other night, when we threw the ball ahead, whether it’s him or anybody else, we’re really lethal. He just gotta find that balance like all great players of young age have to do, to understand when to attack and when to get off the ball. That’s one of the main keys of our offensive attack.”
Team USA is now just two wins away from securing a gold medal at the FIBA World Cup. If it beats Germany on Friday, it will advance to take on the winner of Serbia vs. Canada in the gold medal game on Sunday.
