2020 NBA draft 1st pick Anthony Edwards
Anthony Edwards is not just any basketball player following his dreams. In the 2020 NBA draft, he was picked first by the Minnesota Timberwolves. But who is he? Where does he come from? And what can he mean for the Timberwolves?
Who is Anthony Edwards?
Anthony Edwards was born on 5 August 2001 in Atlanta, Georgia. He used to play a lot of American football and was even one of the best running backs in America in his age group. He only started playing basketball later, because he saw his brother playing the game and thought, “that looks a lot more fun.” In his 4th year of secondary school, he was trained by former college player and basketball coach Justin Holland from Atlanta. From the age of 14, Anthony was raised by his brother and sister after his mother and grandmother both died of cancer. Because they both died on the fifth day of the month, Edwards has always worn number 5 ever since.
Basketball career
He started playing high school basketball at Therrell High School in Atlanta. In early January, he moved to another team in Atlanta, namely Holy Spirit Preparatory School. He did this because he wanted to take school more seriously, and since Holy Spirit Preparatory was a smaller school, he could get better support there. In 2018, he won the Georgia Independent School Association championship. On 5 November 2019, Anthony Edwards made his college basketball debut for Georgia. He was his team’s top scorer and the highest-scoring freshman in the nation. On 18 November 2020, he was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves and can now show what he can do in the NBA.
What can he mean for the Minnesota Timberwolves?
Anthony Edwards is physically very strong and also has his size working for him. In the only season he played as a freshman for Georgia, he averaged 19.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Despite being only 19, he already has the body of a seasoned NBA player. He’s certainly a big, strong guy, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s also very fast and athletic. Edwards also knows very well how to use his body to his advantage. This makes him an even more dangerous player. He sometimes still falls short on defense, but he’s still young and has all the potential to grow in that area.
