You can’t turn on an NBA post-game show or national sports podcast without hearing someone well-regarded saying very nice things about the Timberwolves.
More often than not, the first recipient of those flowers is Anthony Edwards, the transcendent Wolves star who is — we are contractually obligated to report — still just 22 years old.
They eye test shows the evolution of Edwards in everything from decision-making to focus to the ability to consistently be the best player on the court, as La Velle E. Neal III and I talked about on Tuesday’s Daily Delivery podcast.
As any good talent evaluator will tell you, though, a more accurate measure of a player comes from the marriage of the eye test and the data. Here are five ways in which the numbers show the leap Edwards has made this season (all information from Basketball Reference):
*Free throws: There is nothing particularly exciting about free throws, but there also aren’t many things that are more efficient in the NBA. Edwards came into this season as a respectable 77% career free throw shooter, but he upped that to a very good 83.6% this season (league average was an NBA-record 78.4%).
Edwards made 423 free throws this season — over 100 more than last year and 200 more than either of his first two seasons in the league.
*Two-point efficiency: Edwards has improved his shooting percentage on shots at the rim (0-3 feet) and from 3-16 feet every year he’s been in the league. It’s made him a much more well-rounded scorer who needs to be guarded at an spot on the court.
*Assist rate: Likewise, Edwards’ assist rate has improved in each of his first four seasons. Nearly one-fourth of Wolves field goals this season when Edwards was on the floor came off of assists from Ant.
