The 22-year-old superstar shows no fear on the basketball court and no filter off it. The Words of Ant are always candid, often four-letter colorful, typically hysterical and loaded with thoughtful insight.
Anthony Edwards has blossomed into one of the NBA’s truly elite players, and his interviews have become as captivating — and instructive — as his high-flying dunks. His media sessions are appointment viewing because one never knows what will come out of his mouth, other than his unvarnished opinion on any topic.
A wider audience is getting a glimpse into Ant’s personality throughout the Timberwolves rollicking postseason run that continues Wednesday against the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.
His candor is a breath of fresh air in the social media age when professional athletes tend to guard their true thoughts in fear of saying something that goes viral or upsets their organization or offends someone somewhere. Everything has become so scripted, so vanilla.
Ant lets ‘er rip.
He doesn’t sugarcoat answers or peddle spin. He calls it as he sees it, good or bad. The organization backs him all the way by allowing him to be himself.
His supreme confidence is wrapped inside a playful innocence that is charming. He successfully makes trash-talking sound endearing. He offers pointed observations about a teammate in a way that is disarming but also baked in truth.
Edwards didn’t just welcome TNT commentator Charles Barkley to Minnesota this week. He told the Hall of Famer to “Bring Ya ...” well, you know what he said. And now Minnesota might have a new state slogan.
