Souhan: The Timberwolves need more from Anthony Edwards

Anthony Edwards is the reigning All-Star Most Valuable Player and at least a fringe candidate to win the NBA’s MVP award this season.

He has dramatically improved his clutch-time efficiency, his three-point shooting and his midrange shooting. He is an explosive athlete with precocious skills who has been the best player on a team that has reached the Western Conference finals each of the last two seasons.

Considering there were actual debates over whether he or LaMelo Ball should become the first pick in the 2020 NBA draft, what Edwards has accomplished is astonishing.

The Timberwolves require more.

For all of his accomplishments and improvements, Edwards, to become a player capable of becoming the face of the league and delivering a championship to Minnesota, will need to alter his persona.

On Sunday night, Feb. 22, Edwards scored 28 points and added nine rebounds and three assists. Impressive.

But if you watched the Philadelphia 76ers’ 135-108 victory over the Wolves, you didn’t see an MVP candidate. You saw Edwards failing to contest three-point shots, committing seven turnovers and getting dunked on by 76ers star Tyrese Maxey, who stared down Edwards after the play and finished with 39 points.

Then the Wolves began the game failing to contest three-point shots, turning the ball over and playing without intensity. Edwards looked not like the leader of a contending team, but a talented athlete showing off on the playground.

The next step in Edwards’ development is developing a reputation, among teammates and opponents, for refusing to participate in mediocrity. If he wants to be an MVP or a champion, he needs to lord over the game. He needs to be a presence who demands respect from his teammates and fear from opponents.

Edwards is a powerhouse. Every once in a while, if the other team is making three-pointers at a ridiculous rate, he might want to knock a shooter into the second row. And if someone has the temerity to dunk on him and stare in his face, he needs to respond. Depending on the game situation, that response might be a shove, a dunk of his own or a shoulder to the sternum.

Edwards has played at such a high level so early in his career that he has invited comparisons to some of the greats, including Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.

I can’t imagine Maxey or anyone else dunking on Jordan or Bryant without suffering some sort of consequence.