What Does the Ant-Man Say? Anthony Edwards Puts The Nuggets and NBA on High Alert

Even if you're trying to be objective, the last Ant-Man movie was not good, but the NBA’s version of Ant-Man is a whole different story. 

Anthony Edwards, who also goes by Ant-Man, has been building and building up to this point throughout his short four-year NBA career. Edwards, who was just 18 years old when he entered the league, is now 22 and has officially put the Nuggets, his own teammates, and the rest of the NBA on high alert that he has arrived.

Edwards posted a playoff career-high 43 points and led the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 106-99 victory in Game 1 at Ball Arena on Saturday. Many media outlets ran stories about how the Timberwolves stole game one from the Denver Nuggets. Still, if you’ve been following the Timberwolves, there was absolutely nothing surprising about the up-and-coming Wolves win. During the regular season, the teams split four games, with both winning games on their opposition courts.

As for Edwards, he has clearly become one of the best two-way players in the NBA and is the undisputed leader of the Timberwolves, a team full of veterans and key role players who focus on defense first. It has been fascinating to watch Edwards evolve from rookie to leader, but that's exactly what he has become for the Wolves.

Beyond his on-court leadership, you could definitely see it on full display during their round-one playoff series with the Suns when, during a post-game press conference with Karl Anthony Towns, he told him to stop fouling. Just watch this video. Clearly, Ant-Man is leading the Timberwolves.

What Does the Ant-Man Say?
“I’m 22,” Edwards said, correcting teammate Mike Conley during a postgame press conference when Conley was referencing Edwards’ on-court maturity and trusting his teammates, saying he’s “22, 23 years old.”

“These guys are gonna make shots. Everybody’s gonna miss shots, I don’t make all my shots,” Edwards said. “If they’re open, I’m gonna pass it every single time.”

“I lost to these guys last year, they are the defending champions,” Edwards said. “The best player in the league, in Nikola Jokić. To me they have the best closer in Jamal Murray.”

THE UNDERRATED OPINION
The Denver Nuggets are the NBA’s defending champions for a reason. While Edwards and his Wolves took game one, this will most likely be a long series that turns into a combination of a chess match and a dogfight. 

The series will ultimately be won by the team that makes the most successful defense adjustments throughout the series. Yes, the Timberwolves are off to an excellent start, but this series has a long way to go.