An incredible opening night performance for Anthony Edwards saw him motivated by a Miami Heat role player. Edwards scored 45 points and was visibly talking trash to Heat players all night to remind them of his greatness. The Minnesota Timberwolves won the game by 25 points to show a dominant effort and boost their momentum to start the NBA season.
Edwards shared after the game that a loud Heat player inspired him to dominate and talk trash all night:
“I think it kind of crunk me up. He was talking pretty crazy. When I start talking to him, he didn’t really have too much more to say. I don’t really like that. If you gonna talk s**t, keep talking s**t. Don’t get quiet.”
Edwards didn’t reveal which Miami bench player got on his nerves, but he wanted to make it clear that it mattered. Both Edwards and LaMelo Ball both looked outstanding in their first official game together for this new era of Minnesota basketball.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and the rest of Miami could not slow down Edwards. The game saw the Timberwolves pulling away in the second quarter and blowing out the Heat by the third quarter. Edwards used Minnesota’s road opener to make a statement to that Heat player and the rest of the league.
Which Miami Heat Player Upset Anthony Edwards?
Edwards made it clear that it was one of the lesser-known Miami players who he views as a bench player “talking crazy.” Starters like Giannis, Bam Adebayo, and Andrew Wiggins can be removed from this equation since they are more respected by Edwards.
Veterans like Klay Thompson and Tim Hardaway also would have been named. Edwards not saying the player’s implied it was an end of the bench player not considered a big factor. Most bench players talking trash are criticized since they’re not contributing to the game.
Edwards revealed his bigger problem was that the player stopped talking when he returned the trash talk. History has shown Edwards loves talking trash and has even called out his basketball mentor Kevin Durant on the court. The Heat player got in over their head and clearly regretted his decision.
Anthony Edwards Used Miami To Start MVP Conversation
The entire NBA night of over a dozen names saw Edwards having the best all-around performance. Fans are already starting to create an MVP narrative for Edwards after he started the Timberwolves season off with a bang.
Names like Victor Wembanyama, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Nikola Jokic are still the strong favorites for MVP. Edwards finally has a team good enough to win enough games to put him in the realistic conversation for MVP if his stats can back them up.
The role player from Miami sparked Edwards to make history with his 40-point performance. Edwards joined Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain as the only players to score 40+ points in multiple opening night games. More early success is needed for Edwards to build an MVP case since the other favorites are on great teams.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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