LaMelo Ball has been running away with the all the Rookie of the Year Award love but it could be time to at least take notice of No. 1 overall pick Anthony Edwards.
While he's certainly made his presence felt with multiple 'Dunk of the Year' highlights throughout the season, his game is slowly but surely developing, and the numbers back that up.
On Monday, on the second night of a back-to-back against the same opponent in the Portland Trail Blazers, he made the most of his youth and led the team from the front. He finished with a career-high as six Timberwolves players finished in double figures.
Anthony Edwards tonight:
— StatMuse (@statmuse) March 15, 2021
34 PTS
6 3PT
He’s the 2nd rookie with 30+ points, 5+ threes in a game in Wolves franchise history (Zach LaVine). pic.twitter.com/Qy7bPtQjDR
The 34 points and six made 3s are both career-highs. His points tally is the most by a teenager (19 years, 221 days) in franchise history Those numbers are a product of Edwards' game improvement each month.
Here's a look at his splits:
| Games | PPG | RPG | ASG | FG% | 3PM (3P%) | |
| Dec. - Jan. | 19 | 13.6 | 3.0 | 1.8 | .371 | 1.8 (.330) |
| Feb. | 16 | 16.1 | 5.1 | 3.3 | .372 | 2.0 (.294) |
| Mar. | 4 | 25.3 | 5.3 | 2.5 | .437 | 3.0 (.333) |
Despite the early impression of Edwards, based off a pre-Draft interview, and the team's dismal record, the No. 1 overall pick is definitely silencing his critics.
Although former Rookie of the Year winner and franchise superstar Karl-Anthony Towns wasn't one of them, he made sure to voice his opinion after the game.
"Let me say it was the right decision for us as an organization. I want to make that clear," Towns said postgame.
It's not just what he did but how he did it, showing how the game reps have helped him become more resilient. Against the Trail Blazers, he seemed to have hurt his hip following a layup late in the third quarter.
However, he checked back into the game in the fourth quarter and scored 13 of the team's next 15 points.
Anthony Edwards left the game after appearing to hurt his hip
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 15, 2021
He came right back in and hit back-to-back 3s
He’s like THAT pic.twitter.com/VaTYWldRco
Nine of those 13 points came from beyond the arc and he provided yet another highlight dunk in this career-game:
ANTHONY EDWARDS IS SPECIAL. pic.twitter.com/P8JWp24K6V
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 15, 2021
"Whoever is still talking about that, they can just kick rocks," Edwards said postgame, referring to the debate over the No. 1 overall pick.
To make his career-game sweeter, postgame, he got a signed jersey from Trail Blazers superstar Damian Lillard. Playing every one of the team's 39 games, Edwards leads all rookies in total points and ranks fourth in total assists.
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