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Anthony Edwards is 6-1 in the playoffs right now, after the Minnesota Timberwolves swept the Phoenix Suns and stole two road games in Denver. The turnaround fadeaways, the Michael Jordan shrug, the trash-talking, etc. have been on point so far, and fans are finding a way to compare Edwards with the Chicago Bulls icon. Not just fans, but even many NBA veterans are finding similarities between the two. However, there is one Denver Nuggets great, who is not entertained by the MJ-Edwards comparisons. 

Kenyon Martin, father of Sixers forward Kenyon Martin Jr., shared a few words about the Minnesota Timberwolves superstar on SiriusXM NBA Radio after fans put him in the same conversation as His Airness. Martin shared, “Everybody is different. Michael Jordan is Michael Jordan. Nobody is ever gonna be Michael Jordan, so let’s stop this. Anthony Edwards is a great young talent in the league. He is making a name for himself in this NBA. He has a bright bright future.” Martin, however, sees one thing in common between Edwards and Jordan.

He continued, “Competitive nature, you can probably go with that, but it’s too early man. The kid is 22 years old. Let’s take him out of the microwave society, and let him enjoy the success.”  The 2004 All-Star does not want the fans to add a lot of pressure on Edwards by putting him in the same conversation as Jordan. He believes there is some more time for that. 

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It would be too hard for the NBA buffs to ignore the similarities between the two. However, on the other hand, Edwards himself is not a fan of these comparisons. 

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Anthony Edwards puts a full stop to the Michael Jordan comparisons with a bold claim

“I want people to be like, ‘This Anthony Edwards kid, he got his own style’, said Edwards when asked about getting compared with Jordan. Well, Michael Jordan was one of a kind. He was not the next Larry Bird or the next Magic Johnson. So this desire from Edwards makes a lot of sense, and it is safe to say that he is heading in the right direction. Also, he revealed one aspect in which he is better than the 6x NBA champion. 

USA Today via Reuters

“I shoot threes. So I think it makes me different than Michael Jordan,” the 22-year-old superstar confidently said. Edwards has been shooting efficiently from the three-point line this season, especially in the playoffs. So far in 7 postseason games, AntMan is shooting 39% from deep on 8.4 attempts a game, more efficient than his regular season average of 35% on 7.4 attempts a game.

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Contrastingly, MJ’s career 3pt% was 32% on just 1.7 attempts a game. While the game was way different at the time, it won’t be far-fetched to admit Edwards is a better 3pt shooter than His Airness. Moreover, this claim just shows how confident Edwards is about himself. Well, Jordan had these characteristics too, but let’s rest the case for some time now. 

Written by

Rohan Dharmalingam

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Rohan Dharmalingam is an NBA beat writer at EssentiallySports, who extensively covers the Lakers. Be it a multimillion dollar deal breaking or a classic throwback, Rohan has covered the many themes and formats. Most notably, his coverage received a shoutout from the Purple & Gold icon Shaquille O'Neal and the rap legend 50 Cent, on Instagram.
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Edited by

Pragya Vashisth