Go ahead and hoist this one up on the Mount Rushmore of stupid takes. Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards, who has zero NBA Finals appearances, believes players from Michael Jordan’s era had no skill.
Aside from Jordan himself, that is.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Edwards was asked how this current generation of NBA stars compares to older generations.
The two-time NBA All-Star initially said he couldn’t speak on the matter because he didn’t watch basketball from back in the day, and thus wouldn’t know what he was talking about.
He promptly spoke on the matter and proved he didn’t know what he was talking about.
RELATED: How to Watch the WNBA without Cable in 2024
Focused On Getting Better
Anthony Edwards told the Wall Street Journal that despite tasting championship glory by helping Team USA win the gold medal in Paris, he isn’t necessarily focused on winning the NBA title in the upcoming season.
Why? Because, as a 23-year-old rising star, he has plenty of time to develop.
“I don’t know too many guys who won a championship super young, besides Kobe,” he said. “Other than him, everybody took years and years of losing to get there. I just want to keep taking the next step.”
Fair enough. Edwards’ game has rapidly evolved into one of the best in the league. He was named to the All-NBA Second Team for the first time in his career last season and helped lead the Timberwolves to the Western Conference Finals.
But it was his answer to one particular question about the older generation of NBA players that raised eyebrows.
RELATED: Get Your First Glimpse At Angel Reese And Caitlin Clark As They Continue Their Rivalry In NBA 2K25
Anthony Edwards: We’re The Greatest Generation
Michael Jordan, as most basketball fans know, was part of the Olympic Dream Team in 1992, which contained some of the greatest players the world has ever seen.
And with Anthony Edwards discussing his Olympic success with the WSJ, it seems reasonable to wonder about comparisons.
“How do you think your generation of basketball is different from older generations?” he was asked.
“I didn’t watch it back in the day so I can’t speak on it. They say it was tougher back then than it is now, but I don’t think anybody had skill back then,” he responded.
“[Jordan] was the only one that really had skill, you know what I mean? So that’s why when they saw Kobe, they were like, ‘Oh, my God.’ But now everybody has skill.”
One can only imagine using their best Vizzini voice from The Princess Bride.
Have you ever heard of Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Karl Malone? Morons!
Scottie Pippen? No skill. Charles Barkley? No skill. David Robinson, Clyde Drexler? Anthony Edwards and LeBron James are better.
At least in his mind.
A news reporter asked Michael Jordan if he thought the ’90s Bulls could beat LeBron’s Lakers.
— Matt Smethurst (@MattSmethurst) January 27, 2021
MJ: Yes.
Reporter: By how much?
MJ: Two or three points.
Reporter: Why so close?
MJ: Most of us are almost 60 now. pic.twitter.com/Wi9YBjxWcS
The average margin of victory for the 1992 Olympic Dream Team was 44 points. They won the gold medal game by 32 points over Croatia.
Team USA in Paris had an average margin of victory of 19 points per game. They barely scraped by Serbia in the semifinals by four points, needing to rally from a 17-point deficit.
And the NBA in the ’80s and ’90s? Players actually played defense. Meaning you had to have a greater level of skill to score than today’s players.
Do you agree with Anthony Edwards’s take?
More about:NBA