Anthony Edwards had the time of his life on the hardwood on Saturday, playing against his “favorite player” and future USA teammate, Kevin Durant, in the first game of their exciting playoff series between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Phoenix Suns. The Wolves guard not only showed his competitive nature by scoring a game-high 33 points, two more than Durant, but also engaged in trash talk with the Suns forward.
During a post-game presser, when Edwards was asked about the trash talk that went on for some time in the third quarter, he said, “That’s my favorite player of all time, so that was probably one of the best feelings ever.” After scoring a 3-pointer in that quarter, the 22-year-old guard was spotted staring at Durant and teasing him, the same person who called Edwards the future face of NBA.
Reporter: “The little back and forth with Kevin Durant in the 3rd quarter, how fun is that?”
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 20, 2024
Anthony Edwards: "That's my favorite player of all time, so that was probably one of the best feelings ever.” 🙌
(via @NBA) pic.twitter.com/XCW52Na825
Edwards clarified his playful act by calling KD his most-liked player in the league. He further acknowledged the masterclass that the 2-time NBA champion showcased by hitting 11 shots on target out of the 17 he attempted, which was hard for Rudy Gobert and his Timberwolves’ defenders to block. While Edwards shed light on his actions, the receiver reacted to it.
Durant responds to Anthony Edwards trash talk
According to Larry Brown Sports, Kevin Durant is considered the best trash-talker by Draymond Green. So it was inevitable that KD would respond to Anthony Edwards taunting him in the second half of their series opener but not on-court.
The 14-time All-Star kept his calm on the floor hoping he would get multiple opportunities in the remaining games of the series to answer back to the youngster. Addressing the trash talk moment in a post-game interview, KD said, “Yeah, it’s just basketball,” and he continued to add, “Not even playoffs, it’s just hoop. You get hot, you make shots, you make tough shots, you’re gonna feel excited about yourself. So it’s on me to keep coming back.”
Durant tried his best by scoring 31 points and grabbing 7 rebounds, however, it wasn’t enough and the Suns ended up losing by 95-120. The two teams will meet on Tuesday in Minneapolis for Game 2 where the Minnesota franchise will again have a home-court advantage, surely making it hard for the Suns to bring parity to the series.
