Team USA has begun its journey to win five straight Gold Medals. They defeated Serbia 110-84 to start the group phase 1-0. Their next opponent is this Wednesday against South Sudan at 3:00 PM EST. It is a privilege and an honor to play for your country; many NBA players don’t get the chance to. This year Team USA is headlined by many older stars like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Steph Curry.
There are only two players that are under 25. They are Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton. Edwards is an up-and-coming star in the NBA, who might have the most to gain from the Olympics. Edwards who is just 22 and about to turn 23 will get the opportunity to learn and be coached by many NBA greats. Today, we are going to look at the reasons why Edwards will benefit the most from playing in the Olympics.
Olympic Basketball: Anthony Edwards Might Benefit The Most Playing For Team USA
Watching NBA Greats Prepare for Games
The NBA from 2011-2019 was dominated by LeBron James and Steph Curry. In those nine years, every NBA Finals had one or both of them in it. Now, both of them are older veterans of the NBA playing for Team USA. Because of that, Anthony Edwards will get the opportunity to learn from NBA Champions. Furthermore, he will get to see how James and Curry conduct themselves in practice, how they watch film, and prepare for games. To go along with that, he will get the chance to compete with them every day in practice and go up against the best.
Anthony Edwards is going to gain experience from NBA Champions that a lot of 22-year-olds never get. Edwards proved this year for the Timberwolves that he can elevate his game in the playoffs. In addition to that, he showed why he deserves to be in the conversation for the new face of the NBA. Finally, you pair all of that up with learning and gaining knowledge from NBA champions. We could be seeing a whole new version of Edwards next season which could be scary.
Learning From His Idol Kevin Durant
Anthony Edwards has made it pretty vocal that Kevin Durant is his favorite player of all time. He was able to eliminate him this year in the first round of the playoffs. Now, he has the chance to play with him for Team USA. Besides, having the chance to learn from Curry and LeBron. He will get the opportunity to learn from Durant. However, learning from Durant will be a little different.
For example, learning from James and Curry is more on the professional side and how to study the game. Whereas from Durant it will be more about scoring. Edwards will be able to learn some things from Durant that are the same things he can learn from Curry and LeBron. However, Durant is one of the best scorers ever in the NBA, and Edwards will get a chance to learn more about scoring from him. In addition to that, Durant can show him how he likes to attack certain defenses and matchups. Something that Edwards can learn from.
Playing for NBA Champion-Level Coaches
Finally, besides learning from NBA players when you play for Team USA. Edwards will be able to be coached by NBA Champion-level coaches. Steve Kerr, Erik Spoelstra, and Tyronn Lue have all coached a team to win the NBA Finals. They all have great knowledge of the game and know what it takes to be great in this league. Edwards will have a chance to learn from all of them as each one could offer something a little different.
Whereas James, Durant, and Curry can help Edwards from a player perspective. The coaches like Kerr, Lue, and Spoelstra can offer help in other areas. For example, being able to find Edward’s weaknesses and helping him improve on those. For instance, maybe Edwards is not comfortable shooting on the left side of the court. Kerr and the others could give Edwards tips on how to get more comfortable going to your left. Certain things like that, that other players may not be able to help with.
The Last Word on Anthony Edwards
Finally, every player on Team USA is going to benefit from playing in the Olympics. However, Edwards at the age that he is, and everything at his disposal to learn from. It just seems like he will benefit the most. Being able to learn from the likes of Durant, Curry, and LeBron who are all NBA champions will offer different insights into the game. Then you pair that up with learning from three great NBA coaches who can help him in ways the players can’t. If Edwards can soak everything up and go to Team USA to learn as much as he can. The version of Anthony Edwards we see next year might be a scary site for the rest of the NBA.
