{"id":91084,"date":"2024-08-18T11:59:29","date_gmt":"2024-08-18T15:59:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=91084"},"modified":"2024-08-18T12:10:08","modified_gmt":"2024-08-18T16:10:08","slug":"kevin-durant-anthony-edwards-open-up-about-teaming-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/08\/18\/kevin-durant-anthony-edwards-open-up-about-teaming-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards Open Up About Teaming Up"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This weekend, Phoenix Suns forward <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/duranke01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kevin Durant<\/a> and Minnesota Timberwolves wing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/e\/edwaran01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Anthony Edwards<\/a> made an appearance at Fanatics Fest, bringing joy to kids who came to see their hoops heroes. However, the highlight of the event may have been the questions that they were asked about each other. Teaming up together for the Paris Olympics, the two have since become as thick as thieves.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMan, I call him the \u2018Baby Goat,\u2019\u201d Durant says of his experience with Edwards this offseason. \u201cYou know what I mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The Summer of KD &amp; Ant continues at <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/FanaticsFest?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#FanaticsFest<\/a>! <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/XvAaXknhim\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/XvAaXknhim<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 NBA (@NBA) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NBA\/status\/1824914780093559146?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 17, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s been dope,\u201d Edwards adds. \u201cI had a great experience, especially being alongside him. I was on his hip the entire trip.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards Open Up About Teaming Up<\/h2>\n<p>Durant and Edward\u2019s developing a friendship has been one of the better parts of the offseason.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">A look back at <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KDTrey5?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@KDTrey5<\/a> and <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/theantedwards_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@theantedwards_<\/a> summer to remember! \ud83c\udfc0 <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/fiQ0wZBZ2M\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/fiQ0wZBZ2M<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 NBA (@NBA) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NBA\/status\/1825191783224971740?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 18, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>On the one hand, they\u2019re simply two of the most electrifying players in the league.<\/p>\n<p>Edwards constantly backs up his confidence with elite play, even displaying MVP-caliber potential last season. Indeed, Edwards has usurped fellow former No. 1 pick <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/t\/townska01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Karl-Anthony Towns<\/a> as the franchise leader.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Anthony Edwards TRULY UNHINGED 23-24 Season Mixtape \ud83d\udc3a\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CyDbCr1BiUg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Durant hardly needs an introduction. A first ballot Hall of Famer, the DMV native is largely considered to be the greatest scorer of all-time.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Kevin Durant BEST OF 23-24 Regular Season Highlights \u2620\ufe0f\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/oC1M3Jc5GI4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, Edwards\u2019s youthful energy and acknowledgment of Durant being his favorite players seems to have brought out a more vibrant side of the 35-year-old.<\/p>\n<p>While he\u2019s undoubtedly a legendary hooper, Durant has become jaded in recent years, particularly with respect to the fans and media. Peppered with criticism about his decision to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Golden State Warriors in 2016, he\u2019s arguably nowhere near as well-liked as he might have been otherwise.<\/p>\n<p>His reaction to those snide remarks are understandable; he\u2019s human. There are few people who truly want to be disliked. Nonetheless, he\u2019s now leaning into a villain role that he didn\u2019t enter the league trying to have.<\/p>\n<p>All jokes aside, it would be great if Durant completely enjoyed his NBA experience. He\u2019ll hardly be able to forget people piling on him for nearly a decade. However, as he enters the twilight of his career, he should be able to leave the game peacefully.<\/p>\n<h3>Will They Play Together In NBA?<\/h3>\n<p>Edwards and Durant\u2019s growing relationship has led to an intriguing hypothetical.<\/p>\n<p>Durant is only entering his second season with the Suns. Yet, his contract is set to expire in 2026, which may give Phoenix a small championship window. Should the Suns flop in 2024-25, he and the team could work together to find him a new home next summer. Nonetheless, whether leaving via trade or free agency, the Timberwolves now appear to be <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/08\/03\/suns-ceo-josh-bartelstein-kevin-durant-extension-suitor-emerges\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">an appealing destination<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>For one, Durant wanted to play for Phoenix and his prior team (the Brooklyn Nets) because of his friendships with and respect for their star players. Secondly, Minnesota is no longer considered to be a bottom-rung franchise. The team was long in ill repute because of an extensive playoff drought. However, Ant Man came in to save the day, leading the Wolves to a top-three finish in the West last season. If Durant comes aboard, Minnesota may leap to the very top of the conference standings.<\/p>\n<p>More importantly, a team with Edwards and Durant will be tough to beat in a seven-game series.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This weekend, Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant and Minnesota Timberwolves wing Anthony Edwards made an appearance at Fanatics Fest, bringing joy to kids who came to see their hoops heroes. However, the highlight of the event may have been the questions that they were asked about each other. Teaming up together for the Paris Olympics, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":91092,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,21,3,28],"tags":[2109,69,297,4557],"class_list":["post-91084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-timberwolves","category-news","category-suns","tag-anthony-edwards","tag-kevin-durant","tag-nba-free-agency","tag-nba-offseason"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91084\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}