10 Anthony Edwards-Michael Jordan Eerie Similarities
I found 10 of my favorite similarities between the two very good basketball players.
I get it. Anthony Edwards doesn’t want to be compared to Michael Jordan. Or so he says. He told Melissa Rohlin as much. "I want it to stop," the 22-year-old Edwards told FOX Sports. "He's the greatest of all time. I can't be compared to him."
I hear Howard Beck’s call — from March! — to stop the comps. It seems like a blessing now but Beck warns us that it may turn out to be a curse a la Harold Miner and Jerry Stackhouse who unfairly lived in his shadow.
But now we have an endorsement from Michael Jordan himself, who told FOX Sports’ Chris Broussard recently that he sees the similarities between him and Anthony Edwards. OK, so let’s have some fun with it.
As Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves look to go up 3-0 on Friday night against the Denver Nuggets, I’ve spent the past week or so gathering up my favorite Michael Jordan/Anthony Edwards similarities.
Without further ado …
1. The headshot mirror image
I think this is where it all started. Their faces show a resemblance. I’m not suggesting he’s Jordan’s son or anything.
But we have to start here, from an X user who posted it back in 2021:
I mean …
2. The fadeaway jumper
You should really get yourself a copy of Kirk Goldsberry’s new book HOOP ATLAS. He has a chapter on Michael Jordan that focuses on how the MJ fadeaway revolutionized the game. It was an unguardable shot that extended his prime and made him, like Stephen Curry later, a devastating jump-shooter in a game of giants. If you’re like me, you practiced the MJ fadeaway in the driveway until sundown.
Anthony Edwards has perfected it. Look at this shot in Game 2.
The footwork. The one-legged lean. The location.
Money.
Edwards claims that he didn’t idolize MJ growing up. His favorite was Kevin Durant. Even still. He’s a quick study.
3. The shrug
I know he said he doesn’t want to be compared to MJ, but after Game 2, I don’t believe him. Edwards hit ‘em with the MJ shrug in Game 2 while retreating back on defense!
What a moment.
It’s a callback to Jordan’s reaction after hitting a slew of threes in the 1992 NBA Finals against the Blazers. We’ve already gotten three dead-on parallels. I’ve spotted seven more.