Anthony Edwards reveals how Steve Kerr inadvertently motivated him ahead of 2020 NBA Draft

Steve Kerr provided Anthony Edwards with the fuel to up his calibre as a rookie, and he's inculcated a great work ethic since then.

Anthony Edwards reveals how Steve Kerr inadvertently motivated him ahead of 2020 NBA Draft

Steve Kerr, Anthony Edwards (Images via Instagram)

Anthony Edwards and his Minnesota Timberwolves enter their Conference semifinals series against the Warriors with a homecourt advantage. The Wolves have been favored by the oddsmakers to take the series home, but they have some serious obstacles in their path. In between Edwards and a series win stands head coach Steve Kerr and his experience of winning nine NBA championships.

Kerr, of course, has Stephen Curry as the ace up his sleeve this series. The matchup between Curry and Edwards will be the barometer of which team is able to secure an advantage. Both these players have arguments to be treated as top-5 players in the NBA. Both are coming off scorching performances during their first-round series. But Edwards himself has some internally motivating factors that he talked about.

Speaking to the press ahead of game 1, Edwards shed light on how Kerr evaluated him during the pre-draft process. The No. 1 overall pick told fans the inside story of how Kerr’s evaluation motivated him to ascend to NBA superstardom.

It was crazy because, like, before he came, I thought I was working hard, and when he came, I was going through the drills. And he kept stopping me and saying ‘That’s all you got,’ and I’m like ‘Bruh, I’m going hard as you want me to go, what do you want me to do? I’m sweating crazy.’ He said ‘You gotta see Steph and KD and Klay work out.’ And we went to dinner that night, and they still were continuously telling me ‘You didn’t work hard enough. If we had the no. 1 pick we wouldn’t draft you.’ And I was just like ‘Damn, that’s crazy’.

Anthony Edwards on how Steve Kerr and Bob Myers evaluated him pre-draft

Edwards then admitted that this served as fuel to drive himself past his limits and made him work much harder.

So me and my trainer were riding home after dinner. We’re just talking like ‘We gotta pick it up. I don’t know how, I don’t know what we’ve gotta do. But bro we’ve gotta pick it up.’ And I think after that, man, I just became a madman. I tried to work till I’m tired, I’m exhausted.

Anthony Edwards on how the talk motivated him to go ever harder.

Anthony Edwards vs Stephen Curry will be the key matchup of the series

The Warriors and Timberwolves are both teams that have made it to the playoffs on hot streaks. The Warriors’ hot streak was a result of acquiring Jimmy Butler, while the Wolves were buoyed by Julius Randle staging his comeback from injury. The Wolves have the talent edge in this matchup, with more role players capable of taking on two-way roles.

However, playoff series are governed by how superstars are defended, and it’s ultimately going to be a head-to-head between the alphas, Edwards and Curry. Defending Edwards requires the Warriors to probably use Jimmy Butler as the primary defender for Edwards. The Wolves will probably have Donte DiVincenzo and Edwards doing primary defensive duties on Curry.

Both of these All-NBA talents are wholly capable of putting their teams on their backs. Edwards’ game 4 showing against the Lakers, when he tallied 43 points, and Curry’s game-changing performances early in the series against the Houston Rockets were clear indicators that both of these star guards are operating at the peaks of their powers. The head-to-head matchups between them will serve as the X-factors.

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