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Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards said Saturday that he feels “bad” about sweeping Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs last season.
During a panel discussion with Durant and former NBA player Jalen Rose at Fanatics Fest in New York City, Ant described what he felt when he played a key role in eliminating his idol from the postseason:
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“I felt a little bad just because he’s my favorite player of all time. I didn’t want to send him home like that.”
-Anthony Edwards on what it was like to eliminate KD in the playoffs 🤣🤝
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“I felt a little bad just because he’s my favorite player of all time,” Edwards said. “I didn’t want to send him home like that.”
Although Edwards and Durant were on opposing sides in the playoffs, they joined forces this month at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, helping lead Team USA to the gold medal.
The 23-year-old Edwards has long expressed his admiration for Durant, calling him his favorite player and one of the Top five players in NBA history.
They got a chance to go head-to-head in last season’s playoffs, and while Edwards still has a long way to go before he can match KD’s track record, which includes two championships and two NBA Finals MVP awards with the Golden State Warriors, Ant has been better than him in the series.
Edwards delivered a spectacular performance in this four-game sweep, averaging 31.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 3.5 three-pointers and 2.0 steals per game.
He also helped the T-Wolves advance past then-defending NBA champions Denver Nuggets in the second round before losing to the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference finals.
Given the obvious mutual respect between Edwards and Durant, basketball fans enjoyed the opportunity to see them as teammates in Paris.
During the Olympic Games, they were often on the pitch together, seemed to support each other at times and both provided new momentum from the bench.
KD was the third-leading scorer with 13.8 points per game on the U.S. team that went undefeated and defeated host France in the gold medal game, while Edwards, the youngest player for the United States, averaged 12.8 points per game.
It’s unclear if Durant and Edwards will ever get the chance to play together again, but they’re likely to have more epic duels in the hotly contested Western Conference in the years to come.
