Anthony Edwards: Draft Profile

Jun 15  | Written By Justin Levine on The Bant House

As a student at the University of Georgia, watching Anthony Edwards in person was unbelievable. His flair, explosiveness and toughness had me in awe, while sitting in the student section. It is not hard to see why the Warriors, and other NBA teams, are seriously looking at drafting Edwards at #1. The highest recruit in Georgia basketball history gave me hope that we could get into the field of 68.

The NCAA Tournament dream was just that, but Edwards gave Athens something other than football to cheer about. At 6’5”, he is a slightly oversized 2 or undersized 3, but his position doesn’t really matter. He is simply dynamic with the ball in his hands. He has more highlights in that one game in Maui, against Michigan State, than most draft prospects do in their whole college career.

Strengths:

Creativity

Time and time again Edwards took a stepback three over two defenders and drained it. It is one of those “no, no, no.. YES” shots, but he turns the no’s into yes’ with consistency. He won’t hesitate to stepback off a behind the back dribble and leave his defender in the dust. This ability is what makes it clear to the audience that Edwards is the best player on the court. Also, he showed scouts that he has what it takes to hit tough shots in the NBA and, to be, “the guy”. At the end of the shot clock, NBA teams need a guy that can pull up, step back or drive, and Edwards can do all three.

Explosiveness

When he’s coming down the lane, get out of the way. Vanderbilt didn’t do this and Edwards made them pay. More specifically, he made Braelee Albert pay. The poor Vandy freshman got run over by an absolute unit. Edwards' ferocity makes him fearless and renders his opponents the opposite. He also possesses the ability to finish with both hands and in traffic. It doesn’t matter if he is going up, over, around or through, Edwards will put the ball in the basket.

He can heat up

Whether you want to call it “microwave” or “orange juice”, like in the old 2K games, Edwards has the ability to take over a game. He dropped 33 in the 2nd half against top 5 Michigan State in just his 6th collegiate game. He single-handedly cut the Sparty lead to 2 in a game that Georgia trailed by more than 30. He also scored 20 in a half against Tennessee and 18 at Florida. When he gets hot, he won’t be stopped. In this state, Edwards seemingly makes all of the right decisions. He knows when to get his and he also knows when to thread the needle. This type of player is desired by every rebuilding team in the NBA today.

Weaknesses:

Selfishness

A player with the talent of Ant-Man should not have an assist-to-turnover ratio near 1:1. Edwards averaged 2.8 assists and 2.7 turnovers for the season, which will not get it done at the next level. Part of it could be that the supporting cast at Georgia lacked in talent when compared to Edwards. This lack of trust caused him to take those aforementioned difficult shots. Maybe he wanted to show off for the scouts or, maybe he just didn’t trust his teammates. I’m hoping that it’s the former. Edwards has the ability to be great and his vision should warrant and least 4 assists per game at the next level.

Inconsistency

He only shot field goals at a 40.2% clip on the season. It seemed to be very difficult for Edwards to package 2 or 3 solid games in a row, especially during SEC play. For example, he followed up a 10/17 performance at Florida with a 5/17 effort vs Alabama. He also shot 4/17 at Memphis and just 2/13 vs Ole Miss. You have to take the good with the bad because Edwards is a player that’s effective even when he is ineffective. Georgia won those last two games with Edwards simply being a distraction. The opposing defense is always going to be wary of a player of his caliber. As a NBA GM, you might just have to live with the up and down because he is going to get his shots up. 

Player Comp: J.R. Smith

No, I am not talking about the J.R. Smith that forgets the score in the NBA Finals. I remember watching J.R. on those Knick teams in the early 2010s. Smith had more flair for the dramatic than any player on the team, including Carmelo. His 360 dunks and ability to be a one-man fastbreak remind me of Edwards. J.R. was also the one taking the big shot when ‘Melo went down for a few games with injuries. His move was that step back, long two in the left corner. Edwards creates his own shot like J.R., but unlike Smith, he has the ability to do it at any spot on the court. Obviously, Edwards has a higher ceiling, but his explosiveness and creativity are similar to that of J.R.

Best Fit: Detroit Pistons

The Pistons are the only team in the top 5 that does not have a 20-point per game scorer. Edwards needs time to develop and the best way to do that is to give him control of the team. This is a guy that needs to learn with the ball in his hands. He wouldn’t have the ball as much as he needs playing with Steph and Klay, Towns and Russell, Sexton or Trae. Even with Edwards, Detroit would not expect to win now. The UGA star would be able to develop on his own time alongside late bloomers Christian Wood and Thon Maker and under the tutelage of Blake Griffin. Eventually, they would be poised to make noise in the east.