Anthony Edwards Breaks Out Against Phoenix

Minnesota Timberwolves #1 overall draft pick Anthony Edwards caught a lot of flack for the slow start to his rookie campaign early in the season, but he has come on strong lately and absolutely busted loose for a career-high 42 points in Thursday night's win over the Phoenix Suns. Edwards joins some pretty lofty company when it comes to teenagers scoring 40+ points in an NBA game.

Anthony Edwards has joined some pretty exclusive company tonight (via ⁦@ESPNStatsInfo⁩). pic.twitter.com/pKYPMPjeUL
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) March 19, 2021

Edwards has been on fire since the All-Star break, averaging 30.6 ppg in 5 games following the mid-season showcase. In our NBA Draft preview, we highlighted the fact that Edwards has elite explosive ability at the rim, and has the potential to be a league leader in scoring.

Anthony Edwards has now scored 105 points in his last three games.

He's the 1st teenager in NBA history with 100 points in a 3-game span 🤯 pic.twitter.com/Yknx20kCEe
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) March 19, 2021

The interesting question now - can Edwards insert himself into the Rookie of the Year conversation? At the moment, LaMelo Ball is the clear-cut favorite for the award. However, if Edwards can continue to score at a similar pace as his recent stretch, look for him to vault into contention with Ball. If it comes down to a few votes, the fact that Edwards is a beast at the rim may end up swinging a vote in his favor. Check out some of Edwards' best dunks from his rookie year thus far.