Anthony Edwards' Blunt Warning To Team USA Starters After Win Over Australia

It only took one exhibition game for Anthony Edwards to force his way into a star-studded Team USA starting five. The Minnesota Timberwolves' franchise player hardly deferred to LeBron James, Stephen Curry and his elder statesman teammates in the Americans' friendly win over Australia on Monday, either, finishing with 14 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals on 5-of-11 shooting in a team-high 27 minutes

And after the United States' uneven 98-92 victory over the Aussies in Abu Dhabi, Edwards continued proving he won't be taking a backseat to anyone on the hopeful road to Olympic gold, sending his fellow starters a stern warning about their sluggish play to begin the second half.

“We can’t get comfortable,” he said, per Steve Drumwright of USAB.com. “I think the third quarter, we came out and got super-comfortable, took our foot off the gas, wasn’t sharing the ball as much. I think the second group shared the ball a lot more than the first group. We got to do a better job of getting each other involved, like the second group.”

Team USA led big at intermission, riding Edwards' hot start from deep and dogged all-court defense to a 53-37 advantage over Australia.

But the Americans came out flat after halftime, stagnant offense, a rash of turnovers (18 in total) and lackadaisical team defense helping Australia get back in the game. They were only up four late as Chicago Bulls playmaker Josh Giddey spearheaded the Boomers' fourth-quarter comeback, narrowly escaping with a win after Devin Booker hit a jumper with 32 seconds left then calmly drained four straight free throws.

The victory moved Team USA to 2-0 in exhibition action, with a highly anticipated matchup against Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic and Serbia awaiting on Wednesday. Age and national team experience be damned, rest assured that Edwards won't shy away from providing the Americans with more constructive criticism en route to Paris for the 2024 Olympics.

“We’ve got to stop turning the ball. That’s the main thing,” he said.

Related: Team USA Issues Statement Regarding Caitlin Clark's Olympic Status