The 2020 NBA Draft dragged into November of that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball moved back and forth as the favorite to become the draft's top pick.
Not knowing for sure whether he would be the top pick, Anthony Edwards agreed to a pre-draft workout with the Golden State Warriors , who owned the No.2 pick. Golden State team, led by head coach Steve Kerr , met Edwards at the Tracey Wyatt Recreation Center just outside Atlanta for the activity.
"The first impression was it was hard to tell whether he was going to be good or not because he was just so raw," Kerr said . "He was so young, and he was full of energy, which we loved, but we just worried about: Was he going to be a worker? Because he didn't know anything."
Kerr stopped the workout after an hour
Edwards averaged 19.1 PPG as a college freshman. But although he was the highest-scoring first-year player in the NCAA, he also shot just .402 from the field and .294 from three-point distance. Despite that, Anthony was named SEC Freshman of the Year and made the All-SEC second team.
As expected, Edwards displayed his vaunted offensive skillset during his Warriors workout. Despite that, Kerr wasn't too impressed, and according to Edwards' business manager Justin Holland, who was also his trainer back then, the Dubs head coach called a halt to the activity after just one hour.
"He was like, 'Imagine everybody walking through the door has $50 million,'" recalled Holland. "'Because the way you're working out, you're not the type of guy to give $50 million to.'"
Related: Carmelo Anthony shares how if Jayson Tatum had the same aura as Anthony Edwards, he would've been the next face of the NBA
Edwards left that workout with a different mindset
Two years ago, Ant-Man spoke about his Warriors workout during an appearance on Jake Takes. In that interview, Edwards admitted that he failed to complete a workout that Kerr had asked him to do, which was why the Dubs head coach had ended the workout prematurely.
"'If we're gonna draft you at No. 2, you gotta be a hard worker," Edwards on what Kerr told him. "Like, you ain't working hard enough.' And I think I think that was a stumble in the road for me. And I looked at it like, I called my trainer afterward and was like, 'Ay bro, we gotta change, we gotta change it up.' Steve Kerr told me how Steph and KD used to work out super hard. Ever since, I feel like I took that next step."
The Minnesota Timberwolves picked Edwards first overall, while the Warriors went with James Wiseman. Wiseman never panned out, while Edwards is now one of the most promising young stars in the league. Steve Kerr definitely thinks differently about Ant-Man. Trusting him with key minutes for Team USA is proof of that.
Related: Mark Jackson reveals the underrated aspect of Anthony Edwards' game that makes him a star: "It's a compliment to his greatness"
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