Who will win the first major professional sports championship in the state of Minnesota since the Twins did it in 1991? That question remains unanswered. Both the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Vikings could make an argument for themselves, as of Sunday afternoon.
Are the Minnesota Timberwolves next up to win a major sports championship?
The Vikings are undefeated (losing to the Lions at halftime) and they’ve proven themselves as a legitimate contender in the NFC. Meanwhile, the Timberwolves start their new season on Tuesday . After a Western Conference Finals run last year, Anthony Edwards & Co. are trying to go where no Minnesota Timberwolves team has gone before.
What if he succeeds? That’s a subject we try not to discuss, around these parts. Minnesota sports fans under the age of 32 have never even seen their major pro teams play in a championship. What’s there to talk about? Anthony Edwards doesn’t see it that way, though. He thinks the Wolves are next up, and soon. Others agree.
And should he be able to payoff his championship dreams, Ant has bigger plans, beyond basketball. No, not Hollywood. He’s been there, and he’ll probably do that again. No, he isn’t thinking about owning a pro franchise someday. Philanthropy isn’t necessarily his main concern these days, either.
According to Anthony Edwards, if the Minnesota Timberwolves win a championship in the next three to four years, he is going to change sports. Ant says he wants to be a football player. And if he can reach the top of the basketball mountain before he turns 25, he’s eying the NFL. And he isn’t joking, either.
Related: Timberwolves + Rudy Gobert Contract Extension Rumors Heating Up Again
Why does he want to play football so badly? Because he wants to prove that playing basketball is harder than playing football. He says that there isn’t a football player in the NFL who could play in the NBA. And he wants to prove the opposite is true of NBA players in the NFL.
Edwards : “Football is easier, yeah. Football plays can’t just go play basketball.”
Jefferson : “You’re crazy…”
Edwards : “No way. I told my buddies, I said, ‘if I win a ring in the next three to four years, I’m going to play football.”
This clip stems from a shortened version of ESPN feature about Justin Jefferson and Anthony Edwards, that is releasing this week. A preview played on Sunday NFL Countdown Sunday morning. As part of the feature, the two Minnesota phenoms posed for the iconic jersey swap photo first done by Randy Moss and Kevin Garnett, back in the mid-2000s.
Anthony Edwards is already the greatest Minnesota Timberwolves player of all time. If you want to argue Kevin Garnett, fine, but even that argument will be mute in the next few years.
Much like Kirill Kaprizov for the Minnesota Wild, Ant is just so much better offensively than any Wolf who has come before him that records are going to start falling early and often, as he racks up more seasons and more games.
If Ant wins the Wolves a title he can do whatever he wants
But now, Ant is saying that he may not be around to play all of those games. That, if he wins a championship in Minnesota with the Timberwolves, he’s moving on to football. So, how should Minnesota Timberwolves fans feel about that?
Related: Minnesota Timberwolves Reveal the Worst Official Hashtag in Social Media History
That’s easy. If Anthony Edwards brings an NBA Championship to the state of Minnesota and a parade down Hennepin Avenue in the middle of a beautiful Twin Cities summer, then he can do whatever the hell he wants.
It would hurt to watch Edwards leave, but if part of his GOAT story has to include a chapter where he takes time away from basketball to focus on another sport, then let’s just hope his return is even more epic than Jordan’s was.
Also of note: Could there be a reality in our future where Ant wins both the Wolves and Vikings their first ever championship? Technically, I cannot confidently answer ‘no’ to that question.
More must-reads:
Local News
Comments / 0