NBA legend and Inside The NBA star Charles Barkley believes Anthony Edwards’ regression is because of over-reliance on threes.
Chuck tells Edwards he’s taking too many threes: “He’s not aggressive enough”
Anthony Edwards is only 23-years-old. Through his first four years in the league, he’s tallied two All-Star appearances alongside All-NBA Second Team honors last season.
In his rookie season, he averaged 19.3 points a game – upped to 21.3 in his sophomore year, 24.6 in his third campaign and a career-best 25.9 in 2023-24.
In 2024-25 however, his scoring has taken a slight dip to an average of 24.5 points a night and the Minnesota Timberwolves are hovering around the .500 mark instead of challenging for the West.
Viewed as one of the future faces of the league after a promising run to the Western Conference Finals last year, many expected Edwards to continue his ascension within the sport – but his game appears to have regressed.
In Thursday’s loss to Boston, Jayson Tatum limited Edwards to 15 points on 5/16 shooting and he looked to have a hard time dealing with the various coverages Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla threw at him.
Barkley, an MVP winner with 11 All-Star nods across a decorated 16-year career in the league, explained why he thinks Edwards hasn’t hit the heights we thought he would:
“I actually think Anthony Edwards has regressed. he’s become an outside shooter. He’s not aggressive like he was last year… He’s taking too many threes in my opinion. He’s such a terrific player.
“I actually think Anthony Edwards has regressed”
Chuck isn’t a fan of Ant’s three-point volume this year 🫣 pic.twitter.com/rtgRjD95Bm
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 3, 2025
As per the best online sportsbooks, Minnesota are a distant +1200 shot to win the conference this year and they’ll need to see a dramatic improvement in form to make a real challenge.
Following the defeat, Edwards told reporters he was frustrated by the way teams are double teaming him – a process made much easier for his opponents following the departure of stretch big Karl Anthony-Towns to the New York Knicks.
He explained it wasn’t how he wanted to play, saying he is ‘wired to score the ball’ – and it appears he still has plenty of work to do to adapt his game and help the Timberwolves.
