Anthony Edwards has worked tirelessly toward becoming a rising young NBA star, but his work ethic previously was questioned by one of the greatest coaches in the league.
Before the 22-year-old was an All-Star guard with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Edwards met with Warriors coach Steve Kerr for a workout ahead of the 2020 NBA Draft. Kerr wasn't impressed, telling Edwards afterward that he "wasn't working hard enough."
"I thought I was working hard," Edwards said at Timberwolves media day on Thursday (h/t ESPN's Jamal Collier). "When he came, I was going through drills and he kept stopping them, like, 'That's all you got? That's all you got?' And I'm like, 'Bro, I'm going hard as you want me to go. What you want me to do? I'm sweating crazy.' "
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Later that evening, Edwards joined Kerr and then-Warriors general manager Bob Myers for dinner where the two repeated the same message to him. But they wanted to make sure their point got across, telling Edwards that if they had the No. 1 pick that year, they would not have drafted him.
"He's like, 'Man, you've got to see Steph [Curry], [Kevin Durant] and Klay [Thompson] work out,' " Edwards said. "They still was continuously telling me, 'You didn't work hard enough. If we had the No. 1 pick, we wouldn't take you.' And I was just like, 'Damn, that's crazy.' "
The Timberwolves selected Edwards with the No. 1 overall pick, and the Warriors used their No. 2 overall pick to draft 7-foot big man James Wiseman.
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Edwards recalled being surprised by Kerr and Myers' comments, but also took a look in the mirror, realized Kerr was right and used the situation as motivation.
"Me and my trainer [were] riding home after dinner and we're just talking like we got to pick it up," Edwards said. "I don't know how, I don't know what we got to do, but we got to pick it up. After that, I became a madman at the gym."
Edwards took those words to heart and, three years later, changed the narrative of what is said about him. He spent part of this summer with Kerr and Team USA, but this time, Kerr had nothing but positive things to say about the Timberwolves star.
"He's unquestionably the guy," Kerr said after Edwards dropped 34 points in an exhibition victory against Germany. "You can see he knows it. But now the team knows it, and I think the fans see it.
"He genuinely believes he's the best player in the gym every single night. And he's such a dynamic young player. I think he's taking a leap."
Last season, the third-year guard averaged 24.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.6 steals in 36.0 minutes played in 79 games and was named an All-Star for the first time in his career.
All-Star feels like just the beginning for Edwards, though.
Over the summer, Edwards said he and Kerr talked about his pre-draft session, and Edwards thanked the Warriors' coach for calling out his work habits and eventually inspiring him to change them for the better.
"They played a huge role in where I am today because they pitched that to me early," Edwards said.
Edwards signed a five-year contract extension worth up to $260 million with the Timberwolves this offseason. It's evident that the franchise believed and continue to believe in him, but it was Kerr's disbelief that unlocked something special.
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