Report: Anthony Edwards to Represent United States at 2024 Paris Olympics

Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star guard Anthony Edwards will represent the United States of America at 2024 Paris Olympic games, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The report named Edwards, along with the likes of Stephen Curry, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant, among the players confirmed to be on the 12-man roster this summer.

NBA Insider Shams Charania of The Athletic previously discussed Edwards’ and his desire to make the roster and compete to be a starter. The player pool that Edwards had to compete with over the last year included potential All-NBA Jalen Brunson, and other highly talented guards such as Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks, and De’Aaron Fox of the Sacramento Kings.

This would also mean that Edwards beat out Los Angeles Clippers star Paul George and Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat amongst others at the wing positions to make the final team.

Ant-Man would become the first Wolves player to play for Team USA on the Olympic level since Kevin Love in 2012. He’d be joining a very small list of other Wolves players to do it, alongside Love, Christian Laettner in 1992, and Hall-Of-Famer Kevin Garnett in 2000. All these former players won gold in the years they competed, and Edwards is looking to do the same.

This experience would be huge for Ant if he makes the final cut. Being surrounded by three NBA legends, other superstars, and learning from an incredibly experienced coaching staff would be majorly beneficial as he continues to develop as the Wolves’ franchise cornerstone.

If this roster does come to fruition, Edwards will likely be taking on more of a reserved role and coming off the bench as opposed to him starting the way he did with the FIBA team.

Photo by Nathaniel S.Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

Whether he does start or not, the experience of being able to pick the minds of some of the greatest players to ever play the game, and speak with some of the greatest coaches ever will be important. Learning the finer intracises of basketball, and then how to apply them to his game for the Wolves in the regular season and future playoff runs will translate to more consistent performances and winning at a higher rate. It will enable Ant to become a more complete player and raise the floor of not only his own game, but also those of his teammates.

Edwards does have experience at the international level under his belt. He played for the Team USA FIBA roster that competed in the World Cup in the summer of 2023 where he helped lead that team, albeit to a fourth-place finish. In that run, Ant averaged a team-high 18.9 points on 47.5/31.1/70 shooting splits, along with with 4.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists. His performance also earned him All-FIBA honors, joining the upper echelon of players like Durant and Kyrie Irving who have made that team, along with other greats and Hall-Of-Famers Manu Ginobili and Dirk Nowitzki.

The 22-year-old capped off an impressive fourth season, leading the Wolves to a franchise second best regular season of 56-26, only behind the 2003-04 year that saw the Timberwolves finish with a 58-24 record. This is also just the second season in franchise history where Minnesota has finished with a top-three seed.

Edwards is likely to be selected to an All-NBA team for his work this season, in which he posted 25.9 points per game on 46.1/35.7/83.6 shooting splits, with 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.3 steals per game.

If Ant-Man is able to put forth a great performance in this upcoming Olympics to package with his charismatic personality, the Paris Games may become a passing of the torch from Curry and LeBron as one of the next faces of the NBA.

Team USA has won four straight Olympic gold medals and Edwards will play a critical role in helping bring more glory back stateside. A gold medal would add to an already impressive of accolades, and could serve as a springboard for his next NBA leap.