Edwards says Minnesota is not thinking about a championship yet, but the way his career is trending, that conversation is coming whether he wants it or not.
Anthony Edwards has spent six seasons pulling the Minnesota Timberwolves closer to the top of the Western Conference, and the hole in his resume is the one that changes how people talk about a player forever.
Minnesota won 49 games last season, finished sixth in the West, knocked out Denver in six games in the first round and then ran into San Antonio in the conference semifinals, where the season ended in six.
The franchise has been to the playoffs 14 times in its history and has never won a championship, which is exactly why the stakes around Edwards feel different than they do around most other stars his age.
Edwards addressed the subject during a visit to Manila this month, telling ESPN that winning it all would mean a lot to him while pumping the brakes on any big talk.
"But right now, I don't think we're thinking about winning the championship. It's step by step. We got LaMelo, a new player, and a bunch of new pieces," he said.
He also made news in the same conversation by saying he believes Minnesota beats both Oklahoma City and San Antonio, so the confidence is clearly there even if the championship talk is not.
He even waved off the idea that sharing the ball with a new star guard changes anything about him, saying he will still be the same person with Ball in the backcourt.
The Case He Is Building
The individual numbers already belong to a superstar.
Edwards averaged a career-best 28.8 points per game last season while shooting 39.9 percent from three across 61 games, and his 24.6 points per game for his career keep climbing every year.
The team results are catching up to the talent too, because that 49-33 season included a playoff series win over a Denver team built around a three-time MVP.
Rings are what separate the faces of the league from everyone else, fair or not, and a ring is what Edwards does not have.
A Roster Built to Chase It
The front office spent the summer pushing the chips toward him.
Minnesota traded for LaMelo Ball, and a recent look at the new-look roster made the case that the pairing will speed the offense up in a real way.
ESPN's Michael C. Wright wrote this week that the Timberwolves could creep into the contender mix if Ball meshes and draws attention away from Edwards, though he noted the roster lacks a true power forward after Julius Randle left for Brooklyn and Naz Reid went to Charlotte.
ESPN's Summer Forecast still projects Minnesota fifth in the West at 50-32.
The organization around him is changing as well, with Marc Stad completing his purchase of controlling ownership and Alex Rodriguez expanding his own role in the franchise.
There are real reasons for optimism about the new owners, though owners do not hang banners, players do.
A championship would hand Edwards the one argument he is missing, give this franchise its first banner ever, and settle the legacy question before he even hits his prime.
