It’s no secret that Kevin Durant is Anthony Edwards’ favorite player, as he has said multiple times in interviews.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Now, for the first time in their careers, Edwards and Durant are teammates on the United States men’s basketball national team for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“Once they asked me to play and I seen that (Durant) was playing, I couldn’t say no,” Edwards said after the second day of training camp in Las Vegas Sunday (via Star Tribune’s Christopher Hine). “We been talkin’ the whole time. It’s dope.”
Durant has missed the first two days of training camp with a minor calf strain, something Steve Kerr said was out of precaution and is a day-to-day injury, so Edwards has not gotten the chance to share the floor with him yet.
The 22-year-old Edwards comes training camp after leading Team USA in scoring at 18.9 points per game during the FIBA World Cup last year, but the team finished fourth overall with a much-worse roster than this year. Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton are the only players on this summer’s squad from last year, as they are now playing alongside the likes of Durant, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis and several other of the elite players in the NBA.
Still, in this same interview, Edwards made all the headlines when he said that he was the No. 1 option on Team USA, despite being the youngest player on the team.
Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards on how he fits in with USA Basketball Olympic team: “I’m still the number one option. Y’all might look at it differently. … They’ve got to fit in around me. That’s how I feel.” pic.twitter.com/Cga5kTiR2J
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) July 7, 2024
He clarified his comments later.
“They mentioned some guys — you might not play some games, might not play that many minutes. I don’t mind,” Edwards said. “I’m playing alongside Hall of Famers. I’m just here. If they need me, I’ll be one call away.”
Edwards led the Minnesota Timberwolves to a first-round sweep of Durant’s Phoenix Suns last season. Despite this, his answer was not himself when asked who should have the ball at the end of game on this year’s team.
“When the game is on the line? Who’s going to be the alpha?” Edwards said. “I think Kevin Durant. He better be. That’s who I came to see.”
Best of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant at Day 2 of USA Basketball training camp
*Get the BEST Phoenix sports insider information, exclusive content, and access to our seasonal magazines! SIGN UP HERE to unlock our premium content!*
Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
