"Baby Jordan has arrived" - NBA fans hyped over Anthony Edwards' impressive 31-pt preseason outing for Timberwolves

Minnesota Timberwolves rising superstar wing Anthony Edwards caught fire during Sunday's road preseason battle against the New York Knicks. His scoring outburst had NBA fans projecting him to take over the league in his fifth season.

Despite Minnesota falling 115-110 to New York at Madison Square Garden, Edwards finished with a game-high 31 points and eight 3-pointers, shooting 57.9%. He did so in just under 27 minutes before checking out late in the third quarter of the relatively inconsequential exhibition matchup.

Anthony Edwards' 31-point eruption came in just his second preseason outing. Thus, the two-time All-Star seemingly hasn't skipped a beat since last season.

Edwards is coming off a breakout campaign in which he led the third-seeded Timberwolves (56-26) to their first Western Conference finals appearance since 2004. He followed that up by playing a key role for Team USA during this year's Paris Olympics, securing his first gold medal.

Nevertheless, it appears fans believe Edwards can reach another level in Year 5. Following Sunday's contest, many took to X/Twitter to proclaim Edwards the NBA's next preeminent superstar. Some even likened him to Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan.

"Baby Jordan has arrived," @MannIversonMuse said.

"Future face of the league. Easily," @LonzoMuse2 said.

"We’ve entered the ANT era," @PlayoffLucro wrote.

Another fan made a lofty prediction about Edwards' upcoming season.

"INCOMING MVP," @pearszn1 wrote.

Meanwhile, others projected Edwards' rank among the league's top players in the 2024-25 campaign.

"Top 5 in the league. Respect," @SonicsMuse said.

"He's gonna make his mark as the No. 1 shooting guard in the league," @Chozenboii wrote.

In Photos: Former teammates Karl-Anthony Towns & Anthony Edwards reunite during Timberwolves vs Knicks game at MSG

---

Anthony Edwards said he learned from Steph Curry over the summer ahead of 31-pt preseason onslaught

Anthony Edwards drilling eight 3s at MSG followed his media day comments about shadowing arguably the NBA's greatest shooter ever over the summer.

According to Edwards, he learned how to capitalize on moving without the ball from Golden State Warriors superstar guard Steph Curry at the Paris Olympics.

"The best thing that I learned was from Steph," Edwards said. "I took [Le]Bron [James'] pre-game routine, but Steph, just playing without the ball. So, the last few days, we've been playing five-on-five, I just be cutting, getting out the way, and I get easy shots. I think I learned the most from Steph."

(from 1:17 mark onwards)

Edwards working on his shot selection should bode well for his chances of taking another leap, as he still has room for improvement efficiency-wise from outside.

Over 79 appearances last season, he averaged 25.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.4 3-pointers per game, shooting 46.1% and 35.7% from deep.

---