"Score first player" - NBA fans react to Anthony Edwards' surprising lack of any triple-doubles

Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard Anthony Edwards has the makings to be one of the league's brightest stars. In his five years in the league, the 23-year-old has already been a three-time All-Star and has made it to the All-NBA second team one time.

However, there is one thing that he has yet to accomplish in his illustrious career — a triple-double. One Reddit user by the name of u/perkincenter drew the attention of fans to this weird fact on the NBA's subreddit, which prompted others to weigh in as well.

Why hasn’t Anthony Edwards ever recorded a triple-double? What aspects of his game are holding him back? byu/perkincenter innba

Some of the fans who replied to the post held Edwards's playing style responsible as to why it isn't easy for him to get a triple-double.

"He's a score first player. Maybe he'll develop better court vision but he'd rather take a double teamed turnaround three than pass the rock up lol," one person commented.

Comment byu/perkincenter from discussion innba

"Plays as a perimeter defender mainly which makes it harder to get defensive rebounds. Luka (Doncic) on the other hand is typically on a non-shooting forward so he winds up in a better position to grab rebounds," one fan said.

"He's surrounded by excellent rebounders. It would be awful coaching for the team if they make him waste energy leaping for [rebounds]," another person weighed in.

Meanwhile, some fans shared their takes on the value of a triple-double. A few said that it's not easy to get one while others think it's overvalued.

"Triple double is the most overrated stat in the NBA," one person said.

"Triple doubles are overrated, especially for guards. Just because you grab uncontested rebounds doesn't mean it helps your team," someone commented.

"Guys like Russ, Jokic, Bron, Luka, Harden etc. got y'all thinking triple doubles are easy lmao," another person said.

Comment byu/perkincenter from discussion innba

A triple-double used to be a rather rare feat in the NBA. Nowadays, it has become more common owing to players like Luka Doncic, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and Nikola Jokic doing it almost every other game.

Still, not everyone can get a triple-double on a nightly basis. Ant is the best example of that.

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Even a double-double isn't a common occurrence for Anthony Edwards

Anthony Edwards gets his boards and finds his teammates when needed. He just hasn't done these things as much as he's scored. Throughout his career, he has averaged 5.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game.

Rebounding isn't his primary role on his team. He plays with Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid, Jaden McDaniels and Julius Randle, who are all reliable rebounders. Before Randle, he also had Karl-Anthony Towns.

As for playmaking, it isn't something he needs to worry about because he fills the role of his team's primary scorer.

To illustrate just how little he needs to grab boards or dish the rock, fans can also look at how many double-doubles he has recorded as the Timberwolves centerpiece. In 337 career games, Edwards has only logged in 32 double-doubles.

He had three as a rookie, four in his second season, nine each in years three and four; and he has had seven so far this year.