Karl-Anthony Towns: Anthony Edwards has skills and intangibles as face of the NBA | News, scores, highlights, stats and rumors

New York Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns believes his former Minnesota Timberwolves teammate Anthony Edwards could be the face of the NBA.

Towns expressed that opinion during an appearance on the website Club Shay Shay podcast with Shannon Sharpe and then explained why (35 minutes).

“He’s got the charisma. Age is on his side. He’s got the athleticism… he’s gotten better at shooting. I think he could do it. I think he could do it. And this is a very guard-friendly league, and he is a guard who not only has the skills but the intangibles needed to truly be the face of the NBA for years to come.”

Towns continued: “He has good vets around him and Mike Conley has been great for him, so I think he could do it. I think he could really do something special, and I think what could also help is winning. And we’ve started doing that, so if we can win at the highest level…

‘You can’t tell Ant anything yet, so imagine putting a ring on it with a championship too? Oh man, oh man, we can’t tell him anything.’

Towns was teammates with Edwards for four seasons before being traded to the Knicks in a deal that became official Wednesday.

Edwards, 23, is currently shining brightly. He leads the Timberwolves to a 56-win season and an appearance in the Western Conference Finals. Along the way, Minnesota defeated Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns in the first round before defeating NBA MVP Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets in the West semifinals.

For the 2023-2024 season, Edwards averaged 25.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. He earned All-Star honors for the second year in a row and also landed on the All-NBA Second Team. And after that great year, Edwards helped Team USA win gold at the Summer Olympics.

Edwards is certainly on a trajectory that could make him the face of the NBA. That position was held by LeBron James and should probably remain that way until he retires, although other players (e.g. Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant) have had their times to shine as well.

But in the not-too-distant future, Edwards could certainly be the face of the NBA for years to come, for the reasons Towns stated.