A Letter For Anthony Edwards
The Timber pup ready to become a wolf
In my house there are two NBA players that get mentioned a lot, Steph Curry (of course) and Ant Edwards. Last season my Timberwolves had the best season they’ve had in 20 years and made the Western Conference Finals. It was awesome to watch as Ant and Karl-Anthony Towns (and Naz Reid!) led the way with a ferocious defensive style paired with elite shooting and toughness on offense.
The Timberwolves traded Karl-Anthony Towns over the off-season and to be honest, we’re all kind of bummed about it. They had something cooking, despite KAT’s oft maddening play down the stretch of games, and it was working. There was an attitude to it as well. The young dudes with swagger.
That has seemingly been lost for this seasons T-Wolves team. We’ve seen flashes of greatness - last nights 113-112 win against Houston for instance - but it’s been inconsistent at best. The win last night, a historic comeback from down 15 points with 5 minutes left in the game and Ant’s play inspired me to write this post. It also inspired me to decorate this cookie…“Ant, the Basketball Angel of the North”
It’s a work of art, I know.
I have a saying that I tell all the teams I coach every single practice:
There are only two things that you can control, your effort and your attitude. I’ll only ever get upset with you if you aren’t giving me and your teammates both of those things. Winning, in any aspect of life, requires that you give GREAT EFFORT AND GREAT ATTITUDE
These requirements are both easy and difficult to achieve. A paradox of sorts. They are both so much more than they seem on the surface.
Great Effort doesn’t just entail “giving it 100%” or “going hard”. Great effort takes planning, focus, and discipline. For instance, you can’t give great effort in practice unless you slept well the night before, ate healthy meals, and hydrated your body. It’s much more than “did I do this drill as hard as I could” it’s about did I put my best effort in EVERYWHERE it’s needed to be able to give my best effort in this drill.
Great attitude doesn’t just mean high-fives and good job’s to your teammates. Great attitude takes thought, intention, and patience. For instance, you can’t have a great attitude and be a supportive teammate unless you’ve thought about your teammates’ personalities, how they like being interacted with, and being willing to put in the reps in communicating with them as best you can. It’s much more than “did I cheer them on when they made a great play” it’s about whether I supported and cared for them in ALL the ways I can in life to build their trust and respect.
The Timberwolves were close to achieving these things as a team last year, to me that is what defines a winning culture and is the baseline for championship teams. They don’t quite have it this year, but I believe they can build it in time for the playoffs to start.
The best part about this ethos of effort and attitude is that it’s contagious. Once it’s experienced it can spread quickly. It can set a precedent that everyone on a team can grab hold of and internalize for themself. It becomes FELT. It permeates everything. Once it does it builds confidence and trust on levels that can be achieved otherwise.
So for the T-Wolves it starts with Ant. He’s 23 years old in his 5th season in the league. It’s early for him and yet it’s not. He can achieve great effort and great attitude. When he does it will spread and the collective power of the team will rise with it.
Anthony - if you read this (haha doubt!) know that we love you and are so grateful to have you on OUR team. The talents you possess are rare. There just aren’t that many people ever that have the abilities you have and are in the position you are in to build a winning culture and have a chance to win championships at the highest level. You got this, all it takes is great effort and great attitude.
With love and deep appreciation,
-Andrew