Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Anthony Edwards does the NBA a disservice by disrespecting past labor

NBA legends and pioneers caught an undeserved stray from Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards when interviewed by the Wall Street Journal:

“I didn’t watch it back in the day so I can’t speak on it. They say it was tougher back then than it is now, but I don’t think anybody had skill back then. [Michael Jordan] was the only one that really had skill, you know what I mean? So that’s why when they saw Kobe [Bryant], they were like, ‘Oh, my God.’ But now everybody has skill.”

It’s a shame he didn’t know better. 

Wilt Chamberlain, on top of being the greatest athlete the league ever saw, possibly all sports, erased opponents’ shots and had a mean fadeaway jumper. 

Hakeem Olajuwon humiliated his matchups with footwork and finesse. 

Larry Bird could score from anywhere and with either hand.

Magic Johnson could bend defenses without scoring, flinging bullet passes and outrunning them.

I could go on forever.

Edwards should get a bit of a pass for being uninformed before he was drafted. Old full-game tapes are hard to find and can be expensive. Additionally, the NBA does a wack job of promoting its old difference-makers. Many in the media don’t care to learn about them, as is evident by all the “post-merger” stats on broadcasts or think pieces that fail to include forgotten titans. 

Yet, plenty of good highlights are available for free on YouTube. Now, it’s inexcusable- the league’s footage and licensing department is available and would likely expedite any request for NBA players.

His comments were unkind, and the former ballers, who made the league a billion-dollar empire, didn’t deserve it. 

If they were scrubs, teams wouldn’t have invested in charters in the ‘80s or the NBA wouldn’t have exploded in popularity during Johnson and Bird’s rivalry, then gone on to new peaks the following decade. Or grown men competing against them wouldn’t have fawned over Team USA in Barcelona in 1992. 

The ‘90s weren’t just Jordan. Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Olajuwon were top-shelf ballers, too.

Minnesota’s two-time All-Star and All-NBA Second Teamer in 2024 works on his game by studying in the film room. He is already a high-impact defender, but imagine how much more he could be if he stole some tricks from Kevin Garnett, the Wolves’ former big man who could check all positions. Anyone would benefit from KG teaching them moves on guarding up or down.

The most irritating aspect of Edwards’ prattle is that an innumerable amount of young fans might believe him. Those that do will only poison any basketball discussion they participate in. 

Edwards was also quoted in the WSJ as saying he didn’t know which NBA players won a championship young aside from Kobe Bryant. Well, Magic Johnson was Finals MVP as a rookie at age 20. Dwyane Wade was a champion at 24, his third season—only a year older than Edwards now. Bill Walton led the youngest starting five ever at 24 to a title in 1977. Bill Russell won his first of 11 at 22 as a rookie in 1957. 

Someone tell him. 

And the NBA should take notice. Eventually, today’s hoopers will move on and their legacies will fade to memories for those who witnessed, and they’ll just be stats for the ones that came too late. If Tiny Archibald, Oscar Robertson and Jerry West can be forgotten this way, the public will forget about LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Edwards next. 

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