Kevin Durant had some high praise for Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards after the young gun dropped 40 points and ended the Phoenix Suns‘ season.
Edwards started off slow but scored 31 of his 40 points in the second half to help the Timberwolves seal a 122-116 victory. He also went viral for a nasty dunk over Durant in the fourth quarter.
With the win, Minnesota completed a 4-0 sweep — their first series victory since 2004.
There was some playful jawing between Durant and Edwards during the series. But Durant has a lot of respect for Edwards and will be watching him as the Timberwolves continue in the postseason.
“So impressed with him. My favorite player to watch. Just grown so much since he came into the league,” Durant said in his postgame press conference. “He’s 22. His love for the game, he shines bright, and that’s one of the reasons I like him the most, it’s because he loves basketball. He’s grateful to be in this position, he’s taken advantage of every opportunity he’s got.”
Durant continued: “Love everything about Ant, everything. We’re gonna watch him going forward and you know he’s gonna guard and play hard every single night. I’m really impressed with him. Ant is someone I’m going to be following for the rest of his career.”
The respect is mutual. Edwards has gushed about Durant, citing him as one of his basketball idols.
“I have the utmost respect for KD. He comes out every night and competes,” Edwards said in his postgame interview with TNT. “I have watched every last one of his games since I was about 5. I love that guy and I am excited to play with him this summer, talk a little trash, and let him know I sent him home.”
Kevin Durant, Suns Had No Answers for Timberwolves
The Suns entered the year with sky-high expectations. Much of that stemmed from the team assembling its “Big 3” of Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal. Phoenix never truly found their rhythm during the year and it was even more apparent in postseason.
“Their whole team created a lot of problems for us,” Suns coach Frank Vogel said. “The role players, the stars. Anthony Edwards is a special, special talent. And their bigs played really well.”
Durant and Booker combined for 82 points in the loss. Beal struggled mightily in the series and had a miserable showing in the elimination game. He was just 4-of-13 from the field, turned the ball over twice late in the game and fouled out.
Beal had vowed that the Suns would not be swept.
“I’ve never been swept a day in my life. I can’t … I’ll be damned if that happens,” Beal said on April 27.
Kevin Durant Unhappy With Role
Shortly after the score went final, Shams Charania and Doug Haller of The Athletic dropped a somewhat scathing piece breaking down the Suns’ season. Among the tidbits was that Durant was unhappy with his role within the offense.
“Durant, among the best scorers in NBA history, was not always happy with how he was used. Sources briefed on the matter told The Athletic that Durant never felt comfortable with his role in Phoenix’s offense alongside Booker and Beal this season. Those sources said Durant had persistent issues with the offense, feeling that he was being relegated to the corner far too often and not having the proper designs to play to his strengths as the offense was built around pick-and-rolls.”
Durant scored 27.1 points per game during the regular season, good for fifth in the NBA. He also added 6.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists.
To improve, the Suns have to work around some hefty contracts. Durant, Booker, Beal, and Jusuf Nurkić will account for around $170 million in salary next season.
Like Heavy.com’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy.com
The post Suns Star Kevin Durant Sends Message on Anthony Edwards After Sweep appeared first on Heavy.com.