Frederick: Now that Anthony Edwards would be an MVP candidate

Any Anthony Edwards MVP talk in recent years has always felt a little facetious. One of the 10 best players in basketball? Absolutely. But MVPs tend to collect counting stats like candy on Halloween while posting dominant net ratings. Last season, Edwards averaged 28.8 points per game, but his net rating was just 3.5 points per 100 possessions. He averaged five rebounds and 3.7 assists, and his defense slipped while he attempted to navigate handling point guard duties. He didn t play in enough games to qualify for award voting, but even first-team All-NBA may have been a difficult reach. MVP? That is a different stratosphere — one that looks like the level he played at Wednesday night in Miami. In Minnesota s season-opening win over the Heat, Edwards poured in 45 points — on the strength of nine made triples — to go with 10 rebounds and a dominant defensive display. Minnesota won Edwards 32 minutes by 25 points. The sharpshooting was familiar to all who v