With LeBron and Steph Out, Anthony Edwards Stakes Case As NBA Face

At a time when the NBA appears to be looking for a new face, Anthony Edwards is staking his claim.

Edwards and the Timberwolves eliminated the Warriors in five games Wednesday, the first time in franchise history that the team has made consecutive Western Conference finals appearances.

Before knocking out Steph Curry and the Warriors, Edwards & Co. eliminated LeBron James and the Lakers. (Curry missed the final four games after going down with a hamstring injury in Game 1.)

For the NBA, the loss of James and Curry may lead to some short-term viewership dips. The most-watched game of the playoffs so far was Game 4 of the first-round series between the T-Wolves and James’s Lakers, while the final game of the Warriors’ seven-game gauntlet with the Rockets was the most-watched game on cable this year. 

But Edwards’s moniker as The King Slayer, as Adidas put it, places him in a position to take the mantle from James and Curry, who, despite being two of the league’s oldest stars, are still its most popular players. 

The 23-year-old’s profile grew last year after he led the Wolves to their first playoff series win since 2004, then eliminated the defending champion Nuggets. He was seventh in jersey sales this year, and second among those still active in the playoffs (behind Jalen Brunson). 

This year, however, he has the chance to advance even further while also eliminating an NBA MVP in every round through the Western Conference. A trip to the conference finals awaits either against three-time MVP Nikola Jokić and the Nuggets or the likely 2025 MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the 68-win Thunder. 

“We just got here. We haven’t [done] anything yet.” Edwards said Wednesday. 

What’s Next for Golden State?

The Warriors extended their competitive timeline by acquiring Jimmy Butler in February, then signing him to a two-year, $121 million extension. But it also tied the team to an aging trio of Curry (37), Butler (36 in September), and Draymond Green (35) for at least another year.

Golden State has about $140 million tied to the trio next year, but its supporting cast could look quite different as it has just six players on fully guaranteed deals. Its options to acquire talent include the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, worth about $14.1 million per year, the biannual exception worth about $5.1 million, and the 41st pick in the 2025 draft.