- OK, Anthony Edwards.
First off,
thank you so much for joining
me on what is, like, one of the
biggest times of your life.
When you wake up Wednesday morning,
tell me the first thought that's
gonna pop into your head.
- To be honest, probably gonna
say I gotta feed and walk my dog.
- [Laughing] - That's the,
that's the first thing I'm going to
say, but,
as far as, like, basketball-wise,
I'm just gon',
I'm probably gon' pray
and just,
whatever happens, happens.
I'm not even gon' really
think about where I'mma end up.
Just whatever happens is supposed to happen.
- You have said who wouldn't love
to be the No. 1 pick.
So sell me. Tell me why you
deserve to be the No. 1 pick.
- I feel like I deserve to be the No. 1 pick
probably mostly because of
the person I am off the court,
not even on the court.
Everybody—I feel like a lot of people
know my abilities on the court.
Just the person I am
off the court, like,
just always smiling,
I'm always happy and I'm
never a negative person.
So I just feel like that,
that sums it all up.
- You know, the top picks obviously are
expected to deliver results very quickly.
In what ways will you, and can
you, impact the game immediately?
- Just my playmaking ability,
my ability to score the ball,
my ability to score the ball from all three levels.
And I feel like my defensive potential.
- Yeah. I mean, I've watched
a lot of interviews
that you've done recently, and you
always say, "Listen, defense is my thing.
I can play defense."
Why is it so important to you to
make sure, like, teams and fans know
that you can play some D?
- I feel like, because like, it's a lot
of clips of college where I play defense,
it's a lot of clips where I didn't play defense,
but I just want the world to know, like,
that I really can defend the ball.
Like, I can play really good defense. So.
- Yeah. - I feel like we gon' see next year.
Like if I stay engaged and locked in
the whole time, the whole 72 games,
people gon' see how good my defense really is.
- Now I'm giving you a chance to
deliver a message to the fanbase
of the team that drafts you.
You know, you are now a part of
this family, whatever team that is.
What would you say to that
fanbase?
- Just ready to win a whole lot of games, go to the playoffs, go to the conference finals
and go to the Finals.
- [Laughing] - And I love, I love—
I love to get in touch with the crowd.
I mean, I love to, you know, pump the crowd up, talk to the crowd, so, y'all just be ready. Get it.
- Who are you most looking forward to
playing against when the season starts?
- Most definitely Kevin Durant.
- Yeah.
You love KD.
You were talking about him when we,
when we did that interview.
You're also saying, like, that is somebody that
you have had some communication with.
Have you still? - Yeah, yeah, he, yeah. Yeah, he—
- Yeah? Has he offered any good advice?
- Nah, I wouldn't—nah.
- Yeah. OK.
Well, I do know— - Cuz I, I gotta play against him, so—
- Yeah, so, you're right, like, he's competition now!
What's it gonna be like, though?
When you step on the court, you'll
have to separate, you know, the fact
that he is one of your favorites.
- Uh, I mean, when I enter the league,
it's not gonna be a favorite no more.
I'm gonna be my favorite.
But when I wasn't in the league, I was, he was my
favorite. But once I—once Wednesday come,
I don't have none of my favorites, so I'm not gonna feel no type of way.
- Ooh, I love this. You're saying everything right.
I know that you got to
speak with Michael Jordan,
and you said that he gave
you some tips on how to be
more efficient in the mid post.
What were some of those tips?
I mean, you got basketball
tips from the GOAT.
- Uh, man, it was just mostly
like, just, you know, use your butt more
in the post, in the mid post.
So I feel like that was
the best thing he told me.
And he was like, you are,
and he was like, you stronger than I am.
You more athletic. You bigger than me.
And he was just like,
use your butt more and create more space
and you gon' be unguardable.
So I just feel like hearing that
was just, was just crazy because he
actually came and watched me work out
and gave me some tools to take
with me while I keep working out.
So I feel like—
- Yeah. I mean, for Michael Jordan to say,
like, you're stronger than me already.
I mean, how does that,
how does that even feel,
you know, to hear that and to
know that he sees this potential?
- I can't even describe it, man.
It's just crazy, like, yeah, it
was just crazy, him just being there.
- You know, being a part of Klutch Sports
means you get to be around and learn
from a bunch of NBA stars and leaders.
So I wanna talk about
a couple of those guys.
Tell me, as specific as you can be:
What have you learned from LeBron?
- Oh, I don't talk to those—
the only person that I
talked to all the time is Draymond Green.
- OK, what have you
learned from Draymond?
- He just, he just tell me, like,
just stay focused. Like, no matter what
happens, just stay focused.
Just keep working.
He tell me, he'd be like, you got it all,
just keep working, stay grinding.
Stay level-headed.
Just keep workin', young fella,
everything in front of you.
That's probably the only thing he tells me.
- All right, now, last time I spoke to you, it was actually
in the bubble when I was grabbing dinner
with some friends, and Ja Morant was there,
and you guys were FaceTiming.
I know you guys are super close.
What advice has he given
you during this predraft process?
- Uh, kind of the same thing.
He was just telling me, yeah,
he was just telling me, like,
it was, it's easy for him.
Probably the most—he was
just like, it's easy for me,
so it's not gon' be hard for you.
He was like, you'd score
the ball at a high clip,
like I said, and he was just like,
you can score the ball,
so it's gon' be easy.
Like, you get switches with bigs.
He was like, it's not, it's not as hard,
it's not as hard as
people make it seem, so.
- Yeah. - I thought that was the best advice he gave me.
- OK, nice.
And last question for you.
I know last time I talked
to you, you love music.
So now what song from 2020
describes you and your game?
You gotta pick one.
- "Low Down" by Lil Baby.
- OK, why? Why "Low Down"?
Good pick, but tell me why. [Laughing]
- Just cuz, me and Lil Baby are from the same place.
We both from Oakland City, and it's just, you know, we jell.
We gon' be around each other.
We just, you know what I'm sayin'?
It's just, we cool.
And I just, I love his music.
So yeah.
I feel like "Low Down"
is the best song for me.
- Well, Anthony, it is amazing
to talk to you as always.
I'm looking forward to continuing
to cover you through a very
long and prosperous NBA career.
And most importantly, best
of luck. I'll be watching.
And I wish you the best.
- Thank you so much.
Good talking to you. - Good talking to you as always. Bye, Ant. - Bye.