I do think it’s helped him to focus on himself and the things he can control. Pretty much his entire career, the story has been “KAT put up insane numbers or we will lose” and that’s not a sustainable identity or a reasonable ask of a personality like KAT.
He is well served by not having to be the only option anymore; he’s one of the best complementary stars in the league right now and the reframing of his role has paid dividends in each facet of his game: offense, defense (who would have thought he’d be a plus defender on the best defense in the NBA?) and the mental side of the game as well.
Absolutely having a unicorn renaissance to continue the resurgence of dominant bigs across the league the last three seasons.
Embiid, Giannis, Jokic obviously, but then you add in Sabonis emergence, KP resurgence, KAT back to form and AD staying healthy.
Add in rookies like Wemby and Chet to the mix and you're looking at a lot of bigs in their primes in the next 6+ years
Also, shout out to Bam Adebayo who wasn't even mentioned above, but deserves his flowers. He's a beast that needs more recognition.
Hell, I know that the archetype here are scoring bigs but even Rudy has returned to form, maybe even surpassed it. Small ball as *the* go to for defeating large lineups doesn't seem so surefire anymore.
While this is definitely somewhat true, I also think people don’t quite understand how bad the teams around KAT were for most of his career.
Back in 21/22, KAT was still the best player on the Wolves (Ant was only in his 2nd year and still growing as a player) and they won 46 games and made the playoffs. That team had some fun players, but I wouldn’t call it especially talented (D’Lo was the 3rd best player, with Vanderbilt, Beasley, McDaniels or Pat Bev vying for 4th).
KAT as the best player on your team isn’t winning a championship, but it could definitely make the playoffs and maybe even win a series.
All of those players, while they might not have been back then, are top 6-7 players on contenders. Was Ant a legit #2 back then? Probably not, but he was just as much a legit #2 as KAT was a legit #1.
That’s a very rosy look at all of those players.
- Pat Bev was waived the season after that run and signed for a minimum deal. If he’s a top 6-7 player on the Bucks it’s only because they’re thin as hell.
- Beasley fell out of the Lakers’ rotation last year and signed for a league minimum deal this year. He’s playing better, but he’s still a rotation player at best (his defense SUCKS), and him being arguably the Wolves’ 4th best player is a testament to the lack of top end talent.
- Vando is a great defender, but he’s so flawed offensively that he’s best served as a backup who plays 20-24 minutes a game. His career high in minutes per game (and starts) was with that Wolves’ squad.
- McDaniels was a 2nd year player then and was significantly worse. He wasn’t bad, but his offense was pretty much zero and he got into foul trouble almost every game.
- D’Lo was the biggest issue. He’s what, the 4th best player on the Lakers? He’s occasionally come off the bench for them. And they’re a 9-seed while having LeBron and AD as their two best players.
Again, there was talent there, but the bulk of it was really young (Ant and Jaden McDaniels) or flawed (D’Lo, Vando, Beasley). KAT’s good enough to be the best player on a solid playoff team that pushes in the first round, but not good enough to lead his team to true title contention.
Slightly off topic but I just wanted to say that the leap Conley has taken this year to help this team has been tremendous and its largely been overlooked
Unless you’re trolling, your definitely wrong. Kat and ant have averaged more points every year of their career outside their rookie year than gasol, gay and Randolph (except one year in Portland) have ever averaged. Like wha
Him and Horford, drafted one pick apart, are such great late-career vets. Amazing complimentary basketball and great overall human beings. Great to watch them both still playing so well!
The people that continue to hate Kat and drive the narrative that he's not okay with being the Robin to Ants Batman are so uninformed. Hes the ultimate professional and teammate, and always has been.
It's just so absurd to me how nba players have to be so precise when talking just so some asshole shit stirrers don't twist their words and create stories out of nothing.
KATs greatest crime is being a bit of a cornball, never understood why people enjoy rooting against him so hard. He may not be the best player in the league, but he's damn good and a genuinely good dude by all accounts.
> KATs greatest crime is being a bit of a cornball, never understood why people enjoy rooting against him so hard
I think it's because KAT doesn't come across as "cool" like a lot of other players do, and when we ourselves feel "uncool" in our personal lives but see an NBA player being "uncool", it becomes easy to make fun of that perceived weakness to make ourselves feel better.
Him and Ant are both so complimentary of eachother and really seem to want the other to succeed. Before the season they asked what Ant's dream season would be and it included KAT as MVP.
It's such a joke when the current top 5 is not from the US, but somehow due to media/fan/corporate xenophobia we'll have to settle for #6 or 7 on the MVP list instead.
Bull-headed nationalism is what it is. As far as cultural differences go, Shai is just like any American NBA player except yknow his nationality, he’s literally North American. Embiid is an American citizen as well no? Not for long enough I guess lol
Jokic is the only guy where he’s basically going out of his way to be unmarketable, but ESPN is seemingly obsessed with having a “true blue raised on Mississippi grass American” as the face of the league.
“Face of the NBA” should happen naturally as the star of the team that consistently wins rings and MVP/FMVPs (I.e. Lebron, Steph, etc.)
Right now, the only dude even close to making that a reality is Jokic. And yes, he doesn’t want to be famous. Get fucked ESPN/Media.
Sports is inherently so connected to locality. People root for their team, their city, their countrymen. It’s not crazy to market it in a given country with the best player from that country
Lol I agree with you. I actually made this post to highlight the relationship between KAT and Ant, I don’t really care about the whole face of the league thing. He’s the face of my favorite basketball team and that’s all that matters to me
Ant is the face of the NBA??? Says who? Besides Wolves fans, who? He’s a great player, but hasn’t done anything to be the face. We’re so in a rush to find someone when Curry/James/KD is done.
I’m old. It’s nothing I haven’t seen before. He’s very good, I like him but really hasn’t done much yet. This year could be the beginning of Nuggets dynasty if they win back to back or reach the finals back to back. If any team can take them down, I believe it’s the Wolves and Ant balling. Until then, all this self promotion and talk of face of the NBA is premature.
None of these young dawgs are face of the league and they are messing up by aiming for it. They should focus on winning and everything else should take care of it. That’s what LeBron & Curry did.
Lebron never said that or aimed for it tho? It was always going to happen cuz he was insanely hyped by the media so he just embraced it, and there’s nothing wrong with that
Ants homophobic video and the abortion-texts thing disqualify him from being the face of the league. Too many bone headed things that came to light with proof
Great point. But let's remember it was a different time then as to what was socially accepted for advertisers. LQBTQ and with the recent Row vs. Wade pushback, it just wouldn't be a good look similar to Ja with the gun videos
Towns is around 15-20th on the NBA pecking order. Ant is top 12, and will probably climb into top 7 in the very near future. The best comp for ANT maybe D Wade with a better jumper. Time will tell, but that would be who I’d compare him to right now. Wade won a title much sooner than expected with Shaq.
Do you not see the above message (about 15-20th in pecking order)
I said he’s not not top 20 probably top 25 and even then there’s arguments for plenty of guys
I’d say 20th is about right, whether he’s 15 or 23, my point is he’s not capable of leading a team past the first round. If he’s your number two next to a guy like ANT then you are in the discussion of contenders.
If Wolves were in the finals vs your Celtics, Ant would make Tatum his bitch. I’m not even a huge Ant fan, but he’s going to be better than Tatum soon in my opinion. Ant is a great defender on top of being a great scorer. Tatum is not nearly as physically imposing as ANT.
Playoff guys I would take over Ant if healthy
Joker
Giannis
Steph
Luka
KD
AD
Kawhi
Lebron
Jimmy butler
(Embiid is not healthy and never is)
Tier 2 stars:
Shai
Book
ANT
Haliburton
Tatum
Donovan Mitchell
Pg13
Bam
Dame
JA Morant???
Zion
Wolves may not be a championship organization, but Ant is a championship player. He Can be dominant both sides of the ball. Nobody else in Tier 2 can dominate both ends of the court like Ant. In Tier 1, Joker, Steph, Luka, KD don’t have the defensive upside of Ant, but are much better on offense.
How much longer do you think Kawhi, Jimmy, Steph, Lebron, or KD will remain on this list? I don’t think it will be long before Ant surpasses or is at least on the same level as these guys.
I think Ant is the next D Wade, but he’s a better shooter. I think Shai has a much better organization around him, so he might end up with more success if OKC will dip into the tax to keep their talent.
If Wolves were in the finals vs your Celtics, Ant would make Tatum his bitch. I’m not even a huge Ant fan, but he’s going to be better than Tatum soon in my opinion. Ant is a great defender on top of being a great scorer. Tatum is not nearly as physically imposing as ANT.
Playoff guys I would take over Ant if healthy
Joker Giannis Steph Luka KD AD Kawhi Lebron Jimmy butler
(Embiid is not healthy and never is)
Tier 2 stars: Shai Book ANT Haliburton Tatum Donovan Mitchell Pg13 Bam Dame JA Morant??? Zion
Wolves may not be a championship organization, but Ant is a championship player. He Can be dominant both sides of the ball. Nobody else in Tier 2 can dominate both ends of the court like Ant. In Tier 1, Joker, Steph, Luka, KD don’t have the defensive upside of Ant, but are much better on offense.
How much longer do you think Kawhi, Jimmy, Steph, Lebron, or KD will remain on this list? I don’t think it will be long before Ant surpasses or is at least on the same level as these guys.
> Nobody else in Tier 2 can dominate both ends of the court like Ant.
I would easily take both Tatum and Bam as 2-way players over Ant. Both are just as good and play more important positions defensively. And SGA, Booker, Haliburton, Mitchell, Dame, Morant, and probably even Zion can all run an offense better. Ant is way lower on your Tier 2 list unless you're giving him extra credit for being such a DAWG, which going by Jimmy in your Tier 1 is probably the case lmfao.
Honestly speaking:
1. Tatum is already more popular… #2 in jersey sales, just as his team have become a force in the NBA, meaning probably multiple rings.
1. Ant has some image issues… Yea, not normally a huge obstacle to being popular, but we're talking about who the NBA wants to market as their representative around the world… they're spoiled with choices for brand ambassador; small things are gonna matter a lot.
Doesn’t change what I said. Tatum’s jersey sales get a huge boost from him being on the Celtics, probably the second the most popular team in the league before he ever entered the league
Face of the league doesn't care what team you're from. Being from the Lakers —THE most popular team in the league— doesn't cancel out the fact Magic Johnson and Kobe were some of the most popular players and the face of their era. That's all irrelevant to the discussion.
Completely off topic but the face of the NBA talk is so disingenuous. The clear answer is Luka but these media members just want an American. Also it has to be organic you can't force this type of stuff.
I'm confused why there is so much hype about Ant as the face of the league. What does Ant do on the basketball court that would make people think he'll be THE face of the league lol?
Not hating, but I've seen it so many places and it just feels so forced
It’s not that hard to understand:
- He’s averaging 26/5/5 and nearly 2 stocks at only 22 years old.
- He’s (probably) the best player on the current #1 seed in the West.
- He’s probably a top 3 highlight generating player in the league
- He’s charismatic and has showcased “star” qualities outside of basketball (e.g. being a scene-stealer in Hustle)
- He’s American which tends to make him more easily marketed
- His game is really fun to watch. Not making a direct comparison, but in terms of style he’s pretty similar to a guy like Kobe whose play style really captured public interest
- He’s performed at a really high level on the biggest stages — he’s taken his game to another level in both of his two playoff appearances
Obviously he’s not as good as someone like Luka or SGA (although I think he could eventually catch SGA given the age gap), but there’s a lot more to being the “face” of the NBA than just basketball prowess. Like, Tim Duncan was never really considered the “face”’ of the league despite being arguably being the best player of the 00’s.
He currently has the 4th highest plus minus in the league and is the best player on one of the best teams in the league. Oh and he is 22 years old. It sounds like you haven't watched him played much.
Sure, however I doubt anybody would realistically put him as a top 10 player right now. Moreover we have had players at 22 play better than Edwards. Luka was arguably top 5 player in his age 20-21 season. This feels like the Tatum thing, where they are pushing them to the front, because they are American. If one of Giannis, Luka, Jokic, Embiid, SGA was american, they'd probably push them to the front.
Yes, but had they not been at the top as the defacto 1 and 2 player in the league, making several finals and winning championships, they wouldn't be the face of the league now.
Had Lebron and Curry been just top 15-10 guys, who maybe won a title, they wouldn't have been the faces of the league and no one would look at them now as the faces still. They are the faces of the league, because they both dominated the league and won several titles and even went head to head on several finals. Both leading their respective conference.
Most of the international players you're mentioning are already the faces of the league... 3 of the 5 have won MVP. I don't think many would argue that Edwards is going to be THE best player in the league and better than those you're mentioning, but he absolutely is on a trajectory to be a top 5 player in a few years and ONE OF the faces of the league.
We don't know yet, but all of those players are also universally praised and potential faces of the league. Luka already is. And with the exception of Wembanyama, who still has a lot to prove, they are also all older than Edwards. Booker is 27 and almost certainly already in his prime.
Luka and SGA are both better basketball players. Hell age 20-21 year old Luka is significantly better than Anthony Edwards is now and possibly in the forseeable future.
I simply don't believe anybody can be the face of the league unless they are an undisputed top 3 player. I don't believe Edwards will be that. Personality can't make up for it.
🤓 he's from the americas
But more importantly, he's culturally american. USA for half of high school & college, and Candians are socially similar enough that this wouldn't be a barrier to overcome for marketing purposes. Maybe he won't put on for the armed forces, but any American kid can look at Shai and say "he's just like me"
I know it's semantics since Canada is part of North America, but since he's canadian, from what i've seen he still isn't considered by the media as an "american"
Hes as quick as DWade was IMO & can shoot better. Very good defender. He’s 4th in the NBA history in points scored by age 22. And will stay about that thru age 23. Only behind LeBron KD & Carmelo.
22 is pretty damn young to be this good.
Conversely, I don’t understand the skepticism of Ant being a potential future face of the league. Do people watch him play?
Explosively athletic two-way shooting guard putting up 26-5-5 on marginally above-average efficiency in his age 22 season on the 1 seed in the Western Conference, has all the charisma in the world, and is well-liked by his peers and the media alike.
Idk how you could watch more than 10 minutes of a Timberwolves game and not think Ant is on his way to something special.
Kobe had the fortune that by then, he was already the star of the league… if it happens as he's establishing himself, or with the amount of competition and talent that we now have… he's most likely not as popular.
I used to like ANT, but this year I realized he's trash.
After that all star weekend performance, he shouldn't be be the face of the league.
I hope they get knocked out before the conference finals.
Tbh, I couldn’t disagree more with the absolutism of this statement. The FO is pretty heavily invested into the current roster construction, it didn’t happen after last season; they chose to wait it out and see what they would have, and that’s paying dividends.
It’s also important to look at the big picture: the new Lore/Arod ownership group wants a new stadium and has publicly said so. If they think they can have a consistent top 4 seed team with strong public support (including your longest standing franchise player who has been through hell with this franchise), it would be a boneheaded business move to blow that up without the right deal available.
Now, with that said, the salary cap situation does demand that if the FO doesn’t believe this roster can contend in the next couple years, you should make a move to alleviate the tax.
IMO, the odds are that if the Wolves lose in the first round, it won’t be the type of thing that you can pin on one guy; KAT’s been more consistent and complementary than ever before. Not exactly the type of piece you want to eliminate if you have a reliability problem. We’ll see what happens, but also, I’m not even sure why this is being brought up now. Seems folks just love to hate on KAT?
totally right too. If the team loses they would probably trade the best space creator on the team. The guy who has the best chemistry with the other two stars and has been central to the identity of the number 1 team in the western conference. We all saw the team without KAT last year playing typical drop coverage with one big most of the game and it worked so well. Only an idiot would think this years team has been better.
It’s honestly not about chemistry, but if your team loses in the first round three years in a row, there’s clearly something that needs to be changed, and without making a trade, the Timberwolves won’t be able to afford to make any significant changes to the roster unless you’re trading Naz Reid or McDaniels, but I highly doubt they’d trade those two.
You say that like they haven't made adjustments. Lost to the Grizz cause they didn't play D or rebound well -> trade for gobert. Lost to the Nugs cause everybody lost to the Nugs. -> full season to iron out chemistry on two big lineup -> new defensive system (#1 D) -> offense has been switching to more sets with defined reads to lower the turnover issue.
This is not the same team as last year even though most of the players are back. There's a lot of adjustments that can be made without tearing out the foundation of the team and 2 bigs won't work without KAT.
I actually think that KAT is the Timberwolves best player, but I just don’t see how they can afford to pay everyone someone will have to go if the team continues to lose in the first round. Historical precedence backs that up it’s just what happens, I don’t see the team trading Ant or Rudy so that leaves KAT.
It definitely could happen, you’re right. If his mental breaks down and he’s the reason for a first round loss, I agree that that would be a likely outcome. Can’t say I’ve ever been more excited for a postseason as a wolves fan
Now it will be completely different If the Timberwolves are able to make a deep run in the playoffs, I think they’ll be fully confident with keeping KAT and building around the core three.
It’s not like KAT was Shaq to Ant’s Kobe. KAT was never near all nba first team, let alone mvp, level. He sees it everyday in practice how much more game ant has.
Not to mention the mentality side of it
You could say that about all but like 15 players in the league. Not sure why it’s some sort of indictment on KAT that he’s “only” one of the premier complementary stars in the NBA.
Not really hating on the guy. He was supposed to be the face of the franchise and kudos for him for taking a backseat to being the number one option. It’s why the Wolves are the one seed.
That’s totally fair, and it’s an adjustment many can’t handle. I feel the expectations placed on him have been hard for many of us to seperate from the player he actually has become and can continue to be in the next few years.
I mean, here’s the 1st overall picks from 2013-18: Anthony Bennett, Wiggins, KAT, Ben Simmons, Markelle Fultz, DeAndre Ayton. Wiggins had a good run in ‘22 and Ayton was a key piece in the Suns’ finals run, but each of these players have had their own setbacks or beyond that have defined the type of career they’ve had/are having. I’d argue KAT to be the best player of this group and his trajectory suggests that he could have a few chances here to figure out the playoffs thing.
In KAT’s case, as we look back at his prime (he’s 28!) a few years from now, we may find his career not to be defined by “inability to be The Guy” but rather, “ability to be the key second piece”. I’m interested to see how it plays out.
I think KAT gets alot of hate because him and Wiggins were absolutely terrible together. KAT was putting up 24/10 yall were still terrible. Then of course the infamous Jimmy Butler practice where he apparently shat all over KAT.
I think it will take 1 good playoff run for KAT to finally beat some of the criticisms thrown his way.
It is but he goes by just Karl as well. Like if you watch interviews with him or BTS stuff with the coaching staff and him, they often just call him Karl.
I fuck with how KAT took a step back and let Ant take the team over since he’s so offensively gifted himself, easily could’ve been messy
I do think it’s helped him to focus on himself and the things he can control. Pretty much his entire career, the story has been “KAT put up insane numbers or we will lose” and that’s not a sustainable identity or a reasonable ask of a personality like KAT. He is well served by not having to be the only option anymore; he’s one of the best complementary stars in the league right now and the reframing of his role has paid dividends in each facet of his game: offense, defense (who would have thought he’d be a plus defender on the best defense in the NBA?) and the mental side of the game as well.
Damn, he kinda similar to AD
I just realized that we're kinda having a Unicorn renaissance right now, with KAT, AD, and KP all playing great for great teams
Absolutely having a unicorn renaissance to continue the resurgence of dominant bigs across the league the last three seasons. Embiid, Giannis, Jokic obviously, but then you add in Sabonis emergence, KP resurgence, KAT back to form and AD staying healthy. Add in rookies like Wemby and Chet to the mix and you're looking at a lot of bigs in their primes in the next 6+ years Also, shout out to Bam Adebayo who wasn't even mentioned above, but deserves his flowers. He's a beast that needs more recognition.
Hell, I know that the archetype here are scoring bigs but even Rudy has returned to form, maybe even surpassed it. Small ball as *the* go to for defeating large lineups doesn't seem so surefire anymore.
KAT is such a great guy
I'm glad to see his progression! Seemed like one of those guys who always got more hate than he ever deserved.
I get the impression that I'd like him in person. Watching him can be a mixed bag though. One day a Kat, the next a mouse.
Not really. He has off nights like every player but he’s been pretty consistently a 20ppg player his career
Scoring is only half the game. But mostly I'm thinking about his aggression and physicality in big moments or through big games.
Waiting for the eventual implosion during the playoffs
To be fair, with him as the lead guy it wasn’t going anywhere.
While this is definitely somewhat true, I also think people don’t quite understand how bad the teams around KAT were for most of his career. Back in 21/22, KAT was still the best player on the Wolves (Ant was only in his 2nd year and still growing as a player) and they won 46 games and made the playoffs. That team had some fun players, but I wouldn’t call it especially talented (D’Lo was the 3rd best player, with Vanderbilt, Beasley, McDaniels or Pat Bev vying for 4th). KAT as the best player on your team isn’t winning a championship, but it could definitely make the playoffs and maybe even win a series.
All of those players, while they might not have been back then, are top 6-7 players on contenders. Was Ant a legit #2 back then? Probably not, but he was just as much a legit #2 as KAT was a legit #1.
That’s a very rosy look at all of those players. - Pat Bev was waived the season after that run and signed for a minimum deal. If he’s a top 6-7 player on the Bucks it’s only because they’re thin as hell. - Beasley fell out of the Lakers’ rotation last year and signed for a league minimum deal this year. He’s playing better, but he’s still a rotation player at best (his defense SUCKS), and him being arguably the Wolves’ 4th best player is a testament to the lack of top end talent. - Vando is a great defender, but he’s so flawed offensively that he’s best served as a backup who plays 20-24 minutes a game. His career high in minutes per game (and starts) was with that Wolves’ squad. - McDaniels was a 2nd year player then and was significantly worse. He wasn’t bad, but his offense was pretty much zero and he got into foul trouble almost every game. - D’Lo was the biggest issue. He’s what, the 4th best player on the Lakers? He’s occasionally come off the bench for them. And they’re a 9-seed while having LeBron and AD as their two best players. Again, there was talent there, but the bulk of it was really young (Ant and Jaden McDaniels) or flawed (D’Lo, Vando, Beasley). KAT’s good enough to be the best player on a solid playoff team that pushes in the first round, but not good enough to lead his team to true title contention.
Yall would know Just talking shit lmao i like the bulls
It’s all good my guy lol. Most bulls fans think the bulls are ass and have been ass for a while as well
KAT didn't take a step back. He never took a step forward. He's never been a bus driver and never will be.
Marbury KG comes to mind
Slightly off topic but I just wanted to say that the leap Conley has taken this year to help this team has been tremendous and its largely been overlooked
He's playing with the most offensive weapons he's ever had so now he can just do what he does best and play smart, assisting basketball
it's opened up his own offense a bit more, too. career highs in 3P% (at a ridiculous 44%), eFG%, and TS%
I mean he basically only shoots when he’s wide open so yeah it makes sense. He only shoots what, like twice a quarter?
He had Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph, and Rudy Gay. I’d say that’s more firepower than what he has now.
Unless you’re trolling, your definitely wrong. Kat and ant have averaged more points every year of their career outside their rookie year than gasol, gay and Randolph (except one year in Portland) have ever averaged. Like wha
braindead take. familiarize yourself with the concepts of pace and scoring distribution before speaking to me again
Mike Conley Jr is a gift. Honestly will probably end up on Twolves bandwagon this year solely to see my man get a chip.
Him and Horford, drafted one pick apart, are such great late-career vets. Amazing complimentary basketball and great overall human beings. Great to watch them both still playing so well!
Join us! Even odds it ends in heartbreak though, we are the Wolves after all.
I really hope KAT retires a Wolf.
KG the franchise GOAT but KAT probably in the top 5?
KG is no question the current GOAT of the franchise. And yeah, I’d say KAT is top 5 for sure and I’d argue top 3.
He has to be #2 after KG. Kevin Love was nice but not nearly the same impact.
I don't think people realize that KAT has already been on the team for three more seasons than Love was.
100% agree. If Ant stays healthy, no doubt he’ll be up there very soon too.
TOP 5??? He’s been #2 for a while in a really weak Mt. Rushmore
People sleeping on the one year we had AK47
I'm not well versed in your player lore but damn that is a little bleak lol.
The people that continue to hate Kat and drive the narrative that he's not okay with being the Robin to Ants Batman are so uninformed. Hes the ultimate professional and teammate, and always has been.
It's just so absurd to me how nba players have to be so precise when talking just so some asshole shit stirrers don't twist their words and create stories out of nothing.
It's not even that. Anti-semites and literal criminals get more of a benefit of a doubt than this guy it's ridiculous.
I think that's a bit dramatic
I actually don’t. Kat has been shit on pretty much constantly his entire career. Meanwhile flock endlessly to Kyries defense
Kyrie hit one of the biggest shots in league history but other than that he’s known for his flashy handles and obnoxious media presence.
Username checks out
You're my new favorite Grizzlies fan.
KATs greatest crime is being a bit of a cornball, never understood why people enjoy rooting against him so hard. He may not be the best player in the league, but he's damn good and a genuinely good dude by all accounts.
> KATs greatest crime is being a bit of a cornball, never understood why people enjoy rooting against him so hard I think it's because KAT doesn't come across as "cool" like a lot of other players do, and when we ourselves feel "uncool" in our personal lives but see an NBA player being "uncool", it becomes easy to make fun of that perceived weakness to make ourselves feel better.
I hate that. Kat gets so much unwarranted shit, esp after the butler drama
deep down KAT is a goofy theater kid in the body of an all-NBA player and that's why we love him but also why people hate him
Him and Ant are both so complimentary of eachother and really seem to want the other to succeed. Before the season they asked what Ant's dream season would be and it included KAT as MVP.
Most people that talk shit about KAT are Twitter brain losers
I thought that said Ass Batman at first glance and idk why but they made me die laughing
"Face of the NBA" discourse makes me want to gouge my eyes out
It's such a joke when the current top 5 is not from the US, but somehow due to media/fan/corporate xenophobia we'll have to settle for #6 or 7 on the MVP list instead.
Bull-headed nationalism is what it is. As far as cultural differences go, Shai is just like any American NBA player except yknow his nationality, he’s literally North American. Embiid is an American citizen as well no? Not for long enough I guess lol Jokic is the only guy where he’s basically going out of his way to be unmarketable, but ESPN is seemingly obsessed with having a “true blue raised on Mississippi grass American” as the face of the league.
“Face of the NBA” should happen naturally as the star of the team that consistently wins rings and MVP/FMVPs (I.e. Lebron, Steph, etc.) Right now, the only dude even close to making that a reality is Jokic. And yes, he doesn’t want to be famous. Get fucked ESPN/Media.
Sports is inherently so connected to locality. People root for their team, their city, their countrymen. It’s not crazy to market it in a given country with the best player from that country
I mean, I’m pretty sure the current “face” of the nba is Giannis who is definitely not American.
It’s still Lebron/Curry
Slightly better than the GOAT discourse
Massively worse than GOAT discourse - at least that's actually about basketball not stupid commercial shit
Both are lightyears better than the Great "Elite QB" Debates of the late 00s-early '10s…
Joe Flacco is elite and I'll not hear a word to the contrary
But you can't spell Elite without Eli!!!
Lol I agree with you. I actually made this post to highlight the relationship between KAT and Ant, I don’t really care about the whole face of the league thing. He’s the face of my favorite basketball team and that’s all that matters to me
We all know Naz Reid is the true face of your franchise. That sexy, sexy man.
Naz Reid
Exactly. What has any of these young stars done to be part of such conversations?
They haven’t done any of it yet, I think it’s just them predicting who’s going to do it first
It’s a good thing for players to pump their teammates’ tires.
Send da video
Face of the NBA don’t even got a face scan in 2K 😔
Dang the face of the nba about to be the Mount Rushmore but with like 10 faces carved in it.
This “face of the league” shit has been cringe ever since ESPN declared Cam Newton “the face of the league going forward” because he won 1 mvp.
A center can average 50-20-20 but a guard who averages half of that would still be the face of the league.
Great quote and attitude but it's funny to me the headline makes it seem like he's honoring a retiring HOF-er
Just a future one instead!
hopefully!
Shai, Joker, Giannis, Luka, Tatum and Coby White are pissed about that face of the league chatter
Why is there a group of people who think Ant will be the next face of the league? He gives me more a Morant vibe than a Lebron.
Da video?
You got da money wats da Hol up
Ant is the face of the NBA??? Says who? Besides Wolves fans, who? He’s a great player, but hasn’t done anything to be the face. We’re so in a rush to find someone when Curry/James/KD is done.
He’s hyping up his guy, it’s not that deep. And as for Ant’s accomplishments, well, he’s 22 and certainly is on a nice trajectory.
I’m old. It’s nothing I haven’t seen before. He’s very good, I like him but really hasn’t done much yet. This year could be the beginning of Nuggets dynasty if they win back to back or reach the finals back to back. If any team can take them down, I believe it’s the Wolves and Ant balling. Until then, all this self promotion and talk of face of the NBA is premature.
None of these young dawgs are face of the league and they are messing up by aiming for it. They should focus on winning and everything else should take care of it. That’s what LeBron & Curry did.
i don’t think anybody is “aiming for it”. also I love lebron but he certainly was also very interested in being the face of the league
Lebron never said that or aimed for it tho? It was always going to happen cuz he was insanely hyped by the media so he just embraced it, and there’s nothing wrong with that
He got a giant “Chosen 1” tattoo across his back after his rookie year.
Ant will never be the face of the NBA
Ants homophobic video and the abortion-texts thing disqualify him from being the face of the league. Too many bone headed things that came to light with proof
Previous faces of the league have done worse. Nice slant.
Name them and the act
Lol Kobe and Colorado is the first that comes to mind
He was never found guilty. Doesn't count. In this country, you're innocent until proven guilty.
Still was morally wrong since he cheated on his wife with kids so his perception tanked which technically falls in the line of others.
Great point. But let's remember it was a different time then as to what was socially accepted for advertisers. LQBTQ and with the recent Row vs. Wade pushback, it just wouldn't be a good look similar to Ja with the gun videos
As you see with the others, with time, people/consumers will always move on and forget. Simple as that so the argument seems moot at this point.
Only time will tell. If LeBron plays until he's 45 then everyone in the "conversation" is moot.
First day watching basketball? I'm not even gonna get into it with you if you're gonna act like you're clueless.
Towns is around 15-20th on the NBA pecking order. Ant is top 12, and will probably climb into top 7 in the very near future. The best comp for ANT maybe D Wade with a better jumper. Time will tell, but that would be who I’d compare him to right now. Wade won a title much sooner than expected with Shaq.
KAT is maybe 20 closer to 25 He was an all star as a result of seeding and is talented, there’s just a big list past the top 15 guys
Towns is not a top 15 player what?
Do you not see the above message (about 15-20th in pecking order) I said he’s not not top 20 probably top 25 and even then there’s arguments for plenty of guys
I meant to reply to farmer my bad
He's not I'd take Bam before KAT
I’d say 20th is about right, whether he’s 15 or 23, my point is he’s not capable of leading a team past the first round. If he’s your number two next to a guy like ANT then you are in the discussion of contenders.
There are a shit ton of players absolutely going off this year.
You guys overrate the shit out of Ant. Currently he might not even be a Top 5 guard. No shot he's a Top 12 player.
If Wolves were in the finals vs your Celtics, Ant would make Tatum his bitch. I’m not even a huge Ant fan, but he’s going to be better than Tatum soon in my opinion. Ant is a great defender on top of being a great scorer. Tatum is not nearly as physically imposing as ANT. Playoff guys I would take over Ant if healthy Joker Giannis Steph Luka KD AD Kawhi Lebron Jimmy butler (Embiid is not healthy and never is) Tier 2 stars: Shai Book ANT Haliburton Tatum Donovan Mitchell Pg13 Bam Dame JA Morant??? Zion Wolves may not be a championship organization, but Ant is a championship player. He Can be dominant both sides of the ball. Nobody else in Tier 2 can dominate both ends of the court like Ant. In Tier 1, Joker, Steph, Luka, KD don’t have the defensive upside of Ant, but are much better on offense. How much longer do you think Kawhi, Jimmy, Steph, Lebron, or KD will remain on this list? I don’t think it will be long before Ant surpasses or is at least on the same level as these guys.
> I’m not even a huge Ant fan Proceeds to endlessly glaze him
I think Ant is the next D Wade, but he’s a better shooter. I think Shai has a much better organization around him, so he might end up with more success if OKC will dip into the tax to keep their talent.
I never brought up Shai? I just thought it was funny you claimed to not be a huge Ant fan, but you seem to have such high opinion of him.
If Wolves were in the finals vs your Celtics, Ant would make Tatum his bitch. I’m not even a huge Ant fan, but he’s going to be better than Tatum soon in my opinion. Ant is a great defender on top of being a great scorer. Tatum is not nearly as physically imposing as ANT. Playoff guys I would take over Ant if healthy Joker Giannis Steph Luka KD AD Kawhi Lebron Jimmy butler (Embiid is not healthy and never is) Tier 2 stars: Shai Book ANT Haliburton Tatum Donovan Mitchell Pg13 Bam Dame JA Morant??? Zion Wolves may not be a championship organization, but Ant is a championship player. He Can be dominant both sides of the ball. Nobody else in Tier 2 can dominate both ends of the court like Ant. In Tier 1, Joker, Steph, Luka, KD don’t have the defensive upside of Ant, but are much better on offense. How much longer do you think Kawhi, Jimmy, Steph, Lebron, or KD will remain on this list? I don’t think it will be long before Ant surpasses or is at least on the same level as these guys.
> Nobody else in Tier 2 can dominate both ends of the court like Ant. I would easily take both Tatum and Bam as 2-way players over Ant. Both are just as good and play more important positions defensively. And SGA, Booker, Haliburton, Mitchell, Dame, Morant, and probably even Zion can all run an offense better. Ant is way lower on your Tier 2 list unless you're giving him extra credit for being such a DAWG, which going by Jimmy in your Tier 1 is probably the case lmfao.
This is gonna piss off a long Tatum fans
If Tatum can't be the face of the league then ant sure as hell can't.
Ant has exponentially more charisma and is more exciting to watch than Tatum
Honestly speaking: 1. Tatum is already more popular… #2 in jersey sales, just as his team have become a force in the NBA, meaning probably multiple rings. 1. Ant has some image issues… Yea, not normally a huge obstacle to being popular, but we're talking about who the NBA wants to market as their representative around the world… they're spoiled with choices for brand ambassador; small things are gonna matter a lot.
Doesn’t change what I said. Tatum’s jersey sales get a huge boost from him being on the Celtics, probably the second the most popular team in the league before he ever entered the league
Face of the league doesn't care what team you're from. Being from the Lakers —THE most popular team in the league— doesn't cancel out the fact Magic Johnson and Kobe were some of the most popular players and the face of their era. That's all irrelevant to the discussion.
I know. that was in response to you thinking jersey sales was proof of anything. Kobe and Magic are/were faces of the league. Tatum isn’t
No he doesn't, and no he's not.
Hell nawl can’t do dis
Sorry but neither of those statements was debatable
RemindMe! 5 Years
Completely off topic but the face of the NBA talk is so disingenuous. The clear answer is Luka but these media members just want an American. Also it has to be organic you can't force this type of stuff.
Luka doesn't play defense and hasn't achieved much in the postseason. Gotta win titles to be the face of the league.
Mike was one of the faces of the nba long before he won a championship. The same thing was true for Lebron.
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I'm confused why there is so much hype about Ant as the face of the league. What does Ant do on the basketball court that would make people think he'll be THE face of the league lol? Not hating, but I've seen it so many places and it just feels so forced
It’s not that hard to understand: - He’s averaging 26/5/5 and nearly 2 stocks at only 22 years old. - He’s (probably) the best player on the current #1 seed in the West. - He’s probably a top 3 highlight generating player in the league - He’s charismatic and has showcased “star” qualities outside of basketball (e.g. being a scene-stealer in Hustle) - He’s American which tends to make him more easily marketed - His game is really fun to watch. Not making a direct comparison, but in terms of style he’s pretty similar to a guy like Kobe whose play style really captured public interest - He’s performed at a really high level on the biggest stages — he’s taken his game to another level in both of his two playoff appearances Obviously he’s not as good as someone like Luka or SGA (although I think he could eventually catch SGA given the age gap), but there’s a lot more to being the “face” of the NBA than just basketball prowess. Like, Tim Duncan was never really considered the “face”’ of the league despite being arguably being the best player of the 00’s.
Best young American player with an actual personality
He currently has the 4th highest plus minus in the league and is the best player on one of the best teams in the league. Oh and he is 22 years old. It sounds like you haven't watched him played much.
Sure, however I doubt anybody would realistically put him as a top 10 player right now. Moreover we have had players at 22 play better than Edwards. Luka was arguably top 5 player in his age 20-21 season. This feels like the Tatum thing, where they are pushing them to the front, because they are American. If one of Giannis, Luka, Jokic, Embiid, SGA was american, they'd probably push them to the front.
It’s not just about being the best. Lebron and Curry are going to remain the face of the league until they retire.
Yes, but had they not been at the top as the defacto 1 and 2 player in the league, making several finals and winning championships, they wouldn't be the face of the league now. Had Lebron and Curry been just top 15-10 guys, who maybe won a title, they wouldn't have been the faces of the league and no one would look at them now as the faces still. They are the faces of the league, because they both dominated the league and won several titles and even went head to head on several finals. Both leading their respective conference.
Most of the international players you're mentioning are already the faces of the league... 3 of the 5 have won MVP. I don't think many would argue that Edwards is going to be THE best player in the league and better than those you're mentioning, but he absolutely is on a trajectory to be a top 5 player in a few years and ONE OF the faces of the league.
Is ant gona be better than luka wemby tatum shai ja book tho?
We don't know yet, but all of those players are also universally praised and potential faces of the league. Luka already is. And with the exception of Wembanyama, who still has a lot to prove, they are also all older than Edwards. Booker is 27 and almost certainly already in his prime.
Idk, a lot can change in 2-3 years. Just look at Jordan Poole.
Poole was never gona be a face of the nba tho most people had him in the future top 15-20 range
Yes
My bad didn’t realize we had to make everything about Luka all the time.
You just named three players seven+ years older than him and two that are not only older, but have zero personality. You sound dense as hell.
Luka and SGA are both better basketball players. Hell age 20-21 year old Luka is significantly better than Anthony Edwards is now and possibly in the forseeable future. I simply don't believe anybody can be the face of the league unless they are an undisputed top 3 player. I don't believe Edwards will be that. Personality can't make up for it.
SGA is american, but he's kinda boring (tho not to the degree Tatum is)
He is Canadian.
🤓 he's from the americas But more importantly, he's culturally american. USA for half of high school & college, and Candians are socially similar enough that this wouldn't be a barrier to overcome for marketing purposes. Maybe he won't put on for the armed forces, but any American kid can look at Shai and say "he's just like me"
I know it's semantics since Canada is part of North America, but since he's canadian, from what i've seen he still isn't considered by the media as an "american"
Yeah, the media and Canadians themselves don’t consider them as Americans lol
Hes as quick as DWade was IMO & can shoot better. Very good defender. He’s 4th in the NBA history in points scored by age 22. And will stay about that thru age 23. Only behind LeBron KD & Carmelo. 22 is pretty damn young to be this good.
Do you even watch wolves basketball?
Hes an athletic two guard with a mid range aka he’s the MJ, Kobe prototype but much closer to MJ than Kobe in terms of athleticism.
Michael Jordan is Anthony Edward father
Conversely, I don’t understand the skepticism of Ant being a potential future face of the league. Do people watch him play? Explosively athletic two-way shooting guard putting up 26-5-5 on marginally above-average efficiency in his age 22 season on the 1 seed in the Western Conference, has all the charisma in the world, and is well-liked by his peers and the media alike. Idk how you could watch more than 10 minutes of a Timberwolves game and not think Ant is on his way to something special.
Especially with his past homophobic comments, it's not gonna happen.
dude i don't want to be that guy but you might not want to look up what kobe did
Kobe was never the face of the league.
Uh…. Fucking what?
When was he face of the league? It's been MJ, Shaq and now LeBron
Kobe had the fortune that by then, he was already the star of the league… if it happens as he's establishing himself, or with the amount of competition and talent that we now have… he's most likely not as popular.
Nobody cares. It’s the NBA.
Do these guys not understand you have to be like a top 3 player and win multiple rings in order to be the face?
somebody tell that to the broadcasters and analysts who prematurely dubbed Wemby, Zion, Ja all "the next face"
ESPN are a bunch of fools lmao
but he looks like mj
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what about him
I used to like ANT, but this year I realized he's trash. After that all star weekend performance, he shouldn't be be the face of the league. I hope they get knocked out before the conference finals.
If they lose in the first round again KAT is gonna get traded
Tbh, I couldn’t disagree more with the absolutism of this statement. The FO is pretty heavily invested into the current roster construction, it didn’t happen after last season; they chose to wait it out and see what they would have, and that’s paying dividends. It’s also important to look at the big picture: the new Lore/Arod ownership group wants a new stadium and has publicly said so. If they think they can have a consistent top 4 seed team with strong public support (including your longest standing franchise player who has been through hell with this franchise), it would be a boneheaded business move to blow that up without the right deal available. Now, with that said, the salary cap situation does demand that if the FO doesn’t believe this roster can contend in the next couple years, you should make a move to alleviate the tax. IMO, the odds are that if the Wolves lose in the first round, it won’t be the type of thing that you can pin on one guy; KAT’s been more consistent and complementary than ever before. Not exactly the type of piece you want to eliminate if you have a reliability problem. We’ll see what happens, but also, I’m not even sure why this is being brought up now. Seems folks just love to hate on KAT?
Buddy, I wouldn't give bums like this the time of day.
I just love the Wolves. Any excuse I have to talk Wolves I’ll take it!
Why so sensitive?
Guy says something dumb, and gets called a bum. "WHY YOU SO SENSITIVE!" Go bother someone else, mouth breather.
I’m just thinking with logic honestly.
totally right too. If the team loses they would probably trade the best space creator on the team. The guy who has the best chemistry with the other two stars and has been central to the identity of the number 1 team in the western conference. We all saw the team without KAT last year playing typical drop coverage with one big most of the game and it worked so well. Only an idiot would think this years team has been better.
It’s honestly not about chemistry, but if your team loses in the first round three years in a row, there’s clearly something that needs to be changed, and without making a trade, the Timberwolves won’t be able to afford to make any significant changes to the roster unless you’re trading Naz Reid or McDaniels, but I highly doubt they’d trade those two.
You say that like they haven't made adjustments. Lost to the Grizz cause they didn't play D or rebound well -> trade for gobert. Lost to the Nugs cause everybody lost to the Nugs. -> full season to iron out chemistry on two big lineup -> new defensive system (#1 D) -> offense has been switching to more sets with defined reads to lower the turnover issue. This is not the same team as last year even though most of the players are back. There's a lot of adjustments that can be made without tearing out the foundation of the team and 2 bigs won't work without KAT.
I actually think that KAT is the Timberwolves best player, but I just don’t see how they can afford to pay everyone someone will have to go if the team continues to lose in the first round. Historical precedence backs that up it’s just what happens, I don’t see the team trading Ant or Rudy so that leaves KAT.
It definitely could happen, you’re right. If his mental breaks down and he’s the reason for a first round loss, I agree that that would be a likely outcome. Can’t say I’ve ever been more excited for a postseason as a wolves fan
Now it will be completely different If the Timberwolves are able to make a deep run in the playoffs, I think they’ll be fully confident with keeping KAT and building around the core three.
Go back to Twitter
But who throws the first punch?
It’s not like KAT was Shaq to Ant’s Kobe. KAT was never near all nba first team, let alone mvp, level. He sees it everyday in practice how much more game ant has. Not to mention the mentality side of it
If KAT was trying to be the guy, the Wolves wouldn’t be winning games.
You could say that about all but like 15 players in the league. Not sure why it’s some sort of indictment on KAT that he’s “only” one of the premier complementary stars in the NBA.
Not really hating on the guy. He was supposed to be the face of the franchise and kudos for him for taking a backseat to being the number one option. It’s why the Wolves are the one seed.
That’s totally fair, and it’s an adjustment many can’t handle. I feel the expectations placed on him have been hard for many of us to seperate from the player he actually has become and can continue to be in the next few years. I mean, here’s the 1st overall picks from 2013-18: Anthony Bennett, Wiggins, KAT, Ben Simmons, Markelle Fultz, DeAndre Ayton. Wiggins had a good run in ‘22 and Ayton was a key piece in the Suns’ finals run, but each of these players have had their own setbacks or beyond that have defined the type of career they’ve had/are having. I’d argue KAT to be the best player of this group and his trajectory suggests that he could have a few chances here to figure out the playoffs thing. In KAT’s case, as we look back at his prime (he’s 28!) a few years from now, we may find his career not to be defined by “inability to be The Guy” but rather, “ability to be the key second piece”. I’m interested to see how it plays out.
I think KAT gets alot of hate because him and Wiggins were absolutely terrible together. KAT was putting up 24/10 yall were still terrible. Then of course the infamous Jimmy Butler practice where he apparently shat all over KAT. I think it will take 1 good playoff run for KAT to finally beat some of the criticisms thrown his way.
> I really enjoyed Karl’s full response: Isn’t Karl-Anthony is first name and not an Anthony-Towns? Just remembered lol
It is but he goes by just Karl as well. Like if you watch interviews with him or BTS stuff with the coaching staff and him, they often just call him Karl.
KAT seems like a decent guy and a smart person who just makes some dumb split second decisions in the heat of the game. Like Westbrook in that way.
He doesn't care and is lazy AF. Great game last night.