Anthony Edwards Says He's The #1 Option On Team USA And That LeBron, Steph, KD, and The Rest of Them Gotta Figure Out How To Play Around Him
Is he trying to be Michael Jordan with the confidence? Or are these really his thoughts? Because if he's trying to be like Mike.....I hate this quote. But if he truly feels he's the #1 option on perhaps the most stacked Team USA in the history of Olympic Basketball.....then I fucking love it. I mean, look at who this team is trotting out onto the court in Paris:
Featured on Barstool
I don't think self-proclaimed #1 option Anthony Edwards is even going to start on this team, right? Common sense says that Embiid, who picked USA over France, will be in the starting lineup. I'd bet my two testicles and third if I had one that Steph, KD, and Bron Sr. won't be coming off the bench. And then you've got one spot left to pick from this list: Kawhi Leonard, Jayson Tatum, Anthony Edwards. I'd say Ant is the clear #3 option from that group to fill the final slot. My prediction would be:
PG : Lebron
SG : Curry
SF : KD
PF : Tatum
C : Embiid
Here's what Steve Kerr said last week about the Starting Lineup:
“It’s a great question,” Kerr said last week. “My staff and I have talked about it quite a bit, it’s a good problem to have, but I think I’m guessing that all 12 players on this roster will be in the Hall of Fame someday. So how do you pick five out of 12? The idea is you find combinations that click and you find two-way lineups that can be effective at both ends. So our big job in Las Vegas is to find five-man combinations that fit and to just ask all 12 guys to fully commit to the goal of winning a gold medal no matter what it looks like, no matter who’s playing.”
That would be a fair answer, but I'm also calling bullshit. I'm saying the lineup is chosen by people who would cause the most stir if they came off the bench. Is LeBron a Top 5 player in the country? I don't think so. But I'd bet my bottom dollar he starts on this team because it would could a nationwide disaster in the media if he didn't. But I also have zero problem with that. He's earned it….and any combination of these guys should win it all, so I think you gotta play the legacy guys and make the young guns wait their turn. The Caitlin Clark Method, if you will.
* No way this causes an issue in the locker room, right? They're all friends. This is a Super Team. I think they love the confidence and probably all think they should start, and I kind of sense some jokingness in his face. But maybe he is one crazy mother fucker and thinks Steph and LeBron should defer to him. I'd love that even more.