Philadelphia 76ers All-Star Paul George delivered a harsh take in response to Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star Anthony Edwards’ remarks on Michael Jordan’s era. After being named to the All-NBA second team and reaching the Western Conference Finals for the first time in his young career, Edwards drew Jordan comparisons throughout the NBA playoffs.
However, Edwards wished for the comparisons to stop, via Lane Florsheim of the Wall Street Journal’s According to Edwards, Jordan played in an era that lacked great players beyond Jordan, himself.
Star 76ers forward Paul George felt Edwards comments showed a lack of respect for the many great players who came before him, via Podcast P with Paul George presented by Wave + Entertainment.
“I thought it was kind of disrespectful to the game. I thought it was a very immature comment,” George said. “Obviously, Anthony Edwards is super talented and is a huge talent going forward, but just how much the game has grown, and how far [it’s grown], you gotta pay dues to those dudes that did it before us. And that’s the transition or the translation between that era to his era; they don’t really know too much of Magic [Johnson] and [Larry] Bird, you know. And as players, you gotta know [those] guys.”
“I thought it was kind of disrespectful to the game. I thought it was a very immature comment... How much the game has grown... You gotta pay dues to those dudes that did it before us.”
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) September 2, 2024
Paul George on Anthony Edwards' comment about Jordan's era 😳pic.twitter.com/qSYob6rgZd
“I thought it was kind of disrespectful to the game. I thought it was a very immature comment... How much the game has grown... You gotta pay dues to those dudes that did it before us.” Paul George on Anthony Edwards' comment about Jordan's era 😳
Perhaps the generational differences in how kids get their news and entertainment play a significant role in how young players perceive the generations that came before them. Unlike Edwards, George grew up in an era when watching classic NBA games on cable television was a regular occurrence, whereas the streaming era has taken over recently.
Either way, George isn’t the first to criticize Edwards, and most likely won’t be the last due to Ant-Man’s view on Jordan’s NBA era.
Anthony Edwards says Michael Jordan was the only ‘skill’ player of his era
Timberwolves’ two-time All-Star Anthony Edwards doesn’t want to be known as the “new” Michael Jordan. He considers himself as one of one, which is respectable for a 23-year-old rising star.
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However, Edwards revealed he believes that, unlike MJ, his era is stacked with talented high-end players.
“I didn’t watch back in the day, so I can’t speak on it,” he said. “They say it was tougher back then than it is now, but I don’t think anybody had skill back then. [Michael Jordan] was the only one that really had skill, you know what I mean? So that’s why when they saw Kobe [Bryant], they were like, ‘Oh, my God.’ But now everybody has skill.”
Edwards admitted he didn’t watch games from Jordan’s era, and it shows.
