“Stop Comparing Ant-Man to MJ”
In our lifetime, all-world athletes come and go like sunsets. All-time great players
who change viewership of sports with different tactics. Garnering astronomical
ratings for networks and the league itself. Minnesota Timberwolves superstar
Anthony Edwards has been under the microscope during his postseason run. Even
to a point the national sports media has dubbed him “MJ’s son.”
A twenty-two year old superstar whose swagger, style of play, ultra-confidence and
marketing reminds national media outlets of Michael Jordan. Everyone tuned in
and watched MJ captivate with his acrobatic dunks, defensive play; all along
making their case he had the makings of being “he got next.” The same media who
witnessed MJ become a generational player for many years.
The media knows what narrative to push and sell with Anthony Edwards: build
him up and shred him to pieces for falling short of their dark, twisted expectations.
This is a sick obsession for everyone involved in part of they’ll sing praises when
Edwards makes everyone on the court look mid-tier and dominate in cordial
fashion. They’ll shred him to pieces for not taking Minnesota to the finish; while
ridiculing “he’s not MJ” or “MJ would never” dialogue which will be spewed once
the Western Conference Finals concludes.
I’ve seen this movie before in multiple eras dating back to another young phenom.
You’ve probably heard of him, and he too witnessed the same twisted narrative at
the same age. LeBron James at age twenty-two took Cleveland to their first NBA
Finals in 2007 after dethroning the Detroit Pistons in epic fashion. Yes, this
happened folks and I witnessed it early on. The media was calling him “MJ” and
how he took it upon himself to knock off a dynasty in Detroit.
Even in the Finals against prime San Antonio Spurs, LeBron had no answer for the
juggernaut. Everyone in the media bashed and ripped LeBron for getting swept by
a more superior team. The same will be said about Edwards’ inability to win one
game in the West Finals. He’s twenty-two years old and his first deep playoff run
of a young career. How many twenty-two year old NBA players can say they’ve
went into late May? Not very many, but even the best players get worn down. Ant-
Man is experiencing what it takes to play at his best against superior competition.
This will only make him better prior to his prime in five more years. Everyone is
expecting him to finish the job.
Even with a great supporting cast, even they haven’t been up to par in this series.
To put Edwards in the MJ discussion is too early and with him learning how to
adjust his conditioning, it’ll only sharpen his mental and physical health moving
forward. National media pundits will run to their platforms and say: “ran out of
gas, but MJ would never.” One pundit will say: “I told you; Ant-Man is nowhere
close to MJ, and I stand on it.”
The dialogue will be twisted, and hate will spurn Edwards to find common ground
in becoming his own moniker. Even he said, “stop comparing me to MJ.” He’s
aware of what sports media is saying, while waiting for him to fold. If anything,
they’ll use LeBron’s bullet points to say “Ant-Man only scored X amount of points
in the fourth quarter. LeBron did the same in big moments; MJ would never!” Oh,
the irony of how this will play out and NBA fans will be in uproar in defending
Edwards.
Even if he comes up short, the narrative will be surrounded by MJ apologists
who’ll be front and center to throw strays at Edwards’ lack of taking over in this
series versus Dallas. It’s disturbing and sick for grown men to make content about
a young man whose career is starting to take flight. Trust me, there’s going to be a
lot of content creators who’ll spew the same narrative; while using Michael
Jordan’s accolades to prove the narrative we already know. They’re apart of the
problem and won’t admit it to the casual fan.
They will swear up and down MJ never folded in postseason play, even with a
strong supporting cast against future Hall of Famers. It’s never-ending because we
can’t appreciate the current players without comparing them to past greats. Ant-
Man will grow and learn from this postseason run which took a toll on him
physically. Like most young superstars, they know their perception will only grow
as each year passes. It’s the media who’ll force them to seek greener pastures to
win a title. We’ve seen it time and time again, still getting shredded for advancing
their chances to win a title.
Edwards will face the criticism head on and use it as motivation in 2025. As the
late John Witherspoon said on Friday: “You win some, you lose some. But you live
to fight another day.” Let Ant-Man be him and Jumpman stay in the mystique of
all-time great players.
Stai tuned.
