Mavericks’ Kyrie Irving drops ‘special’ Anthony Edwards admission

The Dallas Mavericks picked up a huge win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night and will now shift their focus to an NBA Christmas game with the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.

Prior to that contest, Mavs guard Kyrie Irving dealt Anthony Edwards his flowers as he continues to develop into one of the brightest young stars in the association.

Via Joey Mistretta:

“Like great artists or great athletes that have come before him, he’s taken a lot from other people’s games. … That’s what makes you special, that’s what makes you great,” Irving said.

“You know, I watched film yesterday and saw him get on his guys, he just really wants to win, when you have that mentality every single day, eventually it’s going to rub off on your teammates. They’re still building an identity with Julius Randle in there, but specifically for Ant, he’s been vocal with the media talking about his team, trying to get something going, and as a young player leading a franchise, it’s one of the hardest thing to do, burden all that.”

The Mavericks star also elaborated on how he can tell Ant gets advice from other players around the league, especially after playing for Team USA this summer at the Paris Olympics.

Edwards is having another solid campaign, averaging 25.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists. The Timberwolves have struggled since trading away Karl-Anthony Towns, but the hope is that they can eventually find their footing again with Randle now as the Ants’ teammate instead. Minnesota owns a 14-14 record.

As for Kyrie and the Mavericks, they sit fourth in the West with a 19-10 record and just got Luka Doncic back from a heel injury. Hopefully, Dallas can pick up a win this Christmas and slow down Edwards, who will try to wreak havoc under the bright lights.