There’s no denying that the NBA features a wide array of basketball talent that ranks among the best. While there’s a variety of talented players, each individual specializes in their own category. For example, Magic Johnson was known for his passing, Michael Jordan was known for his scoring, while LeBron James is more well-known for his IQ.
With that in mind, Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards recently built his perfect player by category.
Anthony Edwards’ Interesting Picks To Build a Perfect NBA Player
In a recent video featuring Edwards, the Wolves star was asked to build his perfect NBA player. Edwards was given five categories, and he could choose only one player per category.
The five categories were, namely, handles, shooting, defense, IQ, and dunking. While many of the all-time greats do fit in each category, Edwards had some interesting picks that surprisingly didn’t feature the likes of James and Jordan.
Anthony Edwards builds the PERFECT NBA player 👀 pic.twitter.com/WcHrTap6sL
— Topps (@Topps) March 17, 2026
For handles, Antman selected Kyrie Irving. It’s an understandable choice given how Irving has made a name for himself breaking the ankles of his opponents over the years.
For shooting, Edwards made another understandable pick in Stephen Curry. The Golden State Warriors star is arguably the best shooter the league has seen in history.
Curry has single-handedly revolutionized the way the game is played in modern basketball. He made long-distance shots a regular occurrence in the league, even influencing the big men to take 3-pointers.
This is where it gets quite interesting. On defense, Edwards selected Jaden McDaniels as his pick. There’s no questioning that McDaniels is one of the best defenders in the league today. He’s averaging 1.1 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. However, he has yet to prove himself the cream of the crop with a Defensive Player of the Year award.
While there’s no denying McDaniels’ talent in securing stops for his team, there’s a wide selection of defensive players who could’ve made Edwards’ list.
For IQ, Edwards picked Chris Paul. CP3 is arguably one of the smartest players the league has seen. Paul earned the moniker “Point God” for a reason. His court vision and timing on the team’s plays helped him become one of the greatest point guards of all time.
Finally, for dunking, Edwards went with Zach LaVine. It’s a debatable pick, but definitely not a bizarre one. LaVine is a two-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion. He arguably revived the thrill of watching the dunk contest during a time when the event was growing stale.
No, Jordan or James threw fans on the internet off guard. We are talking about two of the greatest players to grace the sport, and beyond.
Whether Edwards’ perfect NBA player would become the GOAT or not, that’s up for debate. But it’s safe to say that the Timberwolves star has some interesting taste in players, depending on the category.
