Former Bulldog basketball star is on US Olympic team

Anthony Edwards, who was the 2020 SEC Freshman/Newcomer of the Year with the Georgia Bulldogs before becoming a rising superstar in the NBA, has been selected for the USA National Team that will compete in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Edwards will be representing the USA for the second consecutive summer. The Atlanta native was the leading scorer for the United States in last summer’s FIBA World Cup in Manila, Philippines, averaging 18.9 points per game. He became just the third American to record four 20-point performances in World Cup competition, joining Kevin Durant and Paul Pierce. Edwards also led the Americans in playing time (26.0 mpg) and was the team’s second-leading rebounder (4.6 rpg).

Edwards was the nation’s top-scoring freshman while playing for Georgia in 2019-20. He averaged 19.1 points per game and scored 610 total points, the 10th-most ever by an SEC freshman and the seventh-highest effort by any Bulldog in a single season. In addition to being named SEC Freshman of the Year by both league coaches and SEC Newcomer of the Year by the Associated Press, Edwards was selected as the Georgia College Player of the Year by the Atlanta Tipoff Club and was one of five finalists for the Jerry West National Shooting Guard of the Year Award.

Edwards was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft and has emerged as one the league’s brightest rising stars over the past four seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was named an NBA All-Star in both 2023 and 2024 and has led the Timberwolves to three consecutive Playoff appearances. This season, Edwards averaged 25.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game while leading the Timberwolves to a 56-26 record and the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. Minnesota will face Phoenix in the first round of the Playoffs in a series beginning this Saturday.

Over four NBA campaigns, Edwards has scored 6,920 points in 302 regular-season outings, an average of 22.9 per game. Earlier this season, he became the third-youngest player in NBA history to reach 5,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists behind only LeBron James and Luka Doncic.

The Olympic team is highlighted by 12 athletes with extensive USA Basketball experience, including three-time Olympic champion Kevin Durant (Phoenix Suns) and the NBA’s all-time scoring leader LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers), who owns a pair of Olympic Gold medals. In addition to Edwards, Durant and James, the team features Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat), Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns), Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors), Anthony Davis (Los Angeles Lakers), Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers), Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers), Jrue Holiday (Boston Celtics), Kawhi Leonard (L.A. Clippers) and Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics).

The United States will compete in “Group C” of preliminary round competition from July 28-August 3 at Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Lille, France. The medal round games will be contested on August 6-10 at Bercy Arena in Paris.

Edwards will be Georgia’s Basketball fifth Olympian, joining former Bulldogs Vern Fleming (1984) and Willie Anderson (1988) and former Lady Bulldogs Teresa Edwards (1984-88-92-96-00) and Katrina McClain (1988-92-96). Those players have combined to win seven Gold and three Bronze Medals in Olympic competition.

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