National Basketball Association

Anthony Edwards says he'll try football if he wins an NBA title

Updated Oct. 20, 2024 3:04 p.m. ET

Long before he rose to prominence as an NBA star with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Anthony Edwards dominated the football field. As a youth in Pop Warner, in fact, Edwards was so good that he drew comparisons to a young Michael Vick.

Now, it appears he is open to the idea of taking another shot at the gridiron.

In a video released by ESPN which promotes an upcoming story, Edwards said: "Football players can't go play basketball. No way. I told my buddies, I said ‘if I win a ring in the next 3-4 years, I’m going to play football.'"

Edwards, who is known for his prolific trash-talking abilities, has made similar boasts in the past.

Last November, he said "I think I might be the first one" to move from the NBA to the NFL. And in 2021 he talked about his ability to compete in any sport.

Edwards did not play high school football, as he had switched over to basketball by then.

In May, FOX Sports' Melissa Rohlin revealed that Edwards pivoted away from football to basketball at least in part because of competitive 1-on-1 games he had with his brother.

Wrote Rohlin:

Antony (known as Bubba), helped swivel his focus to basketball because of their ultra-competitive one-on-one games. When Anthony would lose, he'd lose it.

"He'd want to start fighting," Bubba said. "Blows were thrown."

Anthony decided to focus on basketball, mostly so he could beat his brother.

"I was like, forget football," Edwards told FOX Sports. "I want to be like, Bub."

Edwards eventually chose to play college basketball at Georgia, where he averaged 19.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 2019-20. He then entered the NBA Draft, where there T-Wolves chose him No. 1 overall.