There is a certain flavorlessness to many of today’s young star athletes. They were all raised in the crucible of social media, fully aware of the dangers posed by legions of online trolls parsing every word they say, waiting to pounce on the smallest miscue. There are millions of dollars to be lost in endorsement deals and brand ambassadorships if you say the wrong thing, which is why so many of them speak carefully and feel flat—if not outright boring—these days. Then there is Anthony Edwards, as spicy as they come.
At just 24, Ant-Man has already made three All-Star appearances in five professional seasons, and is on the short list to succeed LeBron James as the next marquee attraction in the National Basketball Association. The dynamics of his game make him an obvious candidate, but the authenticity and charisma that ooze from his pores are what really set him apart. There is no faux humility, no curated public persona. He cusses like he’s the lead in a Tarantino flick, barks at unruly fans in unfriendly arenas, and tells anyone who will listen that he’s the best player in the world. “Hell, yeah. I’ll turn on my highlights right now and watch them motherfuckers,” he tells me over the phone.
Edwards has led the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Western Conference finals in each of the last two seasons. It is an unprecedented level of success for a franchise that had one playoff appearance in the 17 years before his arrival. But he’s not done yet. There is one giant milestone left in his sights: the team’s first championship. “I keep coming up short,” he says. “But don’t worry about it. I’m going to make it happen.”
“Hell, yeah. I’ll turn on my highlights right now and watch them motherfuckers.” —Anthony Edwards
That overwhelming confidence—and his American roots in a league increasingly dominated by international players—has Edwards front and center as the NBA prepares for a post-LeBron world. According to the league, the Timberwolves are reportedly paying him a sum that could reach $260 million over the life of his five-year contract. He even appeared in Hustle, a 2022 Adam Sandler movie, maximizing his cultural crossover potential.
When we speak, Edwards has just returned from a trip to Milan for men’s fashion week. He shot his CULTURED cover in an ornate palazzo there—dressed in head-to-toe Prada, with his older brother, Bubba, always nearby.
The siblings were raised in Oakland City, a gritty neighborhood in Southwest Atlanta, and were rocked when both their mother and grandmother died of cancer when Ant was just 14. Growing up, Edwards recalls wearing sweatpants every day. “I was poor as hell,” Edwards says. “I had nothing fly that I could even try to put on. I had about one pair of shoes.” Bubba would lend his little brother an extra pair when it was time to hoop.
A decade later, there they were: dressed in Prada as a French photographer snapped portraits of them in one of the most stylish cities in the world. This, for Edwards, represented a whole new level of triumph. “It definitely opens your mind,” he muses. “There’s more to life than whatever you got going on. You see different cultures. [But] the best thing about all this is being able to go out there with Bub.”
When I jokingly ask Edwards what his childhood self, who couch-surfed his way through Atlanta, would say if he could see him posing for a magazine in the Italian metropolis, he makes sure I remember who I’m talking to. “I don’t like saying I’m modeling,” he says. “I just took a couple pictures. I ain’t trying to be no model.”
“I ain’t trying to be no model.” —Anthony Edwards
Even on the court, he is as stylish as they come. He soars through the air like Michael, shoots three-pointers like Steph, and talks trash to opposing fans like he’s playing at Rucker Park. “I love that,” Edwards says. “Finding somebody to pick on.” The applause and the new clothes are nice. The money is nicer. But as the spotlight brightens and the number of eyes on him grows, Edwards is adamant that the trappings of stardom will not blind him. “None of this shit would happen without basketball, without the work,” he says. “A lot of people forget that. I don’t forget that.”
If that sounds like a lot of pressure, you don’t know Anthony Edwards. “Hell no, I’m a player,” he assures me. “I’ll be cool.”
Purchase your copy of Anthony Edwards’s Art + Fashion issue here.
Grooming by Colleen Dominique
Executive Production by Neela Quagliola for Mai Productions
Production by Francesca Miani
Production team: Simona Ghinassi and Diego Perrone
Tailoring by Giorgia Morra
First assistance by Mario Cattaldi
Location: Grand Hotel et de Milan
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