Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves are back in action in Friday’s NBA preseason opener against the LA Lakers. Edwards has traveled with the team to Palm Springs. However, he won’t play. He had a busy summer after playing at the Paris Olympics for Team USA.

Edwards said he’s in top shape after spending the summer playing competitive basketball against the world’s best. He was key in the USA’s gold medal run, averaging 12.8 points and 1.3 steals, shooting 58.0%, including 48.0% from 3.

That was just a few weeks after his season ended with the Timberwolves following their conference finals loss to the Dallas Mavericks. Edwards will hope to keep the momentum going by getting quality reps during the preseason, but that won’t be happening on Friday.

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Anthony Edwards is going all-in on NBA MVP award hunt

Anthony Edwards wants to unleash himself next year and go for the NBA MVP award. The Timberwolves star is seemingly motivated to win the prestigious honor after being involved in those conversations last season.

Edwards has made significant strides yearly. He is coming off a career season, averaging 25.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists, shooting 46.1%, including 35.7% from 3 and 83.6% from the free throw line.

Edwards also added to his defensive game and is one of the top two-way talents in the league. He announced his individual goals for the new season on Monday’s Media Day, saying:

“Yeah, hell yeah, for sure, no question. And that’s [MVP] what I’m going for, man. At this point, ain’t nothing else to go for.”

The two-time All-Star could have more leeway to take control of the Timberwolves offensively following Karl-Anthony Towns’ departure. Anthony Edwards has improved beyond scoring. That could bode well for his MVP case next season.

It could be an intriguing battle as he takes on the likes of Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Doncic, the top three players in MVP voting last year.

The 23-year-old finished seventh in voting last year with 86 votes. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jalen Brunson and Jayson Tatum were the other players ahead of him apart from the top three.