Anthony Edwards just reminded everyone that he is the future of American basketball

With the careers of LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry soon coming to an end, you may wonder who the next face (and overall future) of American basketball will be. Given marketability, talent and age, Anthony Edwards always seemed like the logical choice. Jayson Tatum is certainly included in this conversation, but he is three years older than Ant and has a serious injury.

Still, Edwards’ All-Star Game MVP performance is a good reminder of why he holds the title as the future of American basketball. In three mini-games, Ant racked up a total of 32 points as he led “Team Stars” to victory. It felt fitting that the final match came against LeBron, KD, and Kawhi Leonard (technically so did Curry, but he didn’t play due to injury).

An important side note: the new All-Star Game format worked surprisingly well, as there was a noticeable increase in the level of effort and competition. This is especially surprising after Edwards himself hinted that this wouldn’t be the case. Anyway, it was a great moment for the league, and I think it was USA vs. World format had a lot to do with that.

Claiming that Ant-Man is the future face of American basketball because of a stellar All-Star Game performance would be a bit silly, but I consider Edwards’ performance a reminder of this fact.

Anthony Edwards is the future of American basketball until further notice

Now Edwards has shied away from being dubbed the future face of the league and is passing the baton to Victor Wembanyama. At some point, however, Ant’s greatness is undeniable.

Let’s be honest: The Face of the League is a bit of an arbitrary title to begin with. And even if Wemby is the main face of the league in the not-too-distant future, there’s no denying that Ant will be one of the faces of the league. That’s right, he already is.

As for the future face of American basketball, I think he has officially surpassed Curry as the best American player at this point (though it’s close). As long as the big three, LeBron, Curry and KD, are in the league, they will be the collective faces of American basketball (and the NBA in general) – their legend status is simply hard to top.

But when they retire, Ant will be next in line to take on this title whether he wants to or not.

We haven’t seen an American-born MVP since James Harden in 2017-2018. To me (and many others), Ant has the clearest path to becoming the next American-born MVP. Tatum, Cade Cunningham, Jalen Brunson and Cooper Flagg should be the next four mentioned as the future faces of American basketball.

Right now, though, Edwards is the best player of this bunch (again, Tatum’s injury complicates things), and there’s no denying he’s the most marketable. Some members of this group could break away and join Edwards as the collective faces of USA basketball.

While it may seem far away, the 2028 Olympics will likely be where we really see this transition of eras take place in a significant way. With the legendary trio Bron, KD and Curry unlikely to return, Ant feels ready to become the leader of the 2028 Olympic team.

By all accounts, the future of American basketball is in a great place with Ant set to take the reins.