Alexander Brown
Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards has his team at the peak of franchise history. The Timberwolves took a 2-0 lead into the second round of the NBA playoffs with a 106-80 win over the Denver Nuggets on Monday, moving Minnesota two wins closer to reaching the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2004.
Edwards’ leap during 2024 NBA The playoffs were undeniable. 247Sports’ former No. 1 overall prospect in the 2019 recruiting cycle and the best choice of 2020 NBA Draft out of Georgia is in its fourth season on NBA. Edwards is climbing the all-time overall recruiting leaderboard because of his postseason performance — he had 27 points to his name on Monday night. Edwards is part of the new guard of young talent taking on the NBA postseason and is positioning himself as one of the faces of the league moving forward.
In Game 1 against the Nuggets, Edwards scored 43 points to become the fourth player in NBA history with three consecutive playoff games with at least 35 points. Edwards joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. Edwards also joined Bryant as the only player with consecutive 40-point games at age 22 or younger in NBA playoff history.
In the 247Sports era (2010-), Edwards is one of five former top recruits who were the No. 1 pick in their respective drafts, joining Anthony Davis, Andrew Wiggins, Ben Simmons and Cade Cunningham. Edwards, Davis and Simmons are the only players who have been named all-stars multiple times.
Edwards’ path from top recruit to NBA superstar was anything but conventional. Edwards reclassified from the 2020 cycle to what would become an ill-fated class of 2019 to join Georgia a season early. Edwards averaged 19.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.8 during the 2019-20 season at Georgia, which was cut short due to COVID-19.
“Ant’s natural scoring ability combined with his physical gifts, versatile skill set and long-term upside make him a special prospect,” said then-247Sports Director of Scouting Evan Daniels.
During the pre-draft process in 2020, question marks emerged surrounding his wanting to play basketball. Edwards was a Pop Warner football star in his youth and expressed before the start of the 2023-24 NBA season his hopes of one day playing in the NFL.
“Yes”, Edwards said Marco Summers on his talk show Open Thoughts. “I could be the first (to play in NFL and NBA.)”
While Edwards may have the tools and athleticism to run as a multi-sport athlete, his charisma, high-flying dunks and friendly trash talk have drawn basketball fans toward the 22-year-old rising star.
Here are the No. 1 recruits in the 247Sports era, ranked by NBA success.
Observation: The year in parentheses indicates when the player was ranked as the No. 1 overall recruit in his respective class. PER stands for Performance Efficiency Rating, which is a comprehensive metric used to evaluate player performance.
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1. Anthony Davis (2011)
Star appearances: 8
Best BY: 30.8 (2013-14)
When Davis is at his best, he is in the conversation to be the best center in the NBA. In his lone season at Kentucky during the 2011-12 campaign, The Brow put up monster numbers that also put him in the conversation as the best wideout prospect in modern college basketball history. Davis was first drafted by the New Orleans Hornets (now New Orleans Pelicans) in 2012 and spent the first seven years of his career there before being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2019. Davis averaged 28 and 10 during the Lakers’ championship run. . in the 2020 bubble. He was an eight-time NBA All-Star, made the All-NBA First Team four times and appeared on the All-Defensive Team four times. Davis appeared in a career-high 76 games during the 2023-24 campaign for the Lakers.
2. Anthony Edwards (2019)
Star appearances: two
Best BY: 19.7 (2023-24)
Edwards averaged a career-high 25.9 points during the 2023-24 campaign and made the NBA All-Star team for the second consecutive season. Edwards is one of the most fun players to watch in the league because of his frequent highlight-reel plays. Edwards ranked ahead of James Wiseman and Cole Anthony in the 247Sports rankings. Edwards took first place in his class after reclassification.
He is on track to earn more accolades at the next level.
3. Ben Simmons (2015)
Star appearances: 3
Best BY: 20.4 (2019-20)
Simmons’ NBA career is complicated. The former No. 1 pick in 2016 NBA Draft He quickly rose to stardom after helping the Philadelphia 76ers reach the NBA Playoffs. Simmons reached the NBA All-Star Game three consecutive seasons between 2019-21 and was considered one of the best defenders at his respective position. It has been in decline ever since. Simmons has played in 57 games over the past two seasons due to injuries.
4. Andrew Wiggins (2013)
Star appearances: 1
Best BY: 16.5 (2015-16)
A change of scenery was the best thing for Wiggins’ career. Once considered a bust for the Timberwolves, Wiggins has proven his ability to be an elite player during Golden State’s 2022 playoff run. He is one of the main reasons the Dubs were able to beat the Celtics in six games after being back by 2- 1 in the series. Wiggins is part of one of the most notable NBA trades this century. The Cavs traded Wiggins for Timberwolves great Kevin Love to pair with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, which paid off for Cleveland. Wiggins is coming off one of the worst static seasons of his career.
5. Chet Holmgren (2021)
Star appearances: 0
Best BY: 20.4 (2023-24)
After missing the entire 2022-23 season due to injury, Holmgren helped the Oklahoma City Thunder earn first place in the Western Conference. Holmgren finished behind San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama in Rookie of the Year voting, but is having a rookie campaign to remember. Holmgren starred for Gonzaga during his only college season during the 2021-22 campaign and is climbing the ranks as one of the top No. 1 recruits of all time. His Thunder announced the second round against the Mavericks on Tuesday night. We hope Holmgren has a good NBA playoff run.
6. Cade Cunningham (2020)
Star appearances: 0
Best BY: 17.1 (2023-24)
The first three picks of the 2021 NBA Draft were in the exact order of 247Sports’ final rankings of the 2020 draft cycle. Cade Cunningham went No. 1 to the Detroit Pistons, Jalen Green was selected No. 2 by the Houston Rockets and Cleveland The Cavaliers selected Evan Mobley with the No. 3 pick. Cunningham showed some of the tools that made him the top high school recruit and No. 1 draft pick, but he is currently part of a Pistons team that just finished with the worst record (14 -68) from the league.
7. RJ Barrett (2018)
Star appearances: 0
Best BY: 16.4 (2023-24)
Like Wiggins, a change of scenery could be the best thing for Barrett’s career. Barrett was part of a star-studded recruiting class at Duke that included Zion Williamson, Cam Reddish and Tre Jones. After being selected by the New York Knicks with the third pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, Barrett was traded last December to the Toronto Raptors in the OG Anunoby trade. Back in his native Canada, Barrett averaged a career-high 21.8 points in 32 games with Toronto.
8. Marvin Bagley III (2017)
Star appearances: 0
Best BY: 19.4 (2023-24)
Before Bagley became the top player in the 2017 class, current Denver Nuggets star Michael Porter Jr. held that spot before Bagley reclassified. The Kings famously and stupidly passed on Luka Dončić with the second pick in the 2018 NBA Draft and went with Bagley instead. The Kings traded the former Duke star to the Pistons at the 2022 NBA trade deadline.
9. Nerlens Noel (2012)
Star appearances: 0
Best BY: 20.4 (2016-17)
Once projected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, Noel fell to sixth. NBA teams during his career and was recently cut by the Sacramento Kings before the start of last season. Noel averaged double-digit points just once during his time in the league.
10. Emmanuel Mudiay (2014)
Star appearances: 0
Best BY: 14.6 (2018-19)
Mudiay is the only player on this list who did not play in college. After committing to SMU, Mudiay decided to play overseas before being drafted by the Nuggets with the 7th pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. Mudiay averaged a career-high 15 points in one of his final seasons during the 2018-19 campaign.
11. Josh Jackson (2016)
Star appearances: 0
Best BY: 14.1 (2019-20)
After a standout season at Kansas, Jackson was selected by the Phoenix Suns with the fourth pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. Jackson’s pure athleticism and shooting ability made him an intriguing project. Jackson never lived up to the hype and last played in the NBA during the 2021-22 season.
12. Nick Smith Jr.
Star appearances: 0
Best BY: 8.1 (2023-24)
Smith was selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the 27th pick last summer. Smith appeared in 59 games and averaged 5.9 points. While there is still plenty of time for the 20-year-old guard to improve his position, he is in fact the last player ranked on this list due to his lack of NBA experience. Smith last summer spoke vulnerably about his disappointing year at Arkansas.
