The Wolves Sweep! What Now for the Phoenix Suns? | The Bill Simmons Podcast 

Ant is 3 years younger than SGA/Luka, 2 years younger than Haliburton. Scary potential here

“Shawn Kemp ‘I wanna insult your family’-type dunks.” Love that quote.

“They got KD, but we got Jaden McDaniels” is shaping up to be an all time NBA quote.

“Leads the league in weirdness per 36” 😆

ANT is built like a tank....he rolls both ankles on Bradley's stupid feet, shakes them both off, and continues to dominate the game on both ends of the floor. He's made everyone question Booker's status, made KD think about joining a new team, and made Beal thankful to his agent for getting him a massive contract 🤣

Ant got THAT aura.

It's good to live in Minneapolis. Town's buzzing.Wolves are legit. Baby Jordan is the bomb!

Rudy hitting ALL OF HIS FREETHROWS though. Impressive.

Still waiting for Gobert to be played off the court.

Start the Gobert apology tour. He needs teammates that rotate properly and Twolves do that.

If you guys wrote a children's book called "How the Charismatic Ant Befriended the Lonely Kat" you'd sell a million copies in Minnesota alone. Just saying.

Ryen loves Ant because he loves the way Ant makes him feel about himself

I been in this stupid ass state my whole life. All I’ve gotten was 98 Vikings and 90’s Twins and now this. Thank you 🙏🏼, good lookin out Universe. 😉

ANT makes NBA basketball so fun for everyone. People who are not even Timberwolves fans are so giddy about it. It's awesome to see.

There was a fierce debate between Edwards and Lamelo Ball. Man the Wolves mad the right choice going Edwards. Ball is a fine player but this is the guy they needed 1000 percent!

"There is a spirit to him that the league really needs." THIS. It's supposed to be a competition!

Ant became my favorite player. .in the summer... he called jalen Jackson jr.... Ant was going for a dunk in practice triple j didn't contest and he said You defense player of the year dont be a bitch.. he became my favorite player..

Can you imagine Stern being the commisioner while Edwards made that hip thrusting celebration the other night?

This duo is quietly becoming a classic… 👌🏻 Talking about Bill & Ryen ☺️

That look when he said “ if we had a kid” lolol

God, I love listening to these two riff. Almost as much as I enjoy the games themselves.

Shoutout to the Snell cardio!

Almost heard them say the Gobert trade was a win for MIN. Maybe after next round

Ants last 4 games may be a future espn 30on30 "Watch a superstar introducing himself to the world" episode.

So, the Rudy trade is still the worst thing that ever happened to us right? 🤣

This is a great episode.

Where is Bill's apology about the "worst trade in NBA history"? Wolves are on a mission to win it all to spite the media like yours and the nay sayers

Last year bill said gobert trade was dumbest trade ever. Wolves only won 1 game. Year later look. Suns same situation.

I wanna thank you guys for having a friendly peaceful conversation about basketball. Sometimes the screaming and antics become too much. I just want to hear clear cut respectful comments.Thanks guys.

I remember starkly Bill writing and talking alot about Durant and how special he was going to be, how unguardable his shot is, I remember that analysis like it was said last week. I have always been a fan of KD since, hes been every bit as good as Bill thought but even then still a little bit of a let down with his enigmatic nature. To see Bill watching Edwards become the man in real time and enjoy that, AGAINST that guy I still very much remember for Bill's take on him 20 years ago. Makes me feel Old for starters, also a little bit sad for KD, but then there is that new sun rising, a whole new era. A lot to be happy about.

Greatest “Bus Rider” of All Time

It's not about his skills. His maturity and leadership ability at young age are next level.

Look at the proud papas

Edwards is everything the media tried to make us believe Booker was..... Wow I'm impressed with him. I fully understand the Kobe MJ comparison now.... He's that good. He has all the basketball skill AND the alpha dog mentality. He might quickly be my new favorite player in a league which seems to be overrun with Booker types(talented but soft, and always trying to get calls and be a free throw merchant) Honestly it's the same reason I've never really warmed to LeBron... Something about his personality was "missing" for me... He has all the talent but, yeah

Russ' face when Bill was on his "Let's look at our baby grow up!" ramble lmao

it's tough for phoenix. not only do you have okc and the wolves rising, you have denver solidly in their prime, and everyone's forgetting about the memphis grizzlies, who had the season from hell but still have 2 all-star level players and an all-nba level player. then you still have dallas, new orleans, and sacramento, any of which can be a threat. really tough!

It’s his leadership that really sets him apart. Other guys might be that way in the locker room, but Ant’s confidence is infectious and that’s where you start going from a star to a superstar.

Another fabulous 👌 analysis

MN fan. Ant’s EQ is a superpower. The big thing this year is two parts, 1 his intelligence from committing to watching film like a QB. He is becoming the best prepared for study. Next hood pivot moves from the mid range. Two years ago he added the euro.

“We’ll see if he stays” 😂

Is Russillo taping this in a catering kitchen? how many ovens does this guy have?!

As a biased MN fan, i loved seeing we were matching up with Phoenix and Denver. Teams win championships by building to beat the current champs, and I believe our team matches up great against Denver. Especially with Denver not shooting many 3s and relying on their inside scoring more than last year. We took a game from them without McDaniels and Reid last year. I think we have a shot to make it to the Western conference finals, and obviously, the finals, if we get past Denver.

Bill saying SGA is higher on his League Pass list than Ant a month ago is still insane

Been waiting too hear this one

The Suns mistake was thinking the window was multiple years. This was the best year, they needed to keep Paul and DA and give it a try with a new coach. The new stars were coming up and KD getting older. Every other future year was always going to be tough to predict. The one positive that I will like going forward from the DA trade though was Grayson.

Being a great scorer doesnt make you a great player. Media tried to fool us on KD...

Edwards reminds of a young Wade who at the time reminded me of a young MJ🤔😎

It's not that KD is declining, he's always been this type of player...Bunch of scoring but what real game impact? It's easy to make it seem like you have impact when you have a 73-9 team on your back..

Dude is awesome,, let’s chill a bit though suns d is completely trash

I'm a fan of THE LEAGUE, and I cheer for greatness everywhere. Seeing Ant rise to the top is really fun. Nuggets-Wolves is going to be a battle! Alas, I'm also a Grizzlies fan, and Ant's rise has taken place in Ja's absence. "What could have been..." Rooting for Ja's return to form with a healthy Grizzlies team.

As a wolves fan Bill comparing this AMAZING ant game to LBJ Detroit special is criminal, LBJ was the guy from day 1, that’s one of the all time performances, this was a great game and great series virtually nobody will remember in 10 years

Remind me what ya'll said about the Rudy trade again?

Let’s let Ant be Ant I think the worst think in sports is the player comps, because there’s a rational way of doing it that is almost never done

Everyone in MN is so happy we FINALLY hit on a lottery pick. KAT was the only 1/10 picks after KG prior to Edwards worth a supermax.

I’ve been saying it basically since week 3 of the regular season but as a wolves fan I prayed for times like this 🥹

There have been MANY 25/gm .46 .36 shooting guards over the years. I agree Ant’s game is aesthetically pleasing but I’m not sure he’s quantifiably better than a lot of other guys

"did he even get to ten points?!"😭 "he had 9 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound, he was 4 for 13, had 6 turnovers, and he fouled out....... Other than that, pretty good game"😭 "they were like SUPER turnovers!"😭 bruh I am FROM St Louis and im HOWLING!!!!

I was so wrong on Ant. I didn’t see the love of basketball, but it feels like it’s definitely there now. Maybe it always was but those pre-draft interviews were strange

Nikola Jokic is by far the best player in the league but Anthony Edwards will be the face of the league when LeBron James retires. Ant have the athleticism, charisma, skill and swag with a great smile.

at least Beal took the challenge of guarding Ant even with the height, size , athletics , health , youth disadvantages but yeah suns guards cant defend anyone - who did booker defend on that play

Good see ant one of the most dominant nba players have that mamba mentality i really thought it would be much longer before we would see that again

There was rumors that Edward’s didn’t enjoy basketballl that much around the draft…the thing with Steve Kerr lit a match for him to take his game to a new level. This is it

"looks like he's going for the Tony Snell tonight" 💀

Was living in Austin when KD was at UT, it was great. KD makes me feel like Kawhi , sad endings.

I’d be surprised if Durant hasn’t requested a trade from Phoenix midway through next season. He’s worse than LeGM at this point

Rusillo and me! Cmon Bill

what was the quote they posted in the Minneapolis airport?

He has the talent, the skill set in his game, the charisma, and killer mentality to be the face of the league.

If I was gm of Phoenix, and good thing I'm not but if i felt like my back was really against the wall and no way up from where they are, you gotta move someone. Beal has a no trade clause and you probably couldn't find a taker anyway. You might be able to move Durant, maybe not But you can definitely move Booker. So could you move Booker in a way that actively hurts a team ahead of you? I don't think there's a deal in Denver, Booker for Ant is 0% but Booker and KAT were/are friends but I doubt KAT has any power in MN especially to get Ant traded 😂 but that's the blue print... Maybe they could pitch OKC Booker for Dort, Giddey, Kenrich Williams, lots of picks and Booker's $ moves into their cap space (Hayward's $31.5 is expiring, not sure how that works). I think SGA and Booker would be fine together but maybe OKC would find this carrot irresistible and maybe SGA and Booker would clash, disrupt the team, hurt OKC's cap space to get a big, maybe Dort KWilliams and Giddey can be the role players PHX needs, Beal rediscovers his 30ppg self and PHX leap frogs them? Not likely of course but maybe this is PHX's only chance? They could try the same with New Orleans but they're already ahead of them however it would be hilarious if they trade Booker for Ingram and go from too many SGs to too many SFs. Phoenix: Redundancy City! (Booker for Zion is tasty though!)

Even the Extender couldn't extend that game

Gave birth to a basketball child. Bill u wild but on point😂😂😂🤝🏾‼️

Ok I guess he is going for the Tony Snell tonight 😂😂😂

"Towns leads the league in weirdness per 36" I def hope we dont start tracking that, as a Wolves fan. 😂

Oh oh, big media on the bandwagon. Watch out league.

27:45 Suns had the home-grown guys pre-KD trade. But if one of those home-grown guys isn't capable of being the best player in every single playoff series, you aren't winning. Which is when you trade those home grown guys for someone who potentially can be one of those best in the world types and hope you get lucky. By far the most "reliable" way to win is to draft one of those guys, but of course, easier said than done. Not everyone can draft a multi time MVP in the 2nd round during a taco bell commercial.

Ant is just the star the NBA needs. He's kobe, but also extremely charismatic. His personality is great.

funny, i also KNEW once that beal 3 went up it was gonna be a brick.

Safe to say Suns probably wish they kept Bridges, Cam Johnson, Ayton, and Paul. Easier to say in hindsight but just looking at the roster, it seems like a no brainer. They were clearly missing depth this year.

GIVE GOBERT HIS FLOWERS YA GOOBERS

There was never a moment KD was the best player in the world. It's clear he was the number 2 in GS now just got to put up the numbers. His style doesn't elevate anyone else and it makes offenses play very basic. Lebron was still the best at that point and curry was 2

Age 22 and hes the best defender and offensive player on the court. Unquestionably. Barring none. Its not unprecedented. Lebron, Kobe, MJ and Ant. Thats kinda it. And Wade, good point!

Just remember when these two said Rudy G trade was the WORST NBA trade of all time lol that take is looking GREAT right now

Towns is 19pts and 9reb this series. Hes played well all series.

Wild that Bill sounds like he's trying to take credit for Ant being good when he's on record as hating this Minnesota team and and every transaction they made to assemble it.

Ant is my new favorite player. Went from Kobe to Steph to now ANT. Bro has that aura and attitude that reminds me of Kobe. Gotta love it

This is great. Give them flowers after being dead ass wrong.

Towns has proved himself. He's just NOT a center. Duncan was his size and everyone was fine with him NOT being a center. He's been DOMINANT as a power forward and out that with ant you might get this title...

Beal had runs in 2014 2015 as well..dude won 3 playoff series in 4 years...almost won 5 ..

I think Wolves still win, but I think Grayson Allen wouldn't made a huge difference here. The guy was the best 3 point shooter statistically of the season. Spacing wise that would've been huge for Book and KD

As a Knicks fan I really don't want to say this. Best thing Durant could do for his lasting legacy is head to NY and somehow win a ring there in the next 2 to 3 years. He won't have to be a 1 and the defense is much better. Winning the first ring for NY in over FIFTY YEARS would cement him as a legend...at least in NY

I thought your kid was Ben Simmons...and now he's disowned 😂

Lebron, KD and Curry have the benefit of playing in this era where in the regular season they can still roll out of bed and get their numbers. They're depreciation isn't really noticed until the playoffs when they're going against better teams who aren't scared of them.

two proud papas

Anthony Edwards makes me wish that he was in a Lakers jersey, because he reminds me of Kobe. What a great player for Minnesota.

"You gotta keep scrolling over." ☠️ KD was actually just as good as he was in 2019, early in the season, the past two years, but he got hurt both times. This year was the first year that you could kind of see his motor lowering. Stat wise he's still amazing but he's not as explosive

As someone who has actually watched Ant grow in the NBA. Thanks for joining us eventually Bill. Try to not make it about you. Oh, who am I kidding? That is your brand Bill. Do your thing. 🙄

Wemby is the only man stopping Ant from becoming the next guy.

USA Core @ 2028 G Ant - 26 G Hali - 28 F Banchero - 25 F Zion - 27 C Chet - 25 Vets F Tatum -30: C Adebayo - 30 G Brunson - 31

I tried to tell people that the Suns weren’t going to be a threat this season. They don’t have a point guard. Their offense is basically just Booker and Beal attempting to take turns creating while Durant and Booker take turns scoring in isolation. There’s no structure or rhythm to it. Harden would have been a much better addition than Beal was.

Can anyone confirm that someone said Ant doesn't care about playing basketball? I'm pretty sure I heard that before, from his rookie year i suppose. But now we see that its actually the opposite of what was told to us