Stephen A. Smith: Anthony Edwards made mistake calling out Kyrie Irving

Just before the start of game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards did something he may regret later: he called out Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving.

Edwards said “he had Kyrie” before the start of game 1 which apparently ticked off Irving.

Irving had one of the best games in his playoff career dropping 30 in the Mavs 108-105 victory against the T-Wolves to open up the Western Conference Finals.

When asked about it the comments, Irving said he used the trash talk as motivation Tuesday night.

“I used it as motivation,” Irving told Inside the NBA with a laugh. “When I was sitting back home and I saw it, it was like a nod of respect and also I knew what type of game it was going to be in Game 1 and also for the rest of the series. So you’re right, I was at home with my family, watching Game 7 and then Ant [Edwards] comes out and says, ‘I got Kyrie,’ but also that’s a no fear mentality and that’s why we love Ant. So coming out tonight, I knew he was gonna pressure me a little bit, but I knew they were coming off a Game 7, grueling game, so their legs were biting them a little bit tonight, so hopefully in Game 2 they come back and settle in a little bit more but we’ll be prepared.”

"You get motivation from failure and you get inspired… I wanted to make sure we felt good as a team after every single game."

Kyrie speaks on stepping into a leadership role this season pic.twitter.com/cRO1IkkaTs

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 23, 2024

One person who thought it was a mistake to call out Irving was Stephen A. Smith. Smith said that Edwards does not want that smoke from the NBA great.

“I think [Anthony Edwards] is going to deliver a championship to Minnesota one day, if not this year. … But I was like, ‘Yo, be careful what you wish for,” he said. ‘This is not the dude you want to do that to, this magician on the offensive side of the ball.”

We’ve all seen what Kyrie Irving can do when motivated and it’s been a while since we’ve seen this version of Kyrie been this motivated.

But Anthony Edwards may have awakened the sleeping giant. Be careful what you wish for indeed.

{First Take, Inside the NBA}