Georgia Professional Athletes

Anthony Edwards had already cemented his place among the NBA's elite. On Wednesday night in Miami, he staked a claim alongside its immortals.

The Georgia alumnus dropped 45 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the Minnesota Timberwolves' dominant 131-106 season-opening blowout of the Miami Heat, becoming just the third player in NBA history to record multiple 40-point season openers — a list that now reads Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, and Anthony Edwards. He went 16-for-29 from the field and drained nine 3-pointers in 33 minutes, finishing with a +27 plus-minus as the Wolves spoiled Giannis Antetokounmpo's highly anticipated Heat debut in front of a Kaseya Center crowd that ran out of reasons to cheer by the fourth quarter.

Edwards, never short on personality, later revealed that trash talk from a Heat bench player lit an extra fire. "He was talking pretty crazy," Edwards said after the game. Whether that reserve knew what he was waking up is a question he'll be sitting with for a while.

The performance prompted Kendrick Perkins to declare the Edwards–LaMelo Ball backcourt the best in the NBA, a take that gained traction quickly given Ball's own strong opener alongside his fellow Georgia product.

Even after the historic night, Edwards kept delivering. Two nights later against Orlando, he posted 15 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals in 33 minutes as the Timberwolves dismantled the Magic 115-93, going 2-0 to open the season. The offensive numbers were quieter, but the defensive footprint was impossible to miss — a +19 in a game where the Wolves didn't need "Ant" to go supernova to win.

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KCP Comes Up Big in Philly's Week

Across the league, fellow Georgia alum Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has had a quietly effective week for the Philadelphia 76ers. KCP contributed 10 points in a 106-100 win over the Knicks on Tuesday — a game with obvious bragging rights attached, as Caldwell-Pope made clear beforehand that Philly was gunning for New York's first loss since the Finals. By Saturday, he was even sharper: 12 points, 3 steals, and a +24 in 28 minutes of a 127-116 win over Milwaukee.

He's playing the role he was built for — disciplined, two-way, and reliable in close games. At 33, KCP still knows how to show up when it matters.

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Newell Getting His Feet Wet in Atlanta

Asa Newell, the freshman-turned-pro who declared after one season in Athens, is easing into his NBA role with the Hawks. The 19-year-old logged 8 minutes in Atlanta's 128-81 rout of Charlotte on Friday, chipping in 3 points and finishing with a +8. It's a modest box score, but the minutes and the comfort level are growing for a player who projects as a long-term piece.

Georgia's alumni footprint across the NBA is wide right now — but make no mistake, it's Edwards carrying the flag. And after this week, he's carrying it into some very rare company.

Georgia Alumni Set the Tone as 2026-27 NBA Season Kicks Off

Two former Bulldogs are entering the new NBA season as central figures on legitimate contenders — and the expectations couldn't be higher for either one.

Anthony Edwards: The Timberwolves' Main Event

Anthony Edwards isn't just the face of the Minnesota Timberwolves anymore. He's the face of the NBA's next era, and he knows it.

With the offseason addition of LaMelo Ball, the Timberwolves have assembled one of the league's most electrifying backcourts — and early returns from the preseason suggest the skeptics may have been wrong to doubt it. Head coach Chris Finch noted that Ball's playmaking is already simplifying Edwards' life on the court. "If you look at the shots that Ant was able to make last night, they were all super easy," Finch said, pointing to how Ball's gravity and vision are generating cleaner looks for the Georgia product.

Baron Davis went further, arguing the pairing could unlock a new ceiling for Edwards altogether. "LaMelo is the type of person to bring that out of him," Davis said in an exclusive interview, drawing a line between Ball's facilitation style and Edwards' potential for continued superstar growth.

Edwards, for his part, isn't downplaying the moment. He's leaning into it — hard. In a clip that made the rounds on social media, he delivered an NSFW warning to the rest of the league, declaring exactly the kind of energy Minnesota plans to bring. His teammates were reportedly cracking up. Rivals probably weren't.

There are real questions underneath the hype, though. Former NBA head coach Tyrone Corbin issued a pointed reality check, warning that Minnesota's championship ceiling will ultimately be determined by its defense, not its offensive firepower. And through the preseason, opponents have already made a tactical decision to physically pressure Ball — a wrinkle Edwards publicly acknowledged the team must solve quickly. The Wolves dropped a 128-106 preseason game to Detroit in part due to that defensive targeting scheme.

Sports Illustrated framed the 2026-27 season as a turning point for Edwards specifically — a year where the results, good or bad, will be spectacular. That's the burden and the opportunity that comes with being the guy. Edwards appears ready to carry both.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: Chemistry First on a Star-Studded 76ers Roster

In Philadelphia, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is navigating a different kind of challenge. The 76ers have assembled a roster laden with star power — Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, LeBron James, and VJ Edgecombe among them — and someone has to be the voice that holds it together.

KCP is stepping into that role.

The two-time champion has been refreshingly candid about what Philly's success will require. "Us liking each other," he told CBS Sports, a deceptively simple formula that speaks to the chemistry demands of blending this many high-usage players. He's done it before — KCP won his first title alongside LeBron with the 2020 Lakers — and he broke down James' impact for a new generation of Sixers, emphasizing that the four-time champion brings more than points. The credibility KCP lends to that message, having seen it firsthand, is real.

Beyond the star dynamics, he's also emerged as a voice for the roster's younger players. When asked about one of Philly's rookie guards, KCP praised the young guard's work ethic, calling him a "workaholic" — a signal that the veteran is invested in the culture beyond just his own role.

With two Bulldogs shaping the narratives of two very different contenders, Georgia's NBA footprint in 2026-27 is anything but quiet.

Anthony Edwards spent the offseason recovering. Now he's running his mouth — in the best possible way — and Minnesota's preseason is must-watch television because of it.

The Georgia product and Timberwolves franchise cornerstone kicked off the 2026-27 preseason with a bold declaration: Minnesota can be a "superteam" — but with a twist. Edwards clarified the label applies specifically to what he believes can be an elite defensive unit, not just a star-studded offensive showcase. "I like it — We're sharing the ball a lot," Edwards told reporters. "I think defensively we can really be a super team." It's a nuanced take from a player who has clearly thought beyond highlight reels, and it carries weight given what the Wolves have assembled around him.

The LaMelo Experiment Begins

The biggest variable in Minnesota's equation made his Wolves debut in a 116-97 preseason blowout of the Milwaukee Bucks, and the early returns were encouraging. LaMelo Ball posted 11 points, four rebounds, three assists, and a steal in just 17 minutes, flashing the playmaking creativity that made him a trade target in the first place. Edwards — who finished with 14 points and two blocks — was visibly enthusiastic about his new running mate afterward, offering a characteristically funny postgame quote that underscored a budding chemistry the organization is banking on.

Sports Illustrated flagged the pace the duo pushed together as Minnesota's "not-so-secret weapon," noting both players' appetite for up-tempo basketball as a natural fit. That speed was on full display against Milwaukee and carried into a second preseason game against the Indiana Pacers, where Tyrese Haliburton — playing his first game back from Achilles rehab — shared a hilarious sideline exchange with Edwards that made the rounds on social media.

Not everyone is a believer yet. A Heavy Sports analysis warned that the LaMelo trade could backfire, pointing to the roster construction risks that come with pairing two high-usage, ball-dominant guards. The front office dumped Julius Randle to make the move work financially, and the margin for error in Minnesota is thin. Edwards' happiness is cited as a non-negotiable variable in the organization's calculus.

Off-Court, Edwards Is Everywhere

The preseason hype has extended well beyond game logs. Edwards debuted a new colorway for his AE3 signature shoe and used the moment to clap back at Drake, who had taken a shot at him in a Kevin Durant Adidas ad. That prompted a sharp response from Jaylen Brown — now with the 76ers — who took offense to Edwards' own Adidas commercial that appeared to include jabs at both Brown and LeBron James. Brown's reaction went viral. Edwards, unbothered, kept his focus on the court.

It's worth noting Edwards took intentional time off this offseason after finishing the 2025-26 campaign physically worn down. The rest appears to have paid dividends: multiple reports describe him as healthy, sharp, and energized heading into the regular season — exactly what a franchise pinning its championship aspirations on one player needs to hear.

For Georgia fans, Edwards remains the program's most prominent NBA standard-bearer, and through one week of preseason play, he's given them plenty to watch — and argue about.