"I work hard 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so that my family can rest 24 hours a day, 7 days a week." A few minutes before
became the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, Anthony Edwards leaned on the sofa and his family surrounded Sitting on both sides, and the closest to him are two portraits of women.
A few minutes later, Edwards' name was read from Xiao Hua. He got up and hugged and celebrated with his family. In the background behind him, the woman in the two portraits looked at it with a smile.
Edwards celebrates with his family
. It is a portrait of his mother and grandmother.
The American media commented on Edwards that he has Russell Westbrook's physical fitness and James Harden's scoring ability. This also made him regarded as the biggest favorite of the No. 1 pick before the draft, but the lovely Dewars said that it was the death of his mother and grandmother that drove him to grow up until today.
Once, they were Anthony Edwards' number one "cheerleader". Edwards was accustomed to his mother's shouting and shouting at the side of the arena; now, he has long been accustomed to putting the smile and eyes in his memory close to the distance. Your nearest location.
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"Ant-Man", this is Edwards' nickname. This name comes from the father. Back then, this man "named" his son after his favorite superhero character. But apart from a nickname, the father never seemed to leave any traces on Edwards, nor did he participate much in his son's growth.
Edwards grew up in the love of his mother.
"I am her favorite. When I was young, I slept with her on the same bed. She would bring me food or other things back at night after get off work. Even when I was with my siblings, she even preferred me to' Don't you guys touch my kids'."
The American Southern football has a strong atmosphere. He was born in Edwards in the southern city of Atlanta, and his sports career also originated in football. So far, you can still search the Internet for pictures of him participating in the game when he was 11 years old.
Little Edwards in a football game
"I could have been a professional olive player," Edwards said. "I'm really good, at the age of nine and ten, ranking first in the country."
accompanied his rugby memory, it was his mother's crazy cry from the sidelines.
At that time, at the sidelines of almost every Edwards game, his mother and grandmother would appear on time, wearing jerseys and woven pompoms, which were very conspicuous. Mother Yvette’s cheers can always penetrate the crowd, letting little Edwards know that there are close relatives cheering him on the sidelines.
Yvette is not just a cheerleader. "She was very strict with him." Edwards' brother Bubba recalled. When Edwards was struggling in the game, she would shout at him: "I don't know what's wrong with you, but you better cheer up. "Z1z
Edwards
in high school and so on, she can always ignite Edwards' anger and drive him to do better. "It may be hurtful, but it's all to make him better." Bubba said.
All of Edwards' basketball dreams are related to grandma. "(In the backyard of my grandmother's house) I saw my brothers playing basketball. I think it looks more interesting." Edwards recalled.
"In the summer vacation, if I don't go to summer camp, my brothers and I have nothing else to do, so we go to my grandma to play. She has a basket in her backyard, and I have never won against them. I have had enough. I have enough. Think, one day, I will beat them."
Edwards celebrated with his family that the goal of
was soon achieved, and his ambitions on the basketball court have gradually expanded. After giving up rugby and moving to the basketball court, one night, a thought suddenly came to little Edwards' mind. He pulled out the black marker and wrote the words on the wall of the bedroom:
"Future McDonald's All-Star Player"
"Future NBA Player"
The grandmother who witnessed all this was proud and she told Edwards: "Boy, you are setting goals for yourself, I hope you can achieve it."
Edwards in the McDonald's All-Star Game
local time on the night of November 18, 2020, Edwards was elected to the NBAThe No. 1 pick, all the wishes he made back then were realized, but the two people who had been standing beside him to encourage him to pursue his dreams had already left him for five years.
From 2015 to 2016, my mother and grandmother died of ovarian cancer within 8 months. At that time Edwards was only 14 years old. Suddenly, his brother Anthony, who was only three years older than him and played with his grandmother's court, and his sister Anton Vannett became his guardians.
"It's really hard to lose my mother. I lost a close friend." Edwards said, "and my grandmother, she is like our pillar, she did everything for us."
Throughout high school and college, Edward I always choose the No. 5 jersey because his mother and grandmother died on the 5th.
Edwards shows the No. 5 jersey
Despite this, he has been working hard to smile in his life, he said, this was taught to him by his grandmother. The death of two close relatives prompted him to work harder to tap his basketball talents. So since the age of 14, people have seen in addition to a talented basketball teenager, there is also a young man eager to grow up.
He said: "My brothers and I told each other that we will not stop playing basketball because of this, because we know that if they are still here, they will definitely want us to continue playing. So this is what we do. I just put all my energy into basketball." Edwards also said that although his mother and grandmother left one after another, they still "influence" him on and off the basketball court every day.
"During training, if my coach says to me,'Hurry up and keep working', I will tell them,'You don't have to emphasize this with me, my mother and grandma have taught me a long time ago.'" In other words, Edwards is the kind of player who "you need to use a broom to get him out of the training hall."
Edwards keeps improving his shooting in college
"They don't just raise me, they always Smile to me. So, I always try to inspire more people." Edwards said.
At the same time, the status of the family in his heart has become extremely important.
Edwards said: "(The deaths of my mother and grandmother) made me work harder because I know they want to see me grow to a higher level, and now I have to take care of my family."
He hopes to take on the family's life quickly Responsibility, this point has already begun to show when he chooses a university-in order to be closer to his newborn niece, he refused a better invitation and chose the University of Georgia, which is only 75 minutes away from Atlanta.
Edwards and his family
"I do my best to stay close to my family because we have lost our mother and grandma. We will be united and overcome difficulties together." In an interview, he once said frankly, "I am 24/7. Hours of hard work, so that my family can rest 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.” In this way,
, with the thoughts of his mother and grandma, shoulders the family responsibilities that should not belong to a 19-year-old boy, Edwards Along the way, he has become the favorite of the 2020 players. Before the
draft, when talking about who he would share this moment with, Edwards' answer was simple: "Mom and grandma."
Edwards took his little nephew to attend the interview
In the best imagination, the draft is over. On this night, the Edwards family will squeeze into grandma’s SUV, run to the restaurants they go to every week, and celebrate their draft victory with a buffet dinner as they did many years ago. On the way to
, my mother hummed to the R&B music from the tape recorder.
Edwards, who was just 19 years old, didn’t worry too much. He entered the restaurant and walked straight to his favorite steak, chicken and ice cream-
and now, there is no SUV, no buffet dinner, no R&B, no steak, chicken And ice cream. Edwards, alone, knocked on the door of the Minnesota Timberwolves arena.
Editor: Wang Sishuo
Editor in charge: Lu Yan
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