
Anthony Edwards has drawn comparisons to Michael Jordan.
If things had panned out a little differently, he might have been more like Patrick Mahomes or Christian McCaffrey.
The Minnesota Timberwolves phenom is currently in the midst of a back-and-forth second-round playoff series with the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets.
As the series moved to 2-2, rare throwback footage emerged of 'Ant-Man' dominating a different sport entirely.
In the viral clip, a young Ant, who played football in the running back, quarterback, and cornerback positions, can be seen burning past defenders like CMC, passing like Mahomes, and pulling off a pick six like many of the league's best CBs.
Edwards played youth football for the Atlanta Vikings and became one of the best Pop Warner running backs in the country by age 10, but eventually switched to basketball because he "thought it looked more fun" after watching his brothers play the sport.
READ MORE NBA
Edwards is a 6ft 4in, 225lb shooting guard with the kind of explosive speed and strength found amongst many of the NFL's top wideouts.
While his focus is currently on delivering the T-Wolves their first world championship, Ant hasn't ruled out the possibility of becoming the first NBA-to-NFL crossover player.
"I think I might be the first one," Edwards replied to comedian Marco Summers on his Open Thoughts show.
"Are you gonna do it?" Summers asked.
"I'm gonna try," Edwards replied.
"First I gotta handle my business in the NBA ... as a time, Minnesota organization, we want to win a championship. After that, we'll figure that out."
Most read in Basketball
That wasn't the first time the 22-year-old All-Star suggested his athletic abilities aren't limited to basketball.
In 2020, Edwards explained that he excelled in a number of different sports and was "A1 from day 1".
"I used to play baseball when I was young. I could have went to the MLB," he said.
"I'm serious, I'm not even joking. I played pitcher, shortstop, third base, center field. I was fourth-fifth hitter. Straight clean-up.
"Tennis, swimming, lacrosse – Whatever you need me to play, I’m going to go do it. If it’s some money on the line, I’m going to go do it.
"Whatever. On the rink. Whatever you need me to do. It don’t matter. Trashcan ball. Whatever you need me to do. Cook food, cook food. That’s something to do. I bet I’ll be A1 from day 1."
In 2022, Wolves teammate Karl-Anthony Towns said of Edwards: "Ant thinks he’s the best baseball player, football player, skier, curler, walker, runner."
“Anything with a player behind it, I’m the best in the world," Ant-Man replied.
Throwback footage of Ant dominating other kids at football comes after former NBA star Austin Rivers sparked a major online discussion about the NFL vs NBA.
Rivers claimed 30 NBA stars could play in the NFL, but it would be difficult to find 30 NFL players who could play in the NBA.
Fans and experts alike debated who could make the switch, and former NFL defensive end Chris Long highlighted Edwards as a potential pro football star.
“Anthony Edwards number one, I think he could play wide receiver and go for a thousand yards next year,” Long said on The Rich Eisen Show.
“I just think he's kind of a rare field kind of athlete, he's like a special athlete."
Read More on talkSPORT
Edwards is certainly a special athlete.
Whether he one day makes it to the NFL remains to be seen, but a video of him launching a 40-yard bomb last year shows an NFL career might not be beyond the realms of possibility.