Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards. Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Anthony Edwards officially granted 'legend killer' moniker

By Sai Mohan | Last updated May 6, 2025 9:06 AM ET

Entering the 2025 playoffs, Anthony Edwards had the chance to further his reputation as the NBA's "legend killer" following his takedowns of Kevin Durant and Nikola Jokic a year before.

The Timberwolves star answered the call by eliminating LeBron James and Luka Doncic in the first round to solidify his new nickname.

However, the moniker was never officially handed to him by the original "legend killer" Randy Orton, the WWE Superstar who earned the nickname in the 2000s for wreaking havoc on aging veterans. That was until Monday, when Orton recognized Edwards as his successor.

.@theantedwards_ ☠️ pic.twitter.com/yiJrpLq6Td
— Randy Orton (@RandyOrton) May 5, 2025

Orton developed a penchant for targeting older, championship-caliber wrestlers during his formative years, much like Edwards has for aging NBA superstars.

Edwards can add another legend to his list of victims when he runs into Stephen Curry in the second round starting Tuesday.

According to ESPN Research, no player or team has taken down James and Curry in the same NBA playoff run. Much of that is because the two icons played in different conferences until 2019, when James joined the Lakers. Since James arrived in Los Angeles, no team has defeated the Warriors and Lakers in the same postseason.

Edwards isn't the only one excited to face Curry. The latter has welcomed the challenge of going toe-to-toe with a blossoming star.

"We know they had their run last year and they're a new look with [Julius] Randle. But [Edwards is the] same man who's trying to take strides with every opportunity he gets," Curry said, via Yahoo Sports. "I guess it's gonna be a tough challenge. You got to send multiple bodies at him and figure out a game plan to go at him. But yeah, they're hot right now."

The oddsmakers expect Edwards to add Curry to his list of victims. Per ESPN Bet, the Timberwolves enter the series as -190 favorites.

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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