Potential Warriors' draft target Edwards loves watching KD

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If the Warriors select Anthony Edwards with the No. 2 overall pick in next month's NBA draft, he'll have some lofty role models in mind.

Much like his college coach, Tom Crean, did earlier this week, the Georgia guard said Thursday on "SportsCenter" that he feels legendary guard Wade Jones Dwyane Wade is the player whose game is most like his.

The active player he watches most now, however, is one with whom Golden State is intimately familiar.

"I look on the TV and say, 'I can be that guy,' or 'I can be better than him.' " Edwards said of Wade in an interview with ESPN's John Buccigross. "But he's retired, so I feel like nobody in the NBA now, but my favorite player in the NBA now is Kevin Durant. I look at him a lot, and I'm like, 'Yeah, he's really good.' "

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Wade starred for Crean at Marquette before establishing himself as one of the NBA's five greatest shooting guards of all time during his 16-year career, winning three championships with the Miami Heat. Durant won two in three seasons with the Warriors, taking his game to new heights and winning back-to-back Finals MVP awards in 2017 and '18 before leaving for the Brooklyn Nets in free agency last summer. Wade and Durant also have won a combined three Olympic gold medals.

Naming two probable Basketball Hall of Famers as your comparable and favorite player to watch? No pressure, kid.

That's par for the course for Edwards, though, who's embracing expectation ahead of the Nov. 18 draft. If he gets his way, Edwards won't be on the board by the time the Warriors announce their selection.

Edwards told Buccigross he met with and worked out for the Minnesota Timberwolves, who hold the No. 1 pick, earlier this week. He added that it would be "a dream come true" to be the first name called.

"I feel like if I get picked first overall, I got bragging rights and I just can't stop there," Edwards said. "I gotta prove myself. I gotta prove that I should e the No. 1 pick. I gotta prove if they pick me that I belong out here and I'm gonna stay."

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Edwards reportedly impressed the Warriors in his pre-draft workout, and Warriors forward -- and fellow Klutch client -- Draymond Green was on hand for Edwards' agency-organized workout in Los Angeles this week. Whether that's enough to make him Golden State's preferred choice, or even if Edwards remains available when the Warriors pick, is up in the air.

But if the 19-year-old calls the Bay Area home after draft night, the Warriors' championship expectations might not feel so lofty compared to the ones Edwards has for himself.

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