Anthony Edwards is, bar for bar, one of the best basketball players on the planet. And he’s got the sneakers to prove it.

Edwards’ phenomenal on-court skills are backed up by some of the coldest shoes on the court. His signature adidas sneaker, part of a broader relationship with adidas, has helped catapult him into the sphere of world-class athletes — he already had the skill, now he has the product to back it up. On the court, his Minnesota Timberwolves are always contenders and he’s racked up accolades. Off it, his sneaker line has proven phenomenally successful both as a performance shoe and a surprise lifestyle hit driven by its suave design, reigniting a flame that was extinguished in the game for quite some time.

Put another way, the Anthony Edwards sneaker series is making moves that hoop shoes haven't made in decdes. Like, it’s been a long time since even casual fans wore new basketball sneakers as a style statement but Edwards has flipped the script. Sneaker aficionados like Wale adopted the AE sneakers as part of their everyday rotation and fashion brands like Hellstar and Edison Chen’s CLOT have collaborated on AE sneaker silhouettes, giving them style credibility.

Some say Edwards is the second coming of Michael Jordan but he’d rather you consider him to be the first Ant Man, a superhero in his own right. As far as sneakers go, the Jordan era gave us classics while the Edwards era is giving us a new kind of great. And though Edwards’ is even a celebrity half way across the globe, akin to Jordan in the 90’s, it’s a new age: Edwards is a star in the digital era.

On a recent trip to the Philippines, I witnessed Edwards’ international popularity during his 2026 Believe That Tour with adidas. I figured he’d be huge there but I didn’t conceive of just how big he really was until I saw it with my own two eyes. The people of Manila treated Edwards like actual royalty. The Timberwolves superstar marched through the streets shaking hands and signing autographs as people trampled over one another just to get a glance. I heard “We love you, Ant!” shouted from every imaginable direction. It was absolute pandemonium.

Despite his influence across the globe reaching unforeseen heights, Edwards remains humble, but plenty confident. And deservingly so. In Manila, we got a rare sit-down with Ant-Man to talk adidas, his sense of self, and even what comes ahead of season seven.

Ant, what’s been your favorite thing about Manila so far?

My favorite thing is the basketball culture and how much they actually love the game of basketball.

Speaking of basketball culture, you’re on a generational run with adidas right now, from the sneakers, to the marketing. What’s been unique about working with adidas?

I think the most unique thing is them allowing my best friend Slick to be a part of everything.

It always comes back to being authentic to yourself. How important is it to inject that into what you have going on with adidas?

I mean, that's just how I grew up. I ain't never tried to be nobody else. I only know how to be myself. I'm real comfortable in my skin.

Now, would you say that you’re solely responsible for making basketball sneakers “cool” again?

Yeah! One hundred percent! I think before me, it started to fade away, and I brought it back.

There are a lot of signature athletes, but very few signature products become part of everyday style. How intentional have you and adidas been about making the AE line something people wear off the court?

Yeah! That was more of it for me, like not even the basketball aspect. I want people to walk in the store and be like, “Hey, I want to buy these. I'm not even a basketball player. I just want to buy them. They hard!” We know the hoopers are gonna buy them. It's the people that's not hooping that I thought about for sure.

We got the CLOT collab on the AE1 and a Hellstar collab on the AE2. Can we expect to see more collabs on your sneakers on brands who align with you?

Oh, yeah, for sure! Any brand that allows me to be myself, you know, I’m pretty much down to collab with them. As long as they [don’t expect me to] change who I am.

We’re coming up on season number seven with the Timberwolves. What are you looking forward to this year from both an on-court aspect and your relationship with adidas?

Yeah, a lot of heat coming with adidas as far as the AE 3’s. On the court, as far as the Timberwolves, you know, we got new pieces. We just added LaMelo [Ball]. So looking forward to all the ups and downs and just, you know, riding the wave.

I’m from Charlotte. Yall hurt us with the Melo trade. We loved him!

[Laughs] Yall got my brother Naz [Reid] now, though. He cold!

What's one thing people haven't seen from the AE line yet that you're excited to explore?

Yeah, the capris. So I'm from Atlanta, obviously y'all know, and capris was big to me growing up. They like long shorts and, yeah, we bringing them back with adidas. So, get ready for that.

Years from now, what do you hope people remember more: the shoes themselves or what they represented?

Damn, that’s a great question. I would say I want them to remember the shoes.