Jesse Edwards (basketball)

Jesse Edwards
No. 14 – Minnesota Timberwolves
PositionCenter
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (2000-03-18) 18 March 2000 (age 24)
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Listed height7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight230 lb (104 kg)
Career information
High schoolIMG Academy
(Bradenton, Florida)
College
NBA draft2024: undrafted
Playing career2024–present
Career history
2024–presentMinnesota Timberwolves
2024–present→Iowa Wolves
Career highlights and awards
  • Third-team All-ACC (2023)
  • ACC All-Defensive team (2023)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Jesse David Edwards (born 18 March 2000) is a Dutch professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Iowa Wolves of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Syracuse Orange and the West Virginia Mountaineers. Standing at 2.15 m (7 ft 1⁄2 in), he plays the center position. He also plays for the Netherlands men's national basketball team.

Early life

Edwards was born in Amsterdam to a Dutch mother and a British father. He grew up with two siblings.[1] He started playing basketball at age 14 and later joined the youth section of Apollo Amsterdam. After graduating Amsterdams Lyceum high school in the Netherlands, he went on to play on the Post Grad team for IMG Academy, a boarding school in Bradenton, Florida.[1]

While playing for Apollo Amsterdam, he played together with Warriors' center Quinten Post.[2]

Edwards received offers by Georgia Tech and Providence, among others. He committed to playing college basketball for Syracuse in April 2019.[1]

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Jesse Edwards
C 		Amsterdam, Netherlands IMG Academy (FL) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Apr 5, 2019 
Star ratings: Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars   ESPN grade: 79
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: –  247Sports: –  ESPN: –
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Syracuse 2019 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  • "2019 Syracuse Orange Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  • "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 7 January 2022.

College career

Edwards averaged 2.4 points and 1.7 rebounds per game as a freshman.[3] As a sophomore, he averaged 1.9 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.[4] On 5 December 2021, he recorded his first career double-double, after recording 11 points and 12 rebounds against Florida State.[5] On 8 February 2022, Edwards broke his left wrist during a game against Boston College, ending his season. He averaged 12 points and 6.5 rebounds per game as a junior, shooting 69.5 percent.[6] In the 2022–23 season, Edwards averaged 14.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks per game, shooting 59.2 percent.[7]

In April 2023, Edwards transferred to West Virginia.[8]

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2024 NBA draft, Edwards signed a two-way contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves on 9 July 2024.[9] He was called minutes after the draft ended by the Timberwolves, he told ESPN Netherlands. This made him together with Quinten Post the first Dutchmen in over ten years that will play in the NBA.[10]

National team career

In July 2021, Edwards joined the training camp of the Netherlands senior team for the first time, along with his brother Kai.[11] He was selected for the qualification games of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. On 2 July 2022, Edwards debuted in a 66–67 away loss against Iceland in which he had six points, seven rebounds, and two blocks in ten minutes of playing time.[12]

In August 2022, Edwards rejoined the national team to participate in international competitions which includes World Cup qualifying and the Eurobasket.[13] He was on the 12-man roster for EuroBasket 2022.[14]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2019–20 Syracuse 21 0 6.9 .792 — .632 1.7 .0 .2 .5 2.4
2020–21 Syracuse 18 0 8.9 .462 — .714 2.6 .0 .3 .4 1.9
2021–22 Syracuse 24 24 28.0 .695 — .598 6.5 1.0 1.1 2.8 12.0
2022–23 Syracuse 32 32 32.5 .592 1.000 .729 10.3 1.6 1.4 2.7 14.5
2023–24 West Virginia 23 22 28.2 .613 .000 .523 8.0 1.2 .6 1.7 15.0
Career 118 78 22.6 .623 .200 .619 6.4 .9 .8 1.8 10.0

Personal life

His older brother Kai also plays basketball, currently plays for Landstede Hammers and played college basketball for Northern Colorado from 2016 to 2020.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Szuba, James (9 November 2021). "The Mad Professor: Jesse Edwards ready to make his mark with Syracuse basketball". Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  2. ^ "Jeugdvrienden Edwards en Post treffen elkaar in topaffiche college basketbal". ESPN.nl (in Dutch). 31 December 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  3. ^ Adler, Neil (9 January 2021). "Syracuse Basketball: Jesse Edwards is confident despite a lack of run". InsideTheLoudHouse.com. FanSided. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  4. ^ Zagoria, Adam (31 March 2021). "After reaching the Sweet 16, the Syracuse roster is in flux". ZagsBlog.com. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  5. ^ Szuba, James (5 December 2021). "Syracuse's Jesse Edwards records first career double-double before fouling out at Florida State". Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  6. ^ "Syracuse basketball player Jesse Edwards breaks left wrist, out for season". ESPN. Associated Press. 10 February 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  7. ^ "ESPN player bio". ESPN.com. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  8. ^ Givony, Jonathan (16 April 2023). "West Virginia lands Syracuse transfer Edwards". ESPN.com. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  9. ^ "Timberwolves Sign Jesse Edwards to Two-Way Contract". NBA.com. 9 July 2024. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  10. ^ von Burg, Luuk (27 June 2024). "Edwards tekent bij Minnesota Timberwolves: "Een nieuwe fase voor het Nederlandse basketbal"". ESPN.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  11. ^ "Orange Lions op trainingskamp met veel talenten van college". Basketball.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  12. ^ "De Orange Lions hebben nagelaten hun uitgangspositie voor de volgende fase van de WK-kwalificatie een boost te geven". Basketball.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  13. ^ "Edwards Joins Dutch National Team". Syracuse University Athletics. 13 August 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  14. ^ "Netherlands announced final 12-player roster for EuroBasket". BasketNews.com. Retrieved 30 August 2022.