Anthony Edwards Says He’s Made The Best Signature Shoe On Earth

0:00So when you hear Minnesota, you just hype that you got picked first. I was just like, I'm ready to hoop. Anthony Edwards! The end. My goodness. What a move for Anvans. Anthony Edwards. Hanging. Scoring. Plus the five. What's up, everybody? Welcome to Boardrooms Out of Office. My name is Rich Kleiman. Today, I am here with NBA all-star, NBA superstar, Anthony Edwards and his partner and business manager, Justin Holland. Welcome to the boardroom, fellas. Appreciate you. Appreciate it. Long time coming, man. We've been talking about this for a while, and this is unique and special for me because, for me, my relationship with Kevin and our partnership has been an incredible 12-year run.

0:43And I think it was the chemistry and just the way we complement each other that's been so special. And from speaking to Justin, I have realized that you guys have so many of those similar elements. You both grew up in Atlanta, right? Yeah. I read that you, it wasn't all basketball growing up, right? You played a handful of sports. Yeah. And then you locked in on Hoop around the eighth grade. Was that around the same time you guys met? Yeah, like eighth and ninth grade, yeah. For me, it's like I remember I met KD his rookie year through a mutual friend of ours. And at the time, I didn't realize it.

1:15But just like any relationship or any partnership, looking back on it, I realized that the chemistry was clearly there the first time we met. And I think any special business partnership, just like any special relationship, there's just something. There's just something there. Yeah, I guess our relationship when we first met, I didn't know where it would end up, but it didn't take very long to realize that we definitely had a bond. And what was that kind of connection? How did you even approach him on being the guy that would kind of mold his basketball career? And you were an ex-Hoopers as well.

1:47Yeah, yeah. So I was actually working for the city of College Park back then, and I was training multiple kids. had some high major guys, a couple of guys that were McDonald's All-Americans. And his uncle, his uncle brought him to me. And when he brought him to me, he was pretty much just looking for somebody to work him out and just be a mentor to him and just kind of guide him and lead him in the right direction. That's kind of where the relationship started. And when you picked up hoop in the eighth grade, did you automatically connect with the sport on a different level? Was it different than when you played baseball and football?

2:19I mean, just playing against my older brothers made me start loving the game. I think before eighth grade, I was already in love with the game. But after eighth grade, I think it kind of grew on me. And did you realize it was different when you first started playing? No, not when I first started playing, because I was good at football. You were? Yeah. I was just throwing the rock around the office. That's why I'm fucking drenched right now. What was your experience playing ball? You played in college as well? Yeah, so I played at Liberty University in Virginia. Did you even think of yourself as a trainer?

2:51So I was working around the sport. I ran youth sports in College Park. You know, a lot of people know me from playing basketball around the city of Atlanta. So, you know, people just kept asking me to train, man. You should train, you should train, you should train. And one day I was just like, you know, let me try it out. You know, there was a couple of good kids around the gym, and I just kind of started doing it naturally. And then, you know, I found out that that was my way, you know, to stay around the game. And, you know, my passion was always basketball. So that was my way to, you know, stay in touch with the game and impact the younger kids the way that my coaches did for me when I was coming up.

3:22And then you stayed and went to Georgia. Was that, at the time, I assume you was being recruited by everybody in the country, right? Yeah. And what was that for you to stay home? What was the kind of reason behind that? It was right up the street. My sister was, she was about to have her baby, my nephew. So I didn't want her to try to get on the plane and all that. So she can just hop in the car and drive 45 minutes and be there. Yeah. Did you feel like you was going for a year? Did I feel like going to school for a year? Yeah, like did you know it was one and done heading into it? Pretty much, yeah.

3:53Yeah, that was a plan. That was a plan, right? And how involved early on, like for you as a trainer, like looking at your guys' career together now, where you sit, did you have longer-term goals in terms of like when you guys connected what this relationship would be? Did you envision where you guys were at now? Or when he went to Georgia and you were helping out with the basketball side of things, was that always kind of what the relationship was meant to be at first? Well, I think, you know, I think we first met. I don't think it was – I don't think either one of us saw where he is today. I don't think we saw that in the – Yeah, no.

4:25Yeah, no, that wasn't the case when you came in. It was just like my uncle brought me to Justin. We was working out. After the first workout, I was like, man, I ain't trying to work out with Buddy again. I'm cool. because I was tired. I was super tired, and I never really worked out for basketball. That was, like, my first time actually working out for basketball. Like, I was in the ninth grade. And I hit him up and was like, bro, I'm trying to come back up there. And then my uncle took me again, and then we ended up exchanging numbers, and I kept going, kept going, kept going. Then we got cooler and cooler, you know what I'm saying?

4:54Because, like, basketball, you bun. So, I mean, that's kind of how it happened. And then we just got super cool. Then shit, we're here now. Yeah, I get it. I get it. And the core of the relationship was Hoop. And I got to be honest, like it's similar to what KD and I, because the first four or five years I was still in music. And that's what we talked about, Hoop and music. You know what I'm saying? I think when you develop that rapport first and that trust, it makes it easier to transition into the business side of things. You know what I'm saying? No question. So when you left Georgia, I remember watching your pro day on ESPN.

5:29And I had known about you a bit, right? I keep up with Hoop. but I was watching your pro day and you were interviewed right afterwards. And I just knew, I knew you was one of them ones. From the way you were interviewed, you had this like different composer for someone your age, the way you were talking to the announcer, right? And the pro day was a thing, but the way you kind of approached and the way you responded to him, you had a different perspective on it. Like, did you notice that there was this like level of kind of calm about you? Like, do you pay attention to that side of you? because for me who's been around greatness in basketball, greatness in the music game, like I talk about my experiences with Jay-Z, the thing about him that I always marvel at is like he just stays at this pace.

6:10He just walks at this pace. He moves at this pace. And you have so many of those elements. And even when you think about like MJ talking about when he got to that next level as he saw the game in slow motion, but it feels like inherently you have that. Is that something that you're focused on in any way or is it just who you are? I don't even see it. I guess it's just who I am. Yeah. It doesn't take long. It doesn't take long. Think about him. I just be being me. Yeah. Yeah. He's an old soul. Like, I always refer to him as a throwback kid, me and the other coaches around. Like, Am's always been a throwback kid.

6:44You know, I used to train a lot of kids, and everybody was always focused on training, training, training. He's one of the few kids that would – I think one day he comes like, Coach, I'm going to be late to work out, but he's like, because I'm about to jump in this adult league game. Like, kids don't play games like that, And this is why he was a high schooler and nobody asked him to do it. This was just something that he was doing on his own because he loved to play the sport. Do you think it has a lot to do, you know, in reading a bit about you? You went through a lot as a kid, right? And I can relate not at the level of some of the things you had to deal with, but when you have to be confronted with shit as a kid, you have no other choice but to get through it.

7:18And that kind of starts to become the DNA of who you are. Do you think that kind of experience as a child and what you had to go through a bit? It probably made me what I am today. Like the stuff you see that I don't really see that I call just being me, that's probably what motivated me today. You know what I'm talking about, that interview after his pro day? Of course, I was there. Yeah. I feel like because I'm not just a great player on the court, I'm a great person off the court. I'm always smiling. I'm always encouraging my teammates, and I'm always cracking jokes, and I just want to have fun.

7:47So I think people are going to love me for who I am and not just me. Because I paid close attention to it because it was like you could have really got caught up in the moment, but you didn't. So you get drafted first by Minnesota. Did you know going into draft there you were going first? I know I should have went first, and I eventually did later on in that day. But, yeah, pretty much because they was talking pretty highly over the years. Yeah, you definitely – so you knew you was the number one player in the draft, but it wasn't until game day that T-Wolves gave you that call? Correct. And had you ever been to Minnesota at that point?

8:22Yeah, never even heard of Minnesota for real before that. For real? Yeah. Did you imagine yourself moving to Minnesota with him? That was always the plan? Oh, yeah. You know, my thing is this industry is a wicked industry. So, you know, for my role, it's always just I want to make sure that he's protected, not taken advantage of, and that he's always good. So, you know, wherever he was going, I was going to make sure I was going to be there. Yeah. So when you hear Minnesota, are you hyped that you got picked first? Or are you already thinking, like, what's Minnesota? Who am I playing with? Or are you in the moment when you first get picked?

8:53That's a good question. I don't even – I can't even remember what I was thinking. I was just like, I'm ready to hoop. Yeah, I think that was the main thing. I'm ready to hoop. Like, I knew who I was playing with, Cat and D-Lo. Yeah, and pretty much I was just ready to go up there and hoop. Is that like, you know, for Kevin, throughout his career and throughout, like, the last 11 years we worked together, and it's why some people don't understand some of the decisions he makes in terms of teams, he really does base everything on hoop. and then the things that have to be dealt with outside of it have to be secondary.

9:27Is that your fallback for everything, no matter what you're going through, if you know you get laser focused on the game? Basketball, yeah, that's it. That's all I want to focus on is basketball. You love it. Yeah, I don't want to do nothing else. I'll be telling him, like, hey, bro, leave me alone. I feel you. I don't want to do nothing. He be texting me about, like, deals. I want to hoop. I just want to hoop. Well, the beautiful thing is the more you hoop, the way you've been hooping, the more deals that he'll be seeing. Yeah, I know. I know but there's actually like I've had to encounter similar right things because it's similar to Kevin and earlier in his career I think he found himself doing certain things he may not have necessarily wanted to do and then you realize you get to a point where you are like shit I don't even really have to do this you know I'm saying like it's just built into what you thought the system was and the game has changed a bit so you guys are walking into the league now where you could build a business without you having to do anything else but hoop right it's about the things that you love, the things you want to learn about.

10:23So, you know, for you guys, the first two years in Minnesota, well, the first year in Minnesota you struggled, the last two years you guys were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs. When you go into the summer like this, right, and your name is starting to get bigger, you're about to play in the World Cup, what do you do when you go out into the world now knowing that Ant, you know, isn't really trying to do anything else but hoop, but you also know that you're starting to build something for the rest of your life. And even though you have to have this like level of patience in building it, I do think the great ones start to like see it in the future.

10:57Right. And start to plot out. Right. So when we left when Kevin left Oklahoma City, go to the Bay and we went on our own, it was slowly building. It was slowly building, but there was a vision like longer term of what we had. So for you, how is that balance and knowing that you want to build something? But you're also like his brother first. You work on the game and he wants to focus on who? Well, I think my first thing is finding that balance, right? Like me understanding who he is, me knowing who he is, but also realizing his age at 22 was, I think, the same way I was at 36, where I am now. No.

11:30So I'm always planning for life after basketball for him, whether he realizes that or not. So, you know, at 22 we can start thinking business, and it doesn't have to be to the extreme, but we're starting to think outside of basketball at his age. at 25, 26, 27, he should have his own businesses and they should be running themselves by the time he gets ready to retire. So that's always been my mindset for him. It must be crazy to hear life after basketball at 22. Right. Yeah, that's crazy. What kind of pressure do you put on yourself? Like when you, I know you probably, you know you're 22, you know that it's a process, but you also know that you've already got to this level.

12:09So when you get to that level, you're like, nah, forget the process. Like I'm trying to win right now. So what was the kind of feeling going into this summer? Like, I'm not trying to get knocked out in the first round again. What are we doing? I think that's a good question. I think it's just you got to be patient. Like, you ain't going to win. You ain't going to win every game. You ain't going to win a championship every year. You just got to get better and better and better. And eventually you're going to start to feel like, okay, like I think we're getting close. So, like, we're just trying to find ways to get better.

12:41And we're not really worried about getting knocked out last year. We try and find ways to go further this year. And however it happened, it will happen. See, he has a different perspective, bro. It's like a grown man perspective. Because if you look at Denver, for instance, right, like I think it was a breath of fresh air for a lot of people to see a team that stuck with it. That's what I'm saying. Yeah, had this superstar at the center of the galaxy, everybody playing their roles. And you got another star in Jamal, but they went through it, and they went through it. Got better and better and better.

13:11They figured it out. There's definitely less. Well, I don't want to say this because I've never really spent time in Minnesota, but I would imagine there's a level of patience from the fan base there, right? Different than maybe if he was playing in New York or LA. Yeah, for sure, because they've won before. And, you know, the Minnesota fans, they're looking forward to something. And we're looking to give them something. So we're going to keep getting better. And how much work do you still do on his game outside of? His ass don't do nothing. Yeah, I'm done. No, no, I'm done. You done? Yeah, because I can't balance it all.

13:46Like, we got to the point. Like, he's still busy. No, it's cool, though. Yeah, he do his thing. He can't balance it all, and he's like, I get it now. I'm good. Yeah, we have. And we got good people around him, you know, between Chris Hines, between Kierre Jordan. Like, these are guys that I entrust with helping him develop his game to the next level. So, you know, I'm still close, you know. The second I don't feel like he's getting better, I might have to go strap my shoes back up. But he's been getting better every single year. So, you know, you do your job, I do my job. Are you texting him right after every game?

14:17Yeah, yeah. He takes me like at halftime. You check the phone at half? Yeah, you got to because I know he takes me. Yeah. I know either he takes me or my brother. One of them takes me. And are you getting the, like, stream of consciousness of what he's going through? No, I probably won't respond. He don't respond, but as long as I know he reads it. Yeah, yeah. What about after, like, a bad game or a bad loss? Yeah, we talk. Yeah, we definitely talk. We talk after every game, good game, bad game, however you go. If it's real bad, we're both frustrated, so we'll talk. Yeah, we might not talk after, like, a real bad game.

14:49Do you take it home with you, too? Oh, no question. No question, yeah. That's the partnership. Yeah, I'm invested. Yeah. That's what's special. That's, like, the first time I sat with Justin, I realized it's the way he was talking about your guys' relationship. You know, I felt like there were so many similarities because, you know, you have that friendship first, and you're building something together, but you also know how sacred the game is for him. So, like, you have a respect for that relationship he has with Ball. Like, everything that you're doing, basketball took you there. And you have to have that, like, level of appreciation for that in order to be able to balance the business and the basketball.

15:23Yeah, and to find that balance, like I said, I know him. So if I feel like business is getting in the way of basketball, business is getting scaled back. Yeah. Like, I never want to put him in a position to where he's thinking more about business than basketball. Basketball, that's the main thing. And the luxury that I do have with him, the last thing I have to worry about is if he's getting in the gym. He's upstairs taking pictures. Like, man, I got to go over to the MBPA to get some shots up because he's a basketball player first. When you were overseas this summer, were you working out every off day?

15:48Yeah, pretty much, yeah. You go like that? Yeah. I remember the first time I used to manage. Like, I came for music where I was managing at the time, like Meek Mill and Wale and working with J. Cole. And I understood what work ethic was, but it was different. It was like late nights at the studio, and it was just a different energy. I remember the first time I took a trip with KD, Nike trip, we flew like 18 hours to China to go through customs, and we're heading towards the hotel, I think, and I lean over to the trainer that was with us. I'm like, where are we going? He's like, dude wants to get some shots up.

16:19And I'm like, this is just a whole different level of commitment and focus. I got mine from my brother, though. Shout out to Bug. That's why I got my work ethic from, for sure. How far did he take his hoop career? Not far at all. But shout out to him because I wouldn't be right here without him. Yeah, that's who I got my work ethic from. That's for so. So this summer, like when you go into the summer, do you think about how you want to refine your game, like what you want to add to the repertoire? Yeah, for sure. Like closing out games, teams, they probably going to double team me or try to get the ball out of my hands.

16:55So I just – me and my trainers, we talk to find ways to get the ball and go quicker, score faster. So, just playing in the mid-range area, catching it in the low post area, just, you know, things like that. So, yeah, that was kind of what we focused on. I mean, plus the tray ball and everything else. But that was, like, the focus this summer, like being able to create a shot quick in the mid-range. That's what's up. He's smiling when he's talking about ball. I'll tell you about his work ethic, man. Like, it was a point when he was in high school, we would work out seven days a week. Like, religiously, seven days a week, seven days a week.

17:27And if we didn't work out seven days Because it's AAU season We got a tournament Friday, Saturday, Sunday Sometimes we would get back home From out of town on Sunday From a tournament He'll say Let's get some more shots up Like he was Honestly he pushed me Like for At that time A 16 year old To push you To get better Because I'm like man My wife's at home With my son My newborn child But you know Shout out to his wife though Shout out to his wife Shout out to Janine Shout out to Janine Shout out to Janine It's a grind She's a real one We used to be in that bed 12, 12 a.m. Seriously. She calling like, babe, you good?

18:01He like, yeah, man. I'm going to drop Anne off at the crib. We in the lab. For sure. Yep. What about the World Cup? Was that an incredible experience this summer? Yeah, for sure. That was dope. That was, yeah, that was super, that was super fun. And how disappointing for you was it? It was crazy, man, because we had just beat Germany in Abu Dhabi. So, and we knew they was coming because, like, they was up 16 that game in Abu Dhabi. So, we knew they was coming. but I didn't think we was going to lose to them for sure. And they came out and played a hell of a game. So, shout out to them. I wouldn't even say it was disappointing because of how good they played.

18:35So, like, they deserved it. But how badly do you want to play next year? I want to play, for sure. Yeah, I got to get my get back, for sure. Yeah, I would imagine. It's staying with you. Yeah. I understand. Yeah. How was Coach Kerr? He was dope. All of them, Coach Kerr, T. Lou, and Coach Sporcher, they was the best. Yeah, that's a nice mob right there. Yeah, for sure. And then going into this year and, like, getting back in that mindset, do you go into this season now, you made the All-Star game, you played in the World Cup, and it's like, nah, I'm trying to be, like, the guy now in the league.

19:11Yeah, for sure, because that All-Star game didn't count. It was like somebody got hurt and then they picked me. Like, I was the fallback guy. Some people don't take it that way, but I can imagine you take it that way. That was all bad. Like, people – I don't even like when people call me an all-star because I really didn't make it. But, yeah, it was – it's definitely – it's something up this year, though. So, and when you're out there, do you ever still, like, take a look across, see LeBron, see KD, see Steph, and be like, what the fuck, man? Like, as good as you are and as quickly as the success came, is it still one of those things?

19:46I think my first year was. And then my second year, like, I think we played against the Lakers, just everybody, like, recording LeBron. I'm like, now I'm really playing against LeBron. And then my brother's a rapper. So he raps about a lot of things. And then we was in Dallas, and we was playing against Kyrie. And he got a song, like, I'm in Dallas watching my brother play against Kyrie. Who would have thought this would – you know what I'm saying? And then, like, KD, he was, like, my favorite player. So playing against him was always crazy. It's still crazy to this day. but uh yeah it's it's a dream come true for sure do you feel like can you see that you and kd have some similarities maybe in your approach and yeah for sure yeah for sure he just all basketball i just love the way he work out like he he don't care about nothing he just want to hoop so yeah that's why i fuck with him and the thing is is like there's a good way and we talked about this you can like just want to hoop and still love the shit off the game you know off the court yeah and it doesn't have to affect it and i think like it's a process right and for kevin it was a bit of an education and learning and trying things and you know like early in his career he was in a movie like you were in a movie and then he was like all right i'm i'm not acting anymore yeah um but he did it same same in here yeah like you don't want to do it again no not while i'm playing but you were good yeah but not while i'm playing i couldn't that was the first time where i felt like i wasn't working out basketball wise like i couldn't work on my game because like we had days where i would report at like 7 a.m and i won't leave to 8 p.m 9 p.m so like and i'm dog tired because like we shooting i'm on my feet i'm sitting down i'm back on my feet so it was crazy but it was shout out to adam i appreciate him for having me yeah he's he he can hoop a little bit too right nah he can't see that see anyone else would have said yeah he's all right he could pass the rock but you ask like a real hooper he can't hoop nah that's my dog though he can't so you're done acting yeah i'm done yeah but you understand like for you it's probably like all right you check that box you saw what that was like you know that like that's something he experienced you can get back to another point in your career and I do think that's how you start to form the right business for yourself is to start trying these things out is it overwhelming sometimes as much as you try to balance it just seeing because so you grew up on social media like you one of the first generations um that grew up like you had overtime clips in ninth tenth grade and you're seeing LeBron's producing movies, KD's investing in companies, and it starts to become a bit of the language of ball, right?

22:16Like, I'm amazed sometimes at how, like, focused and well-rounded and business-minded a lot of young athletes are way ahead of where I was at 19, 20 years old. But can that be overwhelming for you? Do you feel like you do have a good understanding of, like, where that's going to be and that Justin's got that under control? Oh, yeah, for sure. I don't get into any of that. you really don't no at all i tell him hey bro leave me alone if it ain't back about basketball don't call me or take i don't want to hear about none of that other stuff just your job's tough brother oh i got a tough job oh he got the hardest job in the world i got a tough job because i won't answer the phone i won't respond to your messages you sound just like my man yeah i ain't doing none of that it's you have to like get to a certain place to not take it personally when you don't get the response right oh i know him so it doesn't bother me i know how to get in touch with him when i need him you know it's funny they call my girl they call they all call my girl now because they know i'm with her yeah and if that don't work i'll just pull up you know and you've probably learned how to translate like all right he read it he got it no response means no he ain't with it and you know how to like read the silence i bet yeah and and now it's it's also like i tell them like i don't bother you unless it matters like yeah so if it matters i'll reach out to you if not i'm telling them no before before i even asked you i've said 50 no's before i even brought something to you yeah you know so i think he understands that but that's cool because it's like management is 99 doing things that don't have a return right like it's not about making money it's about making sure that your life is good that the balance in your partnership is good that all the things that you would have to worry about if he wasn't in your life you don't have to worry about right that's part of building a business right all right so understanding that you've put a lot of these things to the side, I would imagine that there's still a level of, like, cosine that you gotta give for some of the things you put in motion, right?

24:09So I would imagine you're ecstatic about your signature shoe deal with Adidas, right? You must give a little space for that. Yeah, I mean, yeah, I got to. That's hoop, though, basically. It ain't hoop, but it's close to it. I mean, I gotta wear them on the court. That's like a dream. That's something that I've never seen. Like, I've never visioned that. So, yeah, I got to put time into that. And what can we expect from the shoe line? I mean, just they're going to be nice. I feel like they're going to be the hardest basketball shoes out to ever be released, for sure. We can put that on the table right now.

24:44That's what I got. So, nice. It's the AE1 right here. Incredible. The wave. And how involved were you with this process? I'm super. I'm in it. I'm all in. You're in it. Because I want people to like my shoe, man. I don't want them to make shoes that just people might want to hoop. No, I want to make shoes that I know people are going to wear. You don't want a signature shoe just to have a signature shoe. Yeah, because I know when I was a kid, I would go in and be like, oh, them his shoes, nah, I'm good. You know what I'm saying? So I can remember being a little kid doing that. So with my shoes, I'm like, I'm putting myself back 12 years ago.

25:20Hey, I want them. Yeah, them hard. And that's like, you know, it's similar again for us. It's like you can do a handful of other things. You'll build companies and you'll invest, but you get it right with the shoe game and you got a partner for life. Yeah. No question. And I feel like Adidas did a great job of just really listening and really collabing with Anthony on, you know, the design of the shoe. Just asking. Nonstop they texting asking like, what do you think about this? Do he got any ideas? and when I send them ideas, they put it in the shoe. Yeah, it's like. Yeah. And what about from a tech standpoint, like the innovation of the shoe is molded to your game?