I know a lot of Celtics fans probably feel people putting Edwards over Tatum is disrespectful or something, but the truth is this is just sort of how sports work. The newest thing will always get the attention.
An awesome player on a team winning every playoff game by 25 who's been great for like 4 years is just less compelling a story for drawing eyeballs then a guy ascending on a team that has stunk for 20+ years.
My take: Tatum is better, you need more than 6 games to get passed when you have the playoff resume Tatum has. Does Edwards have a chance to be better than Tatum? Sure. But he's not yet.
Edwards caught the eye of the media during his FIBA performance last summer. He got amped further after the All-Star game. Every dunk the last month of the season was either “put him on a poster” or the “dunk of the year.” Meanwhile, Tatum was chilling on a team that had already wrapped things up and was getting ready for the playoffs.
Ant has been more productive offensively than Tatum and just about every other player except for Brunson, so he stands out. 40 points will always be a headline.
Highlight dunks and a cool name has raised his profile a lot. If he were Tony Edwards or Chuck Edwards (his full name is Anthony Charles Edwards) instead of Ant, would he have the same appeal?
To me he’s just filling the void left by Ja Morant. Star scoring with athletic dunks on a mid-market team.