He may have played the villain in the smash hit Netflix movie Hustle, but Team USA guard Anthony Edwards is now a hero to basketball fans in Abu Dhabi.
At age 22, Edwards is already one of the NBA’s brightest young players.
But after sending crowds at the Etihad Arena into a frenzy with a masterful 34-point performance as the US team beat Germany on Sunday, Edwards has proven he is “the guy” on a star-studded Team USA roster, according to his coach.
And the best thing for fans in the city? Edwards is coming back.
His NBA team, the Minnesota Timberwolves, take on the Dallas Mavericks at the same Yas Island venue in the two-game NBA Abu Dhabi Games on October 5 and 7.
Edwards’ 12 fourth-quarter points sealed a 99-91 comeback win against a tough German side also stacked with NBA talent, capping off a fantastic Team USA Showcase series in the capital.
“It has been an incredible week. I think everybody has thoroughly enjoyed Abu Dhabi,” said Team USA head coach Steve Kerr after his team overcame a 16-point deficit.
“Anthony Edwards took over tonight – he was incredible. He's unquestionably the guy. He knows it, but now the team knows it, and I think the fans see it. But we see it in practice every day.
“He genuinely believes he's the best player in the gym every single night. And he's such a dynamic young player. I think he's taking a leap.
“If you think about USA basketball over the years, a lot of young players have taken a leap in these World Cup and Olympic competitions and it feels to me like Anthony is taking that leap.”
Team USA will again be favourite for gold when the Fiba Basketball World Cup tips off in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia on August 25.
But it will be the NBA season when eyes will be on Edwards, the No 1 pick in the 2020 draft, with many expecting him to compete for All-NBA or even MVP honours by the end of the season.
For now, Edwards was happy to deflect praise to his USA teammates, including Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, who hit three huge three-pointers in the third quarter to make the score 74-71 to Germany and ignite the eventual Team USA comeback.
When asked about his starring role in Abu Dhabi, Edwards said: “I've never played for USA before [this summer], so it's super exciting to put it on [the Team USA jersey].
“That was the most fun I have had in a [while]. We were down about 15 at half-time so this was adversity, fight. This was big-time. We fought to the end. And you know, we came out with the win.
“I told [Haliburton] at half-time, we are all starters [with our NBA teams]. We are kind of the best players on our team or you know, in my case, I got (Timberwolves star) Karl-Anthony Towns, but he is the best player on his team.
“So I told him ‘you have got to go out there and be you. I know you pass the ball but you shoot also’. So he came out in the third quarter and got kind of aggressive and put us back in the game.”
But it was Edwards who had the ball in his hands, and his coach’s trust, with the game on the line in the fourth quarter.
When he returns to the UAE in October, Edwards could well have become not only the Timberwolves’ most important player, but one of the league’s best.
Edwards’ new fans in Abu Dhabi will be hoping so.
UK%20record%20temperature
%3Cp%3E38.7C%20(101.7F)%20set%20in%20Cambridge%20in%202019%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The results of the first round are as follows:
Qais Saied (Independent): 18.4 per cent
Nabil Karoui (Qalb Tounes): 15.58 per cent
Abdelfattah Mourou (Ennahdha party): 12.88 per cent
Abdelkarim Zbidi (two-time defence minister backed by Nidaa Tounes party): 10.7 per cent
Youssef Chahed (former prime minister, leader of Long Live Tunisia): 7.3 per cent
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
%3Cp%3E-%20Diriyah%E2%80%99s%201.9km%20King%20Salman%20Boulevard%2C%20a%20Parisian%20Champs-Elysees-inspired%20avenue%2C%20is%20scheduled%20for%20completion%20in%202028%3Cbr%3E-%20The%20Royal%20Diriyah%20Opera%20House%20is%20expected%20to%20be%20completed%20in%20four%20years%3Cbr%3E-%20Diriyah%E2%80%99s%20first%20of%2042%20hotels%2C%20the%20Bab%20Samhan%20hotel%2C%20will%20open%20in%20the%20first%20quarter%20of%202024%3Cbr%3E-%20On%20completion%20in%202030%2C%20the%20Diriyah%20project%20is%20forecast%20to%20accommodate%20more%20than%20100%2C000%20people%3Cbr%3E-%20The%20%2463.2%20billion%20Diriyah%20project%20will%20contribute%20%247.2%20billion%20to%20the%20kingdom%E2%80%99s%20GDP%3Cbr%3E-%20It%20will%20create%20more%20than%20178%2C000%20jobs%20and%20aims%20to%20attract%20more%20than%2050%20million%20visits%20a%20year%3Cbr%3E-%20About%202%2C000%20people%20work%20for%20the%20Diriyah%20Company%2C%20with%20more%20than%2086%20per%20cent%20being%20Saudi%20citizens%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now
Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.
The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.
1. For those who have worked between one and five years, on a basic salary of Dh10,000 (calculation based on 30 days):
a. Dh10,000 ÷ 30 = Dh333.33. Your daily wage is Dh333.33
b. Dh333.33 x 21 = Dh7,000. So 21 days salary equates to Dh7,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service. Multiply this figure for every year of service up to five years.
2. For those who have worked more than five years
c. 333.33 x 30 = Dh10,000. So 30 days’ salary is Dh10,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service.
Note: The maximum figure cannot exceed two years total salary figure.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The years Ramadan fell in May
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Generation Start-up: Awok company profile
Started: 2013
Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 600 plus
Stage: still in talks with VCs
Principal Investors: self-financed by founder
The specs: Volvo XC40
Price: base / as tested: Dh185,000
Engine: 2.0-litre, turbocharged in-line four-cylinder
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 250hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 350Nm @ 1,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.4L / 100km
