From the slums of the Philippines to the streets of his native Atlanta, there are kids all over the world who want to be like Anthony Edwards.
The Minnesota Timberwolves guard with his vicious dunks and engaging personality has become one of the NBA’s biggest stars. But that’s not enough for Edwards. He is looking for stardom off the court that young players can take note of and apply to their own playing careers.
“We don’t want to just be athletes,” business manager Justin Holland said in an interview. “We want to show the next generation how to get into the game and build a business around their brand. If we can do this, everything will move in the right direction for our youth.”
Most high-level athletes start creating their ventures later in their careers, but Edwards isn’t waiting. At 22 years old, the two-time All Star has already begun building his business empire with his personal ventures and branded businesses under his parent company, AE Five Enterprises. His success on the court – with the opportunity to lead the T-Wolves to their first Finals appearance – positions his business team to capitalize now.
“We’ve been prepared for this moment all along,” said Holland, a 37-year-old former Liberty University basketball player who met Edwards when he was a 14-year-old youth football standout in Atlanta and helped him through the transition. as his first basketball coach. “People think he is rising very quickly, but internally it looks very different because we know how much work we have put in behind the scenes to make everything move forward.”
Edwards, who left Klutch Sports for WME Sports last year, is looking to leverage the Hollywood talent agency’s resources and connections to not only raise his marketing profile but also leave an impact on the world of film and music. Edwards had a scene-stealing role opposite Adam Sandler in the Netflix film Toil and has his own media and production studio, Three Fifths Media.
Founded in 2019 by Holland and Edwards, the new company has already helped produce documentaries and short films, including Showtime’s Get yours It is I’m not doing enough. He has additional credits with Bleacher Report (2019 Huncho Day Recap) and ESPN (Andscape’s Anthony Edwards chooses UGA over Kentucky short film) with planned projects with Netflix and Amazon in the works.
“We’re really aiming for this media company to be something we can hang our hat on and leave our legacy on,” Holland added.
WME, which also represents T-Wolves coach Chris Finch and minority owner Alex Rodriguez, is working closely with Holland and others in his field to build Three Fifths Media into an entertainment powerhouse. For example, Edwards will collaborate with Kawhi Leonard’s Culture Jam music venture as an executive producer on an album that will include Edwards’ brother, rapper BDifferent.
Edwards has the opportunity to be one of the first athlete clients to take full advantage of WME’s extensive flywheel as it expands into sports, media and fashion.
“When it comes to his business, we don’t just want to follow the rules,” Stephanie Mejia, WME’s NBA agent, said in an interview. “We want to separate it from what has been done… The vision is not to replicate it, but to make it your own.”
That means letting the former No. 1 overall draft pick dictate the strategic and creative direction of his off-court initiatives in a way that feels true to him. That includes his continued investment in community affairs and grassroots basketball, which Edwards, raised by a single mother, sees as an important after-school outlet for young players.
Holland is your go-to person on all AE Five Enterprises matters and is responsible for most business-related conversations. He frequently presents Edwards with potential business and opportunities, which Edwards will either decline or accept.
Edwards is trying to leverage the experience of his circle of confidants from his early days in Atlanta and combine it with WME’s cross-platform capabilities.
“We’re trying to hit every category,” Holland said.
Despite Peyton Manning in Indianapolis and the young LeBron James in Cleveland, there is still the notion that operating in smaller media markets can harm exposure and prevent brands from wanting to close large marketing deals. Edwards, along with Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, are showing that may no longer be the case in today’s age of social media.
“If you look at some of these bigger markets, sometimes there’s so much going on that it’s not [like Minnesota], where an entire state is behind Anthony and the Timberwolves,” Mejia said. “I think it helped, to be honest.”
Edwards, who has brand deals that include Sprite, Fanatics and Bose, will continue to add more sponsorship deals to his portfolio, according to Holland. Your business team can be picky when brand partnership offers come up. Chipotle, for example, made Edwards its first and only professional basketball player partner.
Edwards also continues to be one of the hottest players on the Adidas basketball roster. Its signature shoe (AE 1 Low) continues to be a bestseller. Sales were undoubtedly helped by his activities outside of the NBA. One year later Toil was released, Edwards starred for Team USA at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, winning gold in Manila last summer and generating international exposure.
“In fact, they just started construction on an Anthony Edwards courthouse in the Philippines,” Holland said. “You don’t really realize how big you are until you go to the other side of the world and people know your name.”
The partnership with Adidas, which includes sponsorship of its Atlanta-based AAU (AE5) team through the footwear giant’s 355B grassroots program, will gain more global traction when Edwards travels abroad this summer for the Games Summer Olympics in Paris.
Edwards will call Kevin Durant a teammate in Paris after the T-Wolves eliminated the Phoenix Suns in the playoffs. It was an epic battle between one of the game’s longtime stars and potentially the next face of the league. Edwards, who calls KD his favorite player, is building a multifaceted venture similar to what Durant did with family office 35 Ventures.
AE Five Enterprises, which includes Edwards’ Don’t Follow The Wave community initiative, is still in its infancy, but the goal is to follow in the footsteps of Durant and James’ SpringHill Company. Just like James, who helped produce the black ice documentary focused on black hockey players, Edwards wants to tell untold stories through his company that resonate with black and other diverse communities.
Both James and Durant became prominent investors in startups and various consumer brands during their NBA careers. Holland said he and Edwards have done their due diligence and educated themselves on private equity and venture capital. But there’s no rush, especially since Edwards is still so young and on his first max contract.
“This is something you get into easily and [we’ll] put together a game plan throughout your career,” he said.
Meanwhile, Edwards is focused on taking care of business on the court while his team handles everything from brand partnership meetings to production calls with studios — all while advancing his vision of creating a unique legacy off the court.
