Minnesota’s best player this season may also be its most improved. Anthony Edwards has always been the young star with the skill and mentality that fostered a perception of endless potential, and now he’s starting to reach it.

Yes, his insane athleticism, shot making and sheer will to win are apparent, but he’s also reaching these new heights — where he’s thoroughly outplaying the likes of Kevin Durant and Devin Booker throughout a playoff series — because of his higher understanding of the game.

Throw whatever defensive look you’d like at the 22-year-old, and he’ll quickly decipher the best way to attack it. That was not a sentence that could have been typed a year, or even months ago. It’s a product of Edwards’ ability to study and take instruction, and a coaching staff committed to pushing the young guard to be his very best self.

And it’s also a product of the teammate who sits next to Edwards in every film session: Mike Conley.

“He sits in the film room right next to Anthony Edwards, always talking to him,” Wolves assistant coach Micah Nori said Wednesday. “It’s never about himself. It’s always the message that can benefit the team, the coach’s message, reinforcing that.”

Conley was named the recipient of the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award on Wednesday, and was only fitting that  Edwards who delivered the message in front of the team to conclude practice at Mayo Courts. It’s the second time Conley has won the award, winning it also in 2018-19.

The award “recognizes the player deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to team” and is awarded by a vote of all current NBA players.

Edwards gave the team the news, then gave Conley a big embrace from behind. He has always been an ascending star, but there’s no doubt his 36-year-old mentor had aided in his meteoric rise.

“A little. I’m part of it. Everybody in here has been a part of his growth and his development,” Conley said. “When we’re in film sessions, we’re constantly in each other’s ear. If he’s about to explode about Coach (Chris Finch) saying something bad about him, I’ll tap him on the shoulder and be like, ‘Chill. You need to hear this. This is real. He’s being honest with this one, and you need to work on it.’

“And he’ll be like, ‘Bet.’ Just kind of really receptive to stuff. So I’m glad I’m there to gauge his mental and make sure he’s paying attention to the right things.”

The impact Conley has had on Minnesota extends far beyond the team’s best player. Nickeil Alexander-Walker calls Conley his “big brother,” noting it’s Conley who has taught him the art of becoming a floor general. Rudy Gobert cited Conley’s professionalism, empathy and understanding as to why he’s been such a standout teammate on this year’s team.

It was Conley’s arrival last season that led to the Timberwolves’ true acceptance of Gobert and the understanding of the full value the center could bring to the team.

“Each different individual, (it’s) the way he communicates with all of us, interacts with all of us. Just his dedication to winning,” Gobert said. “All these little things, I think when they come together, I think it’s having someone that’s really great to have around, especially when you have younger players.

“I think he’s the definition of a true leader, and a true leader by example without faking anything, without trying to be someone he’s not. He’s consistent every single day.”

Which makes him the perfect player to calm the waters when needed. Conley noted the Wolves have “an emotional team – from our coaches to our players.” The guard — who has never received a technical foul in his NBA career — has taken it upon himself to keep the Wolves grounded, particularly since the playoffs began.

“He even calmed me down at one point,” head coach Chris Finch said after Minnesota’s Game 3 victory in the first round in Phoenix. “For a young team, and an emotional team, these are little tests of your maturity, and Mike has his finger on the pulse of that. That’s why he’s so valuable for us.”

That value is likely to grow given the uncertainty of Finch’s coaching capacity for the start of the second-round series against the Nuggets in Denver. The Wolves’ coach on the floor, Conley may be leaned on more than usual. Even if Finch isn’t present on the sidelines, the point guard extension of the coach will still be on the floor.

“He knows, like, when to calm us down or when we need to get a good shot, he just takes over, takes control,” Jaden McDaniels said before the postseason began. “Mike Conley, he’s PG1, super smart out there. He’ll tell you to do something and it always works. Just keep trusting and believing in Mike.”

And they’ll be just fine.

Conley’s trophy setup in his video game room is filling up fast. He’s now has two Teammate of the Year awards to go with his four sportsmanship awards. That’s the ultimate “good guy” résumé. And, in Mike Conley fashion, the guard attributed his most recent award to his family for molding him into the person he is today.

“Ultimate professional, ultimate good guy, ultimate father,” Nori said. “All those superlatives, he’s all of those guys. He encompasses all of them.”

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Cinco de Mayo is right around the corner, so fruit salsas come to mind to complement any dish. This is the perfect time of year to find fresh, ripe, juicy pineapples, mangos, strawberries, and even avocados. Mango seasons tend to be from May through September whereas pineapple seasons tend to be from March through the summer.

Growing up in SoCal, I have eaten many salsas – mostly savory, but some on the sweeter side – but now salsas don’t just equal a tomato or tomatillo-base any more. Fresh in-season fruit is very popular in creating fruit salsas and condiments for dishes. Strawberries that are macerated with a pinch of sugar and salt, with thinly diced bell peppers, makes for a perfect salsa-condiment to add to vanilla or strawberry ice cream or frozen yogurt.

Growing up in SoCal, I was lucky enough to try the best authentic Mexican street food north and south of the border, and what I learned from a young age was an out-of-this-world salsa or marinade pushes a dish from being just good to being amazing and craveable.

Ingredients included in a fruit salsa are like Skittles: You can taste the rainbow. (Esther Kennedy/Contributed)

Macerating strawberries with a pinch or two of granulated white sugar and a pinch of salt creates a beautiful salsa and adding a slight kick from fresh peppers like jalapenos gives the perfect topping for vanilla bean ice cream. Sweet meets a tiny bit of heat is a perfect marriage of flavors. Fruit salsas with mango or pineapple at the forefront are amazing on fish tacos, carne asada burritos, nachos, as well as perfect just dipping chips into the salsa.

Pro tip: As much as homemade chips are used in recipes and fun to make, sometimes keeping it simple and using your favorite store-bought tortilla chips is the way to go.

When making a fresh, fruity salsa, use robust flavors like red or orange bell pepper, red onion, jalapeno, cilantro and lime zest and juice.

May the fruit salsa be with you!

Live zestier!

Esther Kennedy is a Myrtletown resident. She can be reached at estherthezester@gmail.com or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/estherthezester.

Baltimoreans’ mint patches are springing to life, a harbinger of the mint julep season which is upon us with the 150th running Saturday of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, followed several weeks later by the 149th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course.

That being said, for many Marylanders the venerable Maryland Hunt Cup, which raced across the Worthington Valley Saturday, is not a mere dress rehearsal, but the actual observance of Opening Day and the happy marriage of crushed mint, simple syrup, rye or bourbon and LOTS of crushed ice stuffed into an ancestral silver julep cup from Kirk or Stieff, the once legendary Baltimore silver manufacturers.

While generals Grant and Lee may have buried the sword at Virginia’s Appomattox Court House in 1865, the War of the Juleps continues to this day as the great liquid battle between Maryland rye and Kentucky bourbon, and which should be employed in a julep.

And there are numerous codicils to the julep making process. Should the mint be muddled or allowed to ooze its fragrant juices? Should the ice be crushed, shaved or beaten in a bar rag into snow?

Irvin Cobb, the noted humorist, once wrote: “The true Southern mint julep … tastes like a bolt of concentrated lightning. The novice’s first idea is that he has been electrocuted or at least been hit on the head with a maul.”

The origins of the sainted drink date to the times of the Persians, who claim to have invented it.

The Crusaders said they brought it to Europe, and Col. Henry Jowles, born in London in 1690, insisted he brought the minty elixir to Calvert County, whose citizens take bows for making a notable and lasting addition to the nation’s drinking habits.

A mint julep pictured in 1980. (Staff)

But the question that begs the mind is how did the Persians obtain Maryland rye or Kentucky bourbon?

During antebellum days, brandy was often used as the liquor of choice in a julep, while today gin has made its way into the julep world creating something called the Major Bailey, which no traditional julep lover would countenance no matter how many winning tickets they had at Pimlico.

Former Baltimore Sun colleague and longtime friend, Rob Kasper, who wrote the “Happy Eater” column in the paper for years, spent a few years as a newspaper vagabond in Louisville, where he fell under the perpetual spell of the Kentucky bourbon julep.

His “receipt,” as they used to call it in parts of the South, calls for six to eight mint leaves which are crushed with a wooden muddler (it looks like a miniature Louisville Slugger bat) in the bottom of the julep cup or tall glass.

To this is added two tablespoons — not a typo — of powdered sugar and a dash of club soda. Muddle again and then pack the “cup” with crushed ice — not ice cubes — and then fill to the top, in his case, with good old Bluegrass State bourbon.

Decorate with a sprig of mint and a straw to which you can remove the flavorful mixture from the depths below.

Now, my take is a lump of sugar, a tablespoon of water which is reduced to a simple syrup and muddled with no less than four mint leaves.

Pack the vehicle with crushed ice and fill it to the rim with Maryland rye — while there are other excellent choices available, rye it must be.

Follow with Kasper’s decorating instructions and you have a perfect julep.

But back to Cobb, who wrote, “Any guy who’d put rye in a mint julep and crush the leaves, would put scorpions in a baby’s bed.”

After stopping at the long since demolished Baltimore’s Guy’s Hotel in 1842, Charles Dickens wrote a letter to The Sun: “I am truly obliged to you for the beautiful and delicious mint julep you have so kindly sent me. I have tasted it, but reserve further proceedings until the arrival of Washington Irving, whom I expect to dine with me, tete-a-tete, and who will help me drink to your health.”

Another noted 19th century traveler, Captain Maryat, remarked in his diary while touring the South on the mint julep: “The mint julep is with the thermometer at 100 degrees, one of the most delightful and insinuating potions that was ever invented. The julep may be drunk with equal satisfaction when the thermometer is as low as 70 degrees.”

An unsigned 1935 editorial in The Evening Sun, probably written by H.L. Mencken, described the julep this way: “When the julep is properly mixed by an expert, it is one of the most seductive of dull-care chasers. Instead of being wild and untamed, it is full of suave blandishments, like the caress of a lovely woman.”