The preseason stories are coming fast and furious, and optimism continues to abound around this year’s Timberwolves — and especially around Karl-Anthony Towns.
Karl-Anthony Towns narrowly missed being named to one of the three All-NBA teams a year ago in just his second season as a professional. This year? Put simply, it should not be a problem.
Additionally, Towns would seem to have an excellent shot at being named to the Western Conference All-Star team come February, provided he continues his upward trajectory continues.
So let’s go ahead and assume the accolades of All-NBA and All-Star. What’s next?
According to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, Towns believes that it’s “just a matter of time” before he becomes the best player in the entire league. That’s right — move over, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, and James Harden.
KAT has always been a confident guy, and that confidence has absolutely served him well through his first two years in the league. From Spears’ article:
"“My confidence has always been so high. I felt coming into the league I could be that easily,” Towns said this week after practice at the University of California, San Diego. “I always knew it was just a matter of time.“But before I was even drafted, I felt that I had that ability, faith and confidence in myself to do that regardless to what team I’m with. I’m very blessed to be with the Timberwolves, because with them I’ve expedited that process a lot.”"
Towns went on to say that being the best is “in [his] sight” and that he’s getting smarter, faster and quicker.
The article also includes quotes from Tom Thibodeau, who acknowledges that his offensive game is perfect for today’s NBA and admits that it lends itself to Towns being the best player int he game. In classic Thibs fashion, of course, he also notes that Towns’ defense must improve — not that such an opinion would be classified as controversial.
It’s absolutely true that Towns has a unique skill-set that’s perhaps only rivaled by Anthony Davis from a player that’s in the neighborhood of seven-feet tall. There are already some elements of Towns’ game that are more polished than the Pelicans’ sixth-year big man, namely his overall shooting touch. Towns was better from beyond the arc and at the charity stripe last year, and despite lacking the otherworldly athleticism of Davis, has a quality of fluidity and grace driving through the lane and around the rim that rivals The Brow.
Davis does a better job at getting to the free throw line and avoiding turnovers, but those are skills that would seem to come easier with time. It isn’t close on defense, of course. Davis is fantastic on that end of the floor while Towns struggled mightily as a second-year defender.
All that to say, Towns is certainly a more unique player with an astronomical ceiling compared to many other young players around the league. Yes, we aren’t sure exactly what Ben Simmons will bring to the table in Philadelphia and Giannis Antetokounmpo already made an All-Star team last year as a 22-year-old, but Towns is more than simply in the conversation for the answer to the question “who will be the best player in the NBA in three to five years?”
Elsewhere, Rachel Nichols, Stephen Jackson, and Israel Gutierrez discussed the Timberwolves playoff prospects on ESPN’s The Jump podcast. They were actually surprisingly lukewarm on the Wolves as a whole, ceding that they will likely sneak into the playoffs as a seven or eight-seed, and were surprisingly critical of Andrew Wiggins and his perceived ‘lack of effort’. At any rate, give it a listen and come to your own conclusion on their (semi-informed) conclusions.
Next: 5 bold preseason predictions for the Timberwolves
We’ll be back with continued look-ins at Timberwolves training camp, plus coverage of the first preseason game on Saturday night.