The Great, Good, Bad and Ugly for the Timberwolves (so far)

Karl-Anthony Towns

Most. Offensively. Skilled. Big. Man. Ever. 

Bold it, italicize it, underline it, tweet it, embrace it, believe it. Karl-Anthony Towns is doing things that we have never seen from a big man in the history of the game, while maintaining elite offensive efficiency numbers.

KAT is averaging 26.5 points* on 51.0 percent shooting, 12.5 rebounds*, 3.9 assists*, 1.1 steals*, and 1.5 blocks per game (all asterisks denote career-high numbers). Towns is shooting a whopping 51.3 percent of his shots from beyond the arc (9.8 attempts per game, a career-high), while converting on an absurd 44.4 percent from the 3-point line. In a win over the Jazz last week, KAT buried seven 3s, including a few nice step-backs that no one his size should be able to do.

What Towns has been able to do from deep is historic. So far this season, KAT’s shooting numbers rank above the best non-Steph Curry shooters’ best seasons. The first four players on this list are either Hall of Famers or soon-to-be Hall of Famers.

Offensively, Karl has been the best center in the NBA by a mile. For a quick synopsis of how much better he has been than the league’s presumed best center.

Mic drop.

The former Kentucky Wildcat is averaging a career-high 3.9 assists (a number that I expect to rise closer to 4.5 or 5 by the end of the season) in large part due to his ball-handling. Towns possesses an incredible handle for a guy his size, which has led to improved playmaking, open shots for teammates, increased pressure on opposing defenses, and more points on the board for the Wolves.

Defensively, Towns is averaging a career-best defensive rating of 103, which is an incredibly encouraging number for a center who has been knocked for his defensive shortcomings early on in his NBA career. He is holding opponents to shooting just 41.8 percent when he is the primary defender, which is third league-wide amongst centers, trailing only Rudy Gobert and Bam Adebayo. Last season, that number was 47.6, good for sixth-worst in the league.

Vanterpool has simplified KAT’s defensive assignments this season, which has clearly had a positive affect on the young center. Instead of switching after screens were iced under former head coach Tom Thibodeau, Vanterpool has dropped KAT back in the pick-and-roll, which allows him to play more free safety and attack the ball from a better defensive position.

This has resulted in Towns fouling less, getting beat off the roll less, higher defensive activity, and a lower defensive field goal percentage for opponents at the rim. Among starting centers, Towns ranks third in number of contested shots per game at 15.5 and seventh in deflections per contest (2.2).

It is quite difficult to put into context just how impactful Towns has been on the floor this season, because of how ridiculous his output has been. He has generated 0.256 win shares (an estimate of the number of wins a player contributes) per 48 minutes, which is sixth in the NBA.

Anything above 0.200 is elite; the league average is 0.100, while this year’s league leader is Luka Doncic at .317. Michael Jordan averaged 0.251 for his NBA career.