Karl-Anthony Towns has always been a good shooter, but this season he’s been shooting it at a previously unseen rate for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have adapted to the modern NBA style of play, pace and 3-point shooting.
The idea, of course, is to minimize how many long twos they take, and thus far, the Wolves have been doing a good job of that.
Each season, Minnesota has been one of the worst teams at getting 3-point shots up. Last year, they were No. 26 in the NBA in attempts at 28.7 long-range shots per game. This season they are third, shooting 39.6 threes per game, trailing only the Houston Rockets and Milwaukee Bucks.
A large reason towards this high volume amount of threes has been Karl-Anthony Towns. He currently ranks fourth in the NBA with 8.9 3-point attempts per game. Not only is he shooting it at a high rate, but he’s cashing in on 44.4 percent.
The only other player to do this kind of feat is arguably the best shooter of all-time.
Not enough people are talking about Karl-Anthony Towns this season. He’s on a tear, especially shooting the ball.
— ProCity Hoops (@ProCityHoops) November 27, 2019
KAT is shooting 44.4% from three, making 4 threes/game. Just one guy in NBA history has made over 3.5 threes/game at a 43% or higher clip: Steph Curry. pic.twitter.com/ftiqYa9FNH
Whether he can sustain these numbers is unknown because its early in the season, but there is reason to believe he can. In each of the last two seasons, he’s shot over 40 percent from 3-point range.
Brook Lopez is shooting the second most threes among centers at 5.2 per game. That average puts him 57th in the league, 53 spots away from Towns. Towns is essentially playing like a guard with the amount of threes that he is shooting and making.
The former Kentucky Wildcat should continue to reduce the number of 2-point attempts and take shots beyond the arc or in the paint.
He hasn’t had overwhelming success shooting from the mid-range this season, after all. At the rim he’s 54-for-75 and is shooting 72 percent. From 3-to-10 feet, he’s shooting 48.7 percent on 39 attempts. However, he’s shooting 28.5 percent from 10 feet to the 3-point line.
If Towns can eliminate these long twos and shoot inside the paint or beyond the arc, then he will have a lot more success on the offensive end.
Towns continues to amaze fans with the way he plays the game, putting up numbers and highlights like never before. He’s shooting at a rate that puts him up with some of the best shooters in the league.
It may be the start of December, but Towns is already making his case for being the best 3-point shooting big man — and maybe ever.