Minnesota Timberwolves: Two players ranked in Bleacher Report’s top 100
No. 14 – Karl-Anthony Towns
Karl-Anthony Towns’ ranking on lists such as these tends to fluctuate anywhere from right around No. 10 all the way up to around No. 20. There isn’t a real consensus on his overall on-court value, save for him being one of the best offensive big men in the game and the best shooting center of all-time, full stop.
The issues are well-documented, and they all have to do with defense. Despite only playing in 35 games this year, Towns demonstrated an ever-evolving and still improving offensive skillset. He upped his 3-point rate from .270 in 2018-19 to .445, meaning that 44.5 percent of his field goal attempts came from beyond the arc in 2019-20. Not only that, he upped his percentage to 41.2.
Towns has always been a skilled post player, and now he’s added perimeter playmaking to his arsenal at the behest of Rosas and head coach Ryan Saunders. Shockingly, his turnover rate actually went down while his assist rate rose.
On the offensive end, the sky really is the limit for Towns. Defensively, however, KAT is nowhere near scratching his potential.
Coming into the league, everyone expected Towns to be a switchable big man with the ability to guard in the post and protect the rim. He has done all of those things at the NBA level, but with no semblance of consistency.
Former coach Tom Thibodeau’s defensive concept wasn’t a perfect fit for Towns. In one year under associate head coach and defensive coordinator David Vanterpool‘s scheme, Towns showed flashes but was all too often caught out of position and taken advantage of by quick opposing guards.
Here’s the thing: if Towns can show anything resembling above-average defense over a course of a season, the Wolves will be an easy qualifier for the playoffs and Towns will be a consensus top-10 player. It’s that simple.
Next year at this time, lists such as these will hopefully rank the Wolves’ star duos even higher, and perhaps they’ll even be joined by a third Timberwolf…