Minnesota Timberwolves: Projecting Karl-Anthony Towns’s stats
The Minnesota Timberwolves have had a tremendous amount of roster turnover since general manager Gersson Rosas took over. Their best player, Karl-Anthony Towns, is the team’s longest-tenured player.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Projecting Karl-Anthony Towns’s stat line
Karl-Anthony Towns has been not inconsistent in his play for the Timberwolves over the course of the past two seasons, but inconsistent in appearances. He missed 22 total games this past season, and only played 35 games in 2019.
Still, that does not diminish his accomplishments on the court. Each of the past three seasons, Towns has averaged over 24 points per game, and his shooting splits over the course of his career are 53/39/84.
REBOUNDS
Karl-Anthony Towns has never averaged under 10 rebounds per game during his career – and this year will not be an outlier. The Timberwolves have yet to bring back Jarred Vanderbilt, and Naz Reid should not get enough minutes to take away from Towns’s rebounding totals. I wouldn’t necessarily expect Towns to progress in this area (especially if Jaden McDaniels continues to progress), but Towns is always going to be the biggest rebounding threat the Timberwolves have, being a 7-even big man that plays down low defensively.
2021-22 Rebounds projection: 11.0
ASSISTS
Karl-Anthony Towns is one of the better passers on the Minnesota Timberwolves, despite being a big man. Later in the season, as Chris Finch continued to implement his system as head coach, there became a trend of Towns acting more as a post facilitator. He would handle the ball along the elbow with lots of off-ball movement around him, generating a lot of perimeter looks for wings and guards. I would say it is likely that Towns sees a career high in assists if things continue to look like they did at the end of last season. In the final 20 games of 2020-21, Towns averaged 4.8 assists.
2021-22 Assist projection: 5.5
STOCKS (Steals and Blocks combined)
Karl-Anthony Towns has become a better defender over the course of his career, despite his block total going down the past two seasons. Last year in particular, Towns was a capable rim protector – and while he certainly wasn’t other-worldly in that department, he held his own. Still, most of Towns’s contributions come from him being a generational offensive talent – someone that an entire system can be build around. He will provide some stability on defense, but his numbers will not be outstanding.
2021-22 Stocks (steals and blocks combined) projection: 2.0
POINTS
Karl-Anthony Towns makes his money by scoring, and doing it very well. Being a 7-foot-tall elite 3-point shooter is incredibly rare, and being the post player that Towns is only increases his efficiency. There are not many unicorns in the NBA, but the Minnesota Timberwolves certainly have one of them. Over the course of Towns’s career, he has averaged around 23 points per game. The past two seasons, that total has increased. However, with a (mostly) healthy roster around him, Towns may see that total decrease.
2021-22 Points projection: 22.5
Final stat line projection:
Points: 22.5
Rebounds: 11.0
Assists: 5.5
Stocks: 2.0
Next. Another Leandro Bolmaro update. dark
Karl-Anthony Towns may not be improving his point totals this season, but he doesn’t really need to. So long as he stays healthy, he should be an All-Star, even in the Western Conference. His unique offensive skill set is very incredible, and the Timberwolves have constructed a team that should be able to at least become competitive in the meantime.