How Karl-Anthony Towns can become Timberwolves’ all-time greatest player

There’s little debate that the greatest player in the Minnesota Timberwolves‘ history as a franchise is Kevin Garnett. In 12 seasons with Minnesota, The Big Ticket was a 10-time All-Star and league MVP. He was named to eight All-NBA teams, eight All-Defense teams, earned All-Star game MVP, and a host of other accolades.

Garnett is unquestionably the most accomplished player to don the Timberwolves uniform. Most would agree he’s among the top 15 or 20 greatest players ever, and he helped put Minnesota on the map as one of the newest franchises in the NBA.

The 2003-04 regular season MVP won by Garnett was the first ever awarded to a Timberwolves player. It was in that same season he helped lead them to their best playoff finish ever, as they advanced to the Western Conference Finals.

Karl-Anthony Towns Can Surpass Garnett

But like with any player, records are meant to be broken and achievements meant to be surpassed. And if there’s one player that can replace Kevin Garnett as the Timberwolves’ GOAT, it’s Karl-Anthony Towns.

Entering the 2022-23 season as the Wolves’ longest-tenured player, Towns has been in Minnesota since being drafted first overall by the team in 2015. Since then, he’s achieved a great deal in the Twin Cities, winning Rookie of the Year, earning three All-Star appearances, and being named to two All-NBA teams.

The coolest part about KAT’s career? He spent his rookie season playing alongside Garnett, as KG returned to Minnesota to play his final professional season in 2015-16. The two have remained close since then, with Garnett voicing his support for Towns and even stating he thinks he’s a better scorer than other bigs like Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic.

There’s no player on a better trajectory to eventually overtake Garnett as the best player in franchise history. However, KAT still has a ways to go if he’s to pass KG.

KAT Must Hit More Milestones

As of right now, Kevin Garnett still has a leg up on Karl-Anthony Towns in a few areas. The first of which is All-Star and All-NBA appearances.

Towns currently trails Garnett’s Timberwolves resume by five All-Star selections and six All-NBA selections. KAT doesn’t have to flat-out shatter KG’s numbers in this department, but he’ll definitely want to get a few more of these honors under his belt to be in consideration.

The next factor in play here is being an MVP winner. If KAT can bring home an MVP trophy before his career’s end, it will go a long way toward him being viewed as the franchise’s greatest.

Arguably the most important consideration in this debate will be postseason success. Garnett helped take Minnesota to their only Conference Finals appearance back in 2004. How frequently Towns can lead the Timberwolves to playoff success for the rest of his career will play a major part in how he’s viewed by the fanbase.

Now that KAT has a great supporting cast around him, he’s certainly set up to achieve more success in April, May, and June. If he can help Minnesota win their first NBA championship, there’s almost no doubt he’ll be seen as the Timberwolves’ greatest of all-time.