Karl-Anthony Towns may have some ‘splaining to do
By Bret Stuter
Coming back from an injury is never an easy matter. But for Minnesota Timberwolves power forward Karl-Anthony Towns, the 2022-23 NBA season was a particularly painful one. It was supposed to be a season of new heights and production. After all, the season after signing on to a super-max deal is typically a time when the player goes out to prove that he was worth that huge investment.
The gesture of getting paid is not unique to the NBA. Each sport identifies those Alpha males with lucrative compensation, and the Minnesota Timberwolves were as excited to add Karl-Anthony Towns to that select group of NBA players as he was to join that group. So what’s the catch? After all, there is always a catch, right?
The problem is that after getting paid, Karl-Anthony Towns’ production regressed across the board. For starters, he played just 29 games for the team this season, which means that he did not suit up for 53 games. His scoring fell by 16 percent (from 24.6 to 20.8 PPG), his rebound dropped by 17 percent (from 9.8 to 8.1 RPG), and the increase in assists was offset by a drop in blocks and steals.
Towns went into a nosedive against the Denver Nuggets
So his fouls declined, right? Not exactly. His fouls per game increased slightly, and his turnovers remained steady. But that was only in the regular season. In the postseason, his production took another nosedive, with scoring falling a whopping 26 percent (from 24.6 to 18.2 PPG).
Worst of all, the long-range sniper big collapsed when it came to his perimeter shot. His 39.5 percent career average from beyond the arc evaporated to a pedestrian 25 percent mark in the 2023 NBA Playoffs.
Karl-Anthony Towns may have suited up for the 2023 NBA Playoffs. But he never really showed up for them.
Did Denver’s defense derail KAT?
How did the Denver Nuggets dispatch their defense? Perhaps the Nuggets collapsed their defense on Karl-Anthony Towns, contesting his shots and forcing him to let fly without a comfy-cozy feeling. Or perhaps that was not it at all.
The postgame press conference was a sobering moment. The Minnesota Timberwolves lost this Round 1 series in the 2023 NBA Playoffs by a record of 1-4. But in the fictional scenario of wudda-cudda-shudda that often accompanies disappointing outcomes, if Towns had hit just two of his six three-point attempts, the game ends in a tie and ends up going into overtime. If KAT hit three of his six attempts, the Timberwolves win and force a Game 6.
My intention is not to lay the blame at the feet of Karl-Anthony Towns and declare that he is responsible for the Minnesota Timberwolves early ushering out of the NBA Playoffs. Nor am I glossing over the fact that this team competed in the NBA Playoffs severely short-handed with injuries to starting SF Jaden McDaniels and to backup center Naz Reid.
But a super-max contract is more than a hood ornament or a figurehead role. It’s achieving the highest pay with the expectation of performing at the highest level. For the 2022-23 NBA season, Karl-Anthony Towns did not come anywhere close to his best performance. Truth be told, he could not even hold onto his career averages.
As a result, Karl-Anthony Towns has some ‘splaining to do. Better yet, he should dedicate himself this offseason to an intensive training program to get him back into peak condition and prepare himself to lead the team once more. If he does that, at least, the Timberwolves will have a chance of improving next season, at least.