How many games will Karl-Anthony Towns play after schedule release?

60-70 games

If the Timberwolves get from 60 to 70 games out of Karl-Anthony Towns in the 2023-24 NBA season, the team has a solid chance of earning a respectable seeding in the 2024 NBA Playoffs. Of course, there are no guarantees in the NBA, but one of the keystones to the Timberwolves’ current roster is Towns.

Even as the Minnesota Timberwolves pivot to focus on All-Star shooting guard Anthony Edwards, the Timberwolves roster will continue to need a wingman. Karl-Anthony Towns is the ideal complement to Edwards’s hard-charging drives to the basket. Because Towns’ offense is so versatile and diverse, he can set up as a marksman from the perimeter, he can drive to the basket to draw defenders, and then pass out to Gobert or a trailing Edwards, or he can simply do his damage by creating his own shots.

Timberwolves fans have not had the benefit of seeing just how dominating this roster can be with a full season of Towns, Gobert, and Edwards at full strength. But don’t believe all of the narratives that mandate the Wolves need to break up the roster before fans ever get to see what they can do.

If KAT can play up to 70 games this season, the Timberwolves have a strong likelihood of winning 45-50 games.

71-82 games

If Karl-Anthony Towns can suit up and play 71+ games for the Minnesota Timberwolves this season, 50 or more wins are certainly within reach.  This is the ideal scenario and one that would result in plenty of positives happening at Target Center.

KAT is easily overlooked as one of the best players in the NBA. Because he played only 29 games last season and had a season that was only a runner-up to his rookie season in terms of disappointing performance, the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately crowd has already judged him as unworthy of continuing to play for the Timberwolves.

But even with a disappointing season, he put up 20.8 points per game, hit on 36.6 percent of his perimeter shots, hauled in 8.1 rebounds per game, tossed out 4.8 assists, snatched 0.7 steals, and rejected 0.6 blocks per game. Those are not middle-of-the-road numbers for any NBA player, let alone a player who stands 6-foot-11 and weighs 248 pounds.

If he can play 71+ games, the Timberwolves could win 50+ games this season.

The Timberwolves have every reason to believe in their ability to improve in the 2023-24 season. Much of that optimism rests on the ability of Karl-Anthony Towns to stay healthy and play. Can he do so? I would not be so quick to rule him out just yet. After all, he has competed for the Timberwolves for eight NBA seasons. His ninth season with the Timberwolves could be his best yet. Not just from a personal standpoint, but this Timberwolves roster has the stuff to advance in the 2024 NBA Playoffs and make some serious noise.