After being drafted with the No. 1 overall pick in 2015, Karl Anthony-Towns has long been the face of the Timberwolves franchise. After averaging 18.3 PPG and 10.5 RPG his rookie year, Timberwolves fans rejoiced as they had thought they found a savior to build around and take them to the post-season.
Even though the Timberwolves did not become perennial contenders with most of the years with Towns (1st round exits in 2017, 2022, and 2023 in Towns 8 years with the franchise) up to this point, most of this was in no fault to Towns, who has performed impressively (3x NBA All-Star, 2x All-NBA) despite the many roster and coaching changes around him.
In recent years, the Timberwolves have made some smart moves to build a roster that has gone to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. Players like Jaden Mcdaniels, Naz Reid, Rudy Gobert, and, of course, Anthony Edwards have been grabbing headlines as this team has started to look the part of a real threat in the playoffs now and in the years to come.
With all the attention being placed on all these newer additions to the team, it's easy to forget KAT, and even easier for fans to be calling for him to be traded at the beginning of the season when he was struggling for a little bit.
Whether he heard the noise or not, KAT has been playing extremely well these past few games. In the last five games he has played, Towns has posted averages of 22.6PPG and 10.0RPG and is shooting a scorching 44% from three.
This is a significant improvement compared to the first five games of the season, where the big man out of Kentucky posted a line of 18.6PPG, 9.0RPG, and 25.9% shooting from three. Numbers aside, KAT has stepped up to make big buckets when it has mattered most, especially in these most recent two games against the Warriors when star player Anthony Edwards has not been playing at his best.
While this may be ANT's team going forward, don't forget the TImberwolves have another borderline superstar talent on their roster as well. His name is Karl-Anthony Towns and he's not going anywhere until he helps the Wolves secure their first franchise championship.