Back in December, Karl-Anthony Towns raised some eyebrows when he claimed himself in an interview with Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic as “greatest big man shooter of all time.” This instantly drew the ire of some NBA fans, particularly Dallas Mavericks fans as they think Dirk Nowitzki still holds that title, considering everything he did and proved throughout his Hall of Fame career.

Well, the Minnesota Timberwolves star may now have a claim on that one after he bagged the MTN DEW 3-point shooting crown at NBA All-Star Saturday. It may be egregious to say, but after his performance at the 3-point contest, Karl-Anthony Towns is now the greatest shooting big man in NBA history.

Like KAT, Nowitzki also has the hardware to show as he won the 2006 edition of the contest. But the record books show Towns' name sitting at the top. After getting a solid score of 22 points to advance past the first round, the 3-time All-Star dripped the net by setting the all-time record in the final round with a score of 29. He edged Brooklyn Nets guard Patty Mills and Los Angeles Clippers guard Luke Kennard, who both ended up with 26 points.

While there are more points available in the modern-day competition due to the moneyball rack and the pair of MTN DEW ball shots, Towns still made 20 of a possible 27, which is downright ridiculous. He even drained one MTN DEW bomb, which extends a couple of feet beyond the 3-point arc. Meanwhile, Nowitzki finished with 18 points to win the title in 2006 and made 15 of a possible 25 threes.

Pundits may claim that the competition isn't the only barometer for shooting. But Karl-Anthony Towns also has the numbers to back up his claim. For his career, the 6-foot-11 big man has shot 39.6 percent from the 3-point line, According to StatMuse, this is the highest mark ever for a center.

Towns is knocking down 40.9 percent of his threes in 2021-22 and is on pace to shoot 40 percent throughout the course of a season for the 4th time in his career. In comparison, Nowitzki shot 38.0 percent from long distance throughout his illustrious 21-year career and shot over 40 percent in a season five times.

Obviously playing in a different era, the German legend only attempted 3.4 threes per game in 1,522 career games. The highest he's shot in a season came in 2002-03, where he shot 4.9 threes a night. Meanwhile, Towns is hoisting up 4.1 triples in his career so far, but has been jacking up 5.7 per game over the last four seasons.

Towns also has a better effective field goal percentage (57.6 percent) to show for it than Nowitzki (51.2 percent).

Pundits will argue how Nowitzki made several more high-pressure shots in the playoffs and the NBA Finals than Towns. Sure, Towns hasn't had the kind of team success that Nowitzki enjoyed throughout his career.

But we're strictly talking about shooting here, not their knack of making shots when they count most or their ability to lead their teams in the playoffs. Karl-Anthony Towns has proven with his volume and efficiency that he is a legitimate marksman from beyond the arc. And this weekend, he proved he is the greatest shooting big man in the history of the game.