Karl Anthony Towns has had a fantastic season by all accounts. He's averaged 18 points, 10 rebounds, nearly a steal, and almost 2 blocks per game. That's phenomenal for a rookie big man. To add to that, he can shoot free throws consistently at over 80%. Among the league's best rebounding centers, he stands among the top 5 with only DeAndre Jordan, Andre Drummond, and Hassan Whiteside ahead of him.
If that's not enough, not only has he played in every regular season game, but he ranks sixth in most blocks this season and has a record 14 straight double doubles to boot.
The Minnesota Timberwolves hit a home run in this draft class, because Towns is and will continue to develop into everything you could want from a top pick. This, however, didn't come without some pain and a little motivation.
Driving one afternoon after a workout, Towns gets some untimely news and a dreaded phone call from his father. On that day, NBA great Darryl Dawkins passed away from a heart attack. The news not only shocked the NBA world; he was a long time friend of Towns' father and he was as close as family, on top of being a mentor to Towns. He helped him work on his game, and let him hang out for countless barbecues. This is the man Towns knew as Uncle Darryl.
Towns recalls when he received the news from his father, and his father confirms his worse fear that day. “Karl, Uncle Darryl just passed away”.
Towns immediately felt the impact of that one, he tells Kentucky Sports Radio.
I almost crashed the car, I had no idea.
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That was not the end of his sorrow, as the Wolves lost their tenured coach, GM, part owner, executive, friend, mentor, and family member, Flip Saunders to cancer. Flip chose Karl-Anthony Towns in the draft as the #1 pick and made an immediate impact in his life, trading for Kevin Garnett and assigning him to mentor Towns, which it was everything he needed to get started. This was the 2nd untimely tragedy in such a short time, and Towns opened up more about it:
To lose a person who has mostly been with me as I've been playing and teaching me little things here and there in my uncle Darryl, and to lose the person who gave me my NBA dream in Flip, it was hard. ”But they both contributed to the way I've played this year. They've been able to help me even not being on this Earth anymore.
In a way, that was probably a release for Towns to not hold back anything he had been taught or given by two of the most important people in his life. His player stats as a big man are the highest by a rookie since Shaquille O'Neal in 1993, and his Player Efficiency Rating of 22.4 is the highest since Tim Duncan back in 1997-98.
Karl-Anthony Towns should by and far end up with the Rookie of the Year Award thanks to a push from two of the greatest men he knew, who are no longer around but still keep pushing him to be great.
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