Karl-Anthony Towns may be a center, but the Minnesota big man can move as smoothly as any guard. After picking Deandre Ayton's pocket, the Timberwolves' center sprinted out into transition before going airborne for a ferocious dunk that gave Minnesota an early advantage against the Phoenix Suns Thursday night.

In the battle of the former number one overall picks, score one for Towns (Video via Bleacher Report)

While KAT is rarely a threat to steal the ball–averaging less than one stolen ball per game–the Twolves big man has shown improvement on the defensive side of the court, despite the team ranking near the bottom of the league in defensive metrics.

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Most notably, the Minnesota coaching staff has adjusted towards employing Towns more aggressively on pick-and-rolls, sliding him up towards the ball handler instead of dropping him towards the basket. Though the “drop” defense was seen by observers as a more logical use of his skills, especially given his block rate, Towns struggled to maintain his sense of balance, backtracking towards the rim, and rarely affected shots at a rate high enough to change the opposing offense.

With the center looking far more sure-footed in the scheme, KAT has risen to the 60th percentile of all defenders, according to tracking data from Synergy Sports. Unfortunately for Minnesota and their fans, that improvement hasn't entirely translated to an improved victory total. Coming into their match against the Suns, the Wolves are an atrocious 9-31 and in last place in the Western Conference.

Even if the Timberwolves struggle to put up wins, you can always count on Karl-Anthony Towns to put on a show.