Minnesota Timberwolves franchise center Karl-Anthony Towns is on his way to his first of many All-Star game appearances Sunday night. Once a simple, everyday kid from the Dominican Republic, he's always reflective of his roots and who he considered being the key figures for players with such descent.
For someone in Towns' age bracket, who basically matured as a basketball fan from the mid-2000s up to the early 2010s, one countryman became a symbol of hope and inspiration for Dominicans.
Sure, Charlie Villanueva, Francisco Garcia, and Felipe Lopez were once serviceable players and had respect within the Dominican community, but none is really comparable to five-time All-Star and current Boston Celtics center Al Horford.
Here's what Towns said about the veteran big man during a recent interview with The Undefeated:
“It’s an amazing, amazing time to see two Dominicans strive to play basketball at the highest level… Al is one of the pioneers who showed how you can really make it if you push your talent and put your mind to something. I’m just trying to follow the leader.”
With the Timberwolves youngster being much-hyped as a young teen and Horford being well-informed about Dominican prospects, the latter has been aware of Towns for roughly a decade now.
“His mom and dad have been supporting him ever since I met him when he was 14, 15 years old… His dad was telling me, ‘He is going to be playing against you. He is going to be up there in the league. He is going to be great.’”
Interestingly enough, although Towns has built a reputation of being a scorer, the two play a very similar style. They can post-up anywhere, defend the paint, see the court very well, and also step out for an outside shot.
We'll see how they'll fare Sunday where they will play together for Team Stephen.
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