Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns has gone through a lot during the COVID-19 pandemic. Towns lost his mother, uncle and five other family members to the virus, and he himself tested positive last season. The Timberwolves star lost 50 pounds and had to deal with a lot of emotions as he quarantined.
There were times where it was just too much for him. When he returned at the start of February, he had a panic attack on the bench and had to go to the locker room. He admitted the situation was “too much” for him at the time. While he ultimately came back to the Timberwolves over a week later, he contemplated taking an indefinite leave of absence from basketball.
Via Sports Illustrated's Michael Pina:
There were days when being around teammates carried him. Basketball felt like it could provide a blip of relief. There were others when he thought about stepping away and giving himself space to mourn. “[My mother] made basketball fun for me my whole entire life,” Towns says. “She made it where I wanted to even do this. So for me, I was like, [There’s] too much on my mind. I’m not, I can’t, nah, I can’t.”
The Timberwolves star consulted with his father, who laid out what was at stake. That included what he could lose financially, but Towns said he didn't care about that at all when making his decision.
Again, Towns decided to return to the Timberwolves, and the team started to look much better toward the end of the season under new head coach Chris Finch. There has been some drama surrounding the franchise over the last week thanks to the sudden ouster of president Gersson Rosas, but Towns is ready for big things in 2021-22. While it has been a rough last year-plus for the star (and a difficult NBA career in general), he's hoping he can turn the page.
Follow Us
Subscribe