Timberwolves news: Karl-Anthony Towns gets real in dealing with referees

As great as Wolves' Karl Anthony-Towns has been in his career, a huge knock on him is his inability to keep his emotions in check. He's changing that.

As great as Karl Anthony-Towns has been in his young career, a huge knock on him so far is his inability to keep his emotions in check. The 25-year-old Minnesota Timberwolves superstar, after all, is often seen bickering in disagreement with in-game officials, each time a call doesn't go his way.

KAT, however, has been visibly calmer this season and no longer engages the refs as much as he did in previous years. Per The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski, the two-time All-Star bared the realizations he made as grew older and wiser as a professional and a person in general.

KAT giving an in-depth self-reflection on his interaction w/refs. Says w/all he's been through, he realizes he can't be worried about the refs anymore. Says he did it too often early in his career and has to set a better example for Ant, Jaden

— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) February 25, 2021

I will say that it's been a noticeable difference with him this season. KAT isn't battling with refs nearly on the level he once did.

— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) February 25, 2021

Karl-Anthony Towns was indeed a changed man in the Wolves' 126-133 overtime letdown against the Chicago Bulls at United Center on Wednesday. Minny was on the wrong end of several unfavorable calls in regulation and in overtime that sent them to their sixth straight loss in a row.

The old KAT would probably lash out against officials and dig an even deeper hole for his team by getting an ill-advised technical foul. But that wasn't the case against the Bulls, as Towns quickly moved on from such calls and just did his best to try and give the team a W. At the beginning of the season, KAT proclaimed that the old him died on April 13th — the day his mother passed away from COVID-19 complications.

The Dominican-American slotman led his team with 24 points on 10-for-20 shooting from the field, along with eight rebounds, five assists, two steals, and one block in 31 minutes. However, they were unable to contain former Timberwolves player Zach LaVine who dropped a game-high 35 points.