Karl-Anthony Towns has been a gem of a find for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

He is widely considered the team's best player, and has so many skills at such a young age that many NBA people are already pegging him as a potential Hall of Famer.

And while Towns definitely has a long way to go to reach that kind of basketball immortality, his formative years may have already pointed to his potential as a player.

When Towns was coming up, he had his sights set on a legendary player who revolutionized a position, won several championships and showed the type of versatility for which Towns yearned, per Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

“When I was growing up everyone told me how they thought I should play the game of basketball, which was never the way I wanted to play it,” Towns said. “I played the game the way I wanted. Back to the basket, the traditional big man, I didn’t want to be that. I wanted to be able to play like Magic Johnson, who was 6-9, ran the court and shot like a point guard.”

There are not many centers in NBA history that modeled their games after points guards, let alone possibly the greatest point guard off all-time in Johnson. But that could be why Towns is such a unique center with the skill set he has.

Towns can pass, shoot and dribble better than most at his position, and he represents what is changing at center for all of NBA basketball. If he works it, he too could find a way to revolutionize the position, just like Johnson did his.