National Basketball Association

Timberwolves Player Preview: Karl Anthony-Towns

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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This is the thirteenth part in our series previewing the entire Minnesota Timberwolves roster, player-by-player from the least to the most minutes played last season.

Karl-Anthony Towns is entering his second season in the league after a spectacular rookie season that saw him land the Rookie of the Year award.

And with the award has come plenty of national recognition. He was already well-known among even casual NBA fans, from highlight plays a year ago to the big man vs. guard skills competition at the All-Star Break back in February, Towns has made a name for himself.

In fact, the big man out of Kentucky is so good that I don’t like to talk about it; I don’t want to jinx anything. I’m a big believer in superstition and curses when it comes to sports, obviously.

Towns averaged a crazy 18.3 points and 10.5 rebounds — spectacular numbers for a rookie. In my opinion (and probably not only my opinion) Towns had the best rookie season since Shaquille O’Neal in 1992-93.

The best part about rookies — and especially this rookie — is that they only get better. Towns has tons of potential to improve. He’s big, quick for his size, and has a very good jump shot. And let’s not undersell the fact that he’s an outstanding passer and ball-handler for a seven-footer,

Towns even acts like a star in the making, appearing as part of the “Team 2K Lineup” for the new game NBA 2K17. KAT even made a cameo on a Disney show about video games, among other random media appearances that he made over the summer.

After being held back a bit in terms of minutes early in his rookie season by interim coach Sam Mitchell, Towns could be expected to play something like 35 minutes per game. Expectations will be high, of course, but at least his supporting cast and the depth behind him should be much improved.

Teammate Andrew Wiggins was the Rookie of the Year in 2015 prior to Towns winning the award in 2016. With high expectations for rookie Kris Dunn, there’s a chance that the Timberwolves could have each of the last three Rookie of the Year award-winners on their roster.

Personally, I would expect Towns to score around 22 points and grab around 12 or 13 rebounds per game. With a new, defensive-minded coach in Tom Thibodeau, I could even see KAT blocking 2.5 shots per game.

Get excited Timberwolves fans — Karl Anthony-Towns is a player with nothing but upside. Towns isn’t just a video game nerd, of course. He’s also a stellar player and superstar in the making, looking to lead the Wolves to the playoffs for the first time in 12 years.