1. Karl-Anthony Towns was selected with the first overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
53 Facts About Karl-Anthony Towns
1. 2.
Karl-Anthony Towns is second on the Timberwolves' all-time scoring list.
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Karl-Anthony Towns led the team to the Western Conference finals in 2024, their first appearance in 20 years.
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Karl-Anthony Towns is a five-time NBA All-Star, a two-time All-NBA Team member, and became the first center to win the NBA Three-Point Contest in 2022.
5.
Karl-Anthony Towns was born in Edison, New Jersey to an African-American father, Karl Karl-Anthony Towns Sr.
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Karl-Anthony Towns grew up in Piscataway, New Jersey, and attended Lake Nelson Seventh-Day Adventist School, before transferring to Theodore Schor Middle School from Our Lady of Fatima School in 2009.
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Karl-Anthony Towns's father played basketball for Monmouth University and coached basketball at Piscataway Technical High School, where the precocious Karl-Anthony Towns practiced with the junior varsity team as a fifth grader.
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Karl-Anthony Towns led his team to state titles in 2013 and 2014.
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Karl-Anthony Towns was selected at the age of 16 to play on the Dominican Republic national basketball team.
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Karl-Anthony Towns was eligible based on the fact that his mother is from the Dominican Republic.
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In December 2012, Karl-Anthony Towns announced that he was going to reclassify as a senior and commit to play on the Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team under Coach John Calipari.
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Karl-Anthony Towns graduated from high school with a 3.96 GPA on a 4.5 scale.
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Karl-Anthony Towns was named the 2014 Gatorade Player of the Year.
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On January 6,2013, Karl-Anthony Towns recorded a quadruple-double with 16 points, 17 rebounds, 11 blocks and 11 assists.
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Karl-Anthony Towns recorded a second quadruple-double on January 5,2014, with 20 points, 14 rebounds, 12 blocks and 10 assists.
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Karl-Anthony Towns averaged 20.9 points, 13.4 rebounds and 6.2 blocks per game as a senior.
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Karl-Anthony Towns studied kinesiology in his one year at Kentucky, and hopes to become a doctor after his basketball career.
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Karl-Anthony Towns was named a second-team All-American by the Associated Press and NABC, and a third-team All-American by Sporting News.
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However, due to strong play in the NCAA Tournament, and a growing consensus that Karl-Anthony Towns was a better defensive player and had an opportunity to become a better offensive player as well, Karl-Anthony Towns overtook Okafor in most draft rankings.
20.
On June 25,2015, Karl-Anthony Towns was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the first overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft.
21.
Over his first 13 games of the season, Karl-Anthony Towns averaged 16.0 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.
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Four days later, in a loss to the Houston Rockets, Karl-Anthony Towns passed Christian Laettner for the franchise's rookie scoring record with 1,475 points.
23.
Karl-Anthony Towns earned Western Conference Rookie of the Month honors in each of the season's six months, becoming the first Timberwolves player to do so.
24.
At 21 years old, Karl-Anthony Towns became the third-youngest player in the last three decades to have at least 45 points and 15 rebounds in a game.
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Karl-Anthony Towns had his 100th career double-double in the win, becoming the second-youngest player in league history to reach that mark, behind only Dwight Howard.
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Karl-Anthony Towns surpassed Kevin Love during the game to set a franchise record for points in a season.
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Karl-Anthony Towns finished in the top 10 in almost every statistical category in NBA history compiled prior to the player's 22nd birthday.
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Karl-Anthony Towns ranked eighth in points, third in rebounds and second in double-doubles, trailing only Dwight Howard.
29.
On December 14,2017, against the Sacramento Kings, Karl-Anthony Towns had 30 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and five blocks, joining Kevin Garnett as the only Wolves players to collect 30+ points, 10+ rebounds, 5+ assists and 5+ blocks in a single game.
30.
On January 23,2018, Karl-Anthony Towns was named a Western Conference All-Star reserve.
31.
Karl-Anthony Towns became the youngest player with 50 points and 15 rebounds in a game since Shaquille O'Neal on April 20,1994, against the Timberwolves.
32.
Karl-Anthony Towns finished the season with 68 double-doubles, the most in the NBA.
33.
On September 23,2018, Karl-Anthony Towns signed a five-year, $190 million super-maximum extension with the Timberwolves.
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Karl-Anthony Towns finished the season with the highest rebounding average of his career to date, at 12.4 rebounds per game.
35.
Karl-Anthony Towns finished the season with the highest scoring average of his career to date, at 26.5 points per game.
36.
On December 27,2020, Karl-Anthony Towns joined Hall-of-Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Tim Duncan, Elgin Baylor and David Robinson as the only players in NBA history to accumulate over 8,000 points, 4,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists in 360 games or less.
37.
In mid-January 2021, Karl-Anthony Towns contracted COVID-19 and missed 13 games.
38.
On February 3, Karl-Anthony Towns was named a reserve for the 2022 NBA All-Star Game.
39.
Karl-Anthony Towns was efficient in doing so, shooting 19-of-31 from the field, including 7-of-11 from beyond the arc.
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Karl-Anthony Towns became the first player in Timberwolves franchise history with multiple 50-plus point, 10-plus rebound games.
41.
Karl-Anthony Towns joined Shaquille O'Neal and Wilt Chamberlain as the only centers in NBA history to have a 60-point, 15-rebound outing.
42.
Karl-Anthony Towns entered the fourth quarter with 56 points and 14 boards to join Carmelo Anthony as the only two players in the last 20 seasons with 50 or more points and 10 or more rebounds through three quarters.
43.
On October 2,2024, Karl-Anthony Towns was traded to the New York Knicks as part of a three-team trade with the Charlotte Hornets.
44.
Karl-Anthony Towns was 17-of-25 from the field, 4-for-5 from 3-point range, and 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.
45.
On January 25,2025, Karl-Anthony Towns was named as an Eastern Conference starter for the 2025 NBA All-Star Game.
46.
Karl-Anthony Towns recorded 40 points in consecutive games for the first time in his career.
47.
Karl-Anthony Towns joined Patrick Ewing, Bernard King, Carmelo Anthony and Jalen Brunson as the only Knicks players with at least 40 points in consecutive games.
48.
Karl-Anthony Towns has represented the Dominican Republic national team internationally since 2012.
49.
Karl-Anthony Towns debuted for his country at the 2012 Centrobasket, when he was age 16.
50.
Karl-Anthony Towns averaged 24.4 points, fifth-most in the tournament, as well as 8 rebounds over five games.
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Karl-Anthony Towns excels working in pick-and-pop sets, daring defenders to leave him isolated on the 3-point line.
52.
Karl-Anthony Towns has stated that six other family members have died after contracting COVID-19.
53.
In 2024, Karl-Anthony Towns received the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion Award from the NBA for his social justice work.