As crazy as it sounds, the #1 overall pick from the 2015 NBA Draft, Karl-Anthony Towns, has been having a historic rookie season that has gone a bit under the radar. Kobe Bryant’s farewell tour and the Warriors’ incredible season have taken away some of the national attention from this year’s top rookie. The fact that Towns plays in the small market of Minneapolis doesn’t help his publicity either, even though he is putting together a rookie season that we haven’t seen from a center drafted first overall since Shaquille O’Neal entered the league in 1992. Towns has been a bright spot for the Timberwolves, and he is a superstar in the making.
Towns has flourished as a rookie, surpassing fellow Kentucky Wildcat, Anthony Davis, through the first two months of their respective rookie seasons. He is averaging 15.9 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 1.9 blocks per game while shooting 52% from the floor. He has been a beast down low, finding ways to score around the rim and blocking shots on the opposite end; Towns is a complete player who has transitioned as smoothly as one could expect to the NBA. His rookie leading 17 double doubles and 21.69 player efficiency rating also prove that Towns is clearly at the top of this rookie class.
One of the most underrated aspects of Towns’ game is his ability to shoot, as he is an 85% free throw shooter, which is higher than most guards, and he has surprisingly made 10 three pointers this season at a 35% clip, which is very respectable for a rookie center who is not really known for his shooting ability. In comparison, fellow rookie big man Kristaps Porzingis, who is known for his shooting ability, is shooting 33% from beyond the arc.
From a historical perspective, Towns is enjoying a better rookie season, statistically speaking, than both Dwight Howard and Yao Ming did, both of whom were first overall draft selections. Keep in mind, Towns is just twenty years old, and when he made his NBA debut just a few months ago, he was still a teenager. It’s absolutely ridiculous to imagine how much better and stronger Towns can become as he grows older considering he is already among the league’s best centers. In fact, the case could be made that he already deserves a spot on the Western Conference All-Star team.
In Minnesota, the young nucleus of core players led by Towns and Andrew Wiggins should provide a promising future for the Timberwolves. Kevin Garnett’s mentorship and leadership has been invaluable to Towns’ development, and it appears as if a young, emerging team in a small market like the Timberwolves is the perfect franchise for Towns to begin his career. While the rest of the NBA obsesses over Kristaps Porzingis’ flare in New York City and Jahlil Okafor’s off the court troubles in Philly, Karl-Anthony Towns continues to dominate in what has been a phenomenal rookie season for the #1 overall pick. It’s time for the media to give Towns the respect and attention that he deserves.
