The Minnesota Timberwolves are finally finding success this season, as Karl-Anthony Towns is finding happiness with his current situation.
The Timberwolves are currently 11-11, as they appear to be a safe bet to at least be a play-in team this season.
KAT Enjoying Playing With His Teammates
A huge part of the Timberwolves’ success boils down to their chemistry, as just a little over two weeks ago they were staring at a 4-9 record.
“We hang with each other,” Karl-Anthony Towns tells Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. “No other team I’ve played on got along so well.”
Towns came into the NBA with high expectations as the first pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, as he was voted by most GMs across the league as the top player they’d like to build their franchise around.
As KAT has progressed throughout his career, he has learned the value of having great teammates surrounding him.
“I thought I had that LeBron [James] effect,” Towns said. “I could come in and just do it by myself. But this is the NBA. You realize you really can’t do it by yourself.
“It takes a team of people who are willing to sacrifice and be the stars in their roles to really make winning happen. And it takes more than one person. And especially in the league, we’re talking about we’re playing now, it takes two, three superstars to have a chance.”
It also helps that Towns is paired up with one of his best friends in D’Angelo Russell, as the duo is finally getting extended run out there on the court while thriving together.
Towns’ own head coach sees a difference in KAT this season as compared to last.
“There’s just way more joy in his game,” Chris Finch said. “Just comes to work happier. He likes his team. He likes the fact that we’re winning, that we’re competitive every night. He’s come into this season with the mindset to get back to what he feels he is in this league, which is an All-NBA-caliber guy. That’s his mission and he’s been a joy to coach since I got here, and this year he’s really, really focused and seems happy.”
Bigger Than Basketball
When it comes to evaluating a basketball player, people tend to focus heavily on stats, film observations and winning.
KAT and the Timberwolves have had trouble winning in recent years, but what shouldn’t be ignored is the mental strength Towns is displaying out there by showing up for his team night in and night out as a leader and continuing to have a desire to turn things around for a moribund franchise despite losing his mother and several other family members to COVID-19 within the last two years.
Seeing Towns being the face of a turnaround is a beautiful thing to see, and the basketball world should continue to root for his success as he looks to find happiness in life again on and off the court.
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