Mourning for the death of his mother two years ago, in the spring of 2020, carried away by complications linked to Covid-19, Karl-Anthony Towns had lost the passion that bound him to basketball for so many years. ” I’ve seen a lot of coffins in the last few months he explained before the start of the 2020/21 season, after losing seven members of his family to the consequences of the pandemic. ” My relationship with basketball was broken, I had disconnected from the game. Even though I was playing at a high level, it wasn’t the same anymore.«
But today, “KAT” judges that all of this is behind him. While his Wolves officially validated their ticket for the playoffs on April 12, almost two years to the day after the death of his mother on April 13, 2020, the pivot explains that he has finally found the pleasure and passion of the game this season. .
« I got closer to basketball this season. My relationship with this sport has grown stronger. I remember at the beginning of the season, one morning, I arrived at the training hall among the first, as usual,” he says. And I caught myself laughing, smiling. I was happy to be there, happy to see everyone around me, ready to train. It was a feeling found, one that I hadn’t felt in some time. »
Wolves’ collective success as therapy
Author of a season with 24.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.1 against on average per game, the pivot, who became All-Star again after two absences, has indeed regained his best form.
At peace with his grief, he guided the young Minnesota team to the playoffs, and became a leader. ” He loves his teammates, and they support him.” summarized Chris Finch, the Wolves coach. “He feels in his place, he knows that he is fully part of the project. […] He believes a lot in his teammates, he trusts the staff. He has hope, the big players need it. They need to know that they are well enough surrounded to win at the top level. »
His father, Karl Towns Sr, admitted he was very proud of the resilience of his son, who never let his team down despite the obstacles encountered in his personal life.
« Despite the obstacles and what he went through, he showed that he was still a leader. It shows the kind of person he is. And for me, that’s the most important. It’s not his game. It’s his personality, the maturity he shows. He kept fighting, he stayed strong and he got back up. It makes me very happy. »
| Karl-Anthony Towns | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Tirs | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Until | Pd | Fte | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2015-16 | MIN | 82 | 32 | 54.3 | 34.1 | 81.1 | 2.8 | 7.7 | 10.4 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 2.2 | 1.7 | 18.3 |
| 2016-17 | MIN | 82 | 37 | 54.2 | 36.7 | 83.2 | 3.6 | 8.7 | 12.3 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 2.6 | 1.3 | 25.1 |
| 2017-18 | MIN | 82 | 36 | 54.5 | 42.1 | 85.8 | 2.9 | 9.4 | 12.3 | 2.4 | 3.5 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 21.3 |
| 2018-19 | MIN | 77 | 33 | 51.8 | 40.0 | 83.6 | 3.4 | 9.0 | 12.4 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 0.9 | 3.1 | 1.6 | 24.4 |
| 2019-20 | MIN | 35 | 34 | 50.8 | 41.2 | 79.6 | 2.7 | 8.1 | 10.8 | 4.4 | 3.3 | 0.9 | 3.1 | 1.2 | 26.5 |
| 2020-21 | MIN | 50 | 34 | 48.6 | 38.7 | 85.9 | 2.7 | 7.9 | 10.6 | 4.5 | 3.7 | 0.8 | 3.2 | 1.1 | 24.8 |
| 2021-22 | MIN | 74 | 34 | 52.9 | 41.0 | 82.2 | 2.6 | 7.2 | 9.8 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 1.0 | 3.1 | 1.1 | 24.6 |
| Total | 482 | 34 | 52.8 | 39.7 | 83.3 | 3.0 | 8.3 | 11.3 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 0.8 | 2.7 | 1.4 | 23.2 | |
