
Karl-Anthony Towns – Minnesota Timberwolves
2017-18: 82 GP, 21.3 PPG, 54.5%, 1.5 3PM, 12.3 RPG, 1.4 BLK
2018-19: 77 GP, 24.4 PPG, 51.8 FG%, 1.8 3PM, 12.4 RPG, 1.6 BLK
There is an argument to be made for KAT to have been an All-Star in 2016-17. He did compete in the Rising Star Challenge over All-Star weekend, but he had All-Star stats including 25.1 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. A detriment to him, the Minnesota Timberwolves finished that season with a 31-51 mark.
Despite scoring fewer points per game, Towns was named an All-Star in his third season. Minnesota was vastly improved, adding Jimmy Butler and Jeff Teague. The team squeezed into the playoffs as the eighth seed and even stole a game from Houston to avoid a first-round sweep.
In 2018-19, Butler was traded after just 10 games, Head Coach Tom Thibodeau was fired after 40 games, and the Timberwolves were back to the bottom of the pack in the West. Despite all that, Towns did manage to up his scoring average and began to develop the reputation as an outside shooter culminating in more than three made three-points per game last season.
2014 Gatorade National Player of the Year
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) September 4, 2019
2014 McDonald's All-American
2015 SEC Freshman of the Year
2015 No. 1 Overall Pick
2016 Skills Contest Champ
2015-16 Rookie of the Year
2018 All-Star
2018 All-NBA
2019 All-Star
He's just 23.
What do @KarlTowns' next five years look like? pic.twitter.com/C1yzasaDvj
Fans should not expect Domantas Sabonis to develop an outside shot, but he does have a much more established core around him than Towns has.