StaTuesday: Timberwolves' Towns sets records in his second NBA season
I was guilty of it. You were guilty of it. Everyone was guilty of it.
I would sit down for breakfast with a newspaper to check the Wolves’ box score from the night before, only to glance over Karl-Anthony Towns’ stat line of 28 points, 14 rebounds and six assists.
Yawn.
It’s time to wake up, Timberwolves fans. It’s time to reflect on the Big KAT’s sophomore season.
Towns finished the year averaging 25.1 points, 12.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. His 54.2 field-goal percentage led the Timberwolves, and the 101 made 3-pointers was a career high and ranked third on the team.
| Season | G | Min | FG% | 3P% | REB | AST | BLK | PTS |
| 2015-16 | 82 | 32.0 | 54.2 | 34.1 | 10.5 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 18.3 |
| 2016-17 | 82 | 37.0 | 54.2 | 36.7 | 12.3 | 2.7 | 1.3 | 25.1 |
It seemed there was always a fun fact or impressive statistic following Towns through every NBA contest this season.
I’ll start with the most impressive stat: Towns is the only player in NBA history to tally 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 100 3-pointers in a season. I’d love to display a chart to break it down further, but like I said, he’s the only one to do it in the history of the league.
On March 8, Towns tallied his 100th career double-double with this put-back dunk. His 62 double-doubles this season are the most by a player in his sophomore season since Shaquille O’Neal in 1993-94.
| Player | Season | G | DBL-DBL |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1993-94 | 81 | 65 |
| David Robinson | 1990-91 | 82 | 63 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 2016-17 | 82 | 62 |
| Kevin Johnson | 1988-89 | 81 | 62 |
Want more impressive second-season stats? Towns supplied us with plenty. No. 32 is the first NBA sophomore to score over 2,000 points since some guy named LeBron James did it in 2004-05.
| Player | Season | PTS |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1993-94 | 2,377 |
| LeBron James | 2003-04 | 2,175 |
| Vince Carter | 1999-00 | 2,107 |
| David Robinson | 1990-91 | 2,101 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 2016-17 | 2,061 |
Unsurprisingly, Towns ranks at the top of many Timberwolves franchise records. KAT scored 26 points in the final home game to tally the most points ever in a single Timberwolves season, passing up future Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett and sharp-shooting Kevin Love.
| Player | Season | PTS |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 2016-17 | 2,061 |
| Kevin Love | 2013-14 | 2,010 |
| Kevin Garnett | 2003-04 | 1,987 |
| Andrew Wiggins | 2016-17 | 1,933 |
| Tony Campbell | 1989-90 | 1,903 |
Also, consider this: Towns is only 21 years old and doesn’t turn 22 until Nov. 15. He was younger than all 10 starters in the NCAA Tournament title game between North Carolina and Gonzaga.
Towns has yet to miss a game in his career, starting all 82 games the past two seasons. Young, talented and durable, the Big KAT is making his mark in NBA history.
And, again, he’s only 21 years old.
Let that sink in.
Statistics courtesy STATS, basketball-reference.com and StatMuse
