StaTuesday: Towns claims Timberwolves' all-time 40-15 game crown
This just in: Karl-Anthony Towns has broken another Minnesota Timberwolves franchise record.
At age 23, Towns already holds the franchise’s bests for points scored in a single game (56) and season (2,061) as well as offensive rating in a season (126.7).
Again, at age 23.
So it shouldn’t come to any surprise to Timberwolves fans that Towns shattered another record Saturday in Minnesota’s 135-130 overtime win over Washington. In 37 minutes on the floor, Towns logged 40 points and 15 rebounds, good for his sixth career game with at least 40 points and 15 boards.
The Timberwolves have 13 total 40-15 games in franchise history. So Towns now nearly boasts more than Kevin Love, Al Jefferson and Kevin Garnett combined (7).
| PLAYER | DATE | OPP | PTS | REB | RESULT |
| Kevin Garnett | Jan. 4, 2005 | Suns | 47 | 17 | L, 122-115 |
| Al Jefferson | Jan. 27, 2008 | Nets | 40 | 19 | W, 98-95 |
| Kevin Love | Dec. 18, 2010 | Nuggets | 43 | 17 | L, 115-113 |
| Kevin Love | March 28, 2012 | Bobcats | 40 | 19 | W, 88-83 |
| Kevin Love | Dec. 22, 2013 | Clippers | 45 | 19 | L, 120-116 |
| Kevin Love | Feb. 1, 2014 | Hawks | 43 | 19 | L, 120-113 |
| Kevin Love | Feb. 19, 2014 | Pacers | 42 | 16 | W, 104-91 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | Nov. 30, 2016 | Knicks | 47 | 18 | L, 106-104 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | Dec. 17, 2016 | Rockets | 41 | 16 | L, 111-109 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | April 9, 2017 | Lakers | 40 | 21 | L, 110-109 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | March 28, 2018 | Hawks | 56 | 15 | W, 126-114 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | Feb. 28, 2019 | Pacers | 42 | 17 | L, 122-115 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | March 9, 2019 | Wizards | 40 | 15 | W, 135-130 |
Oddly enough, Minnesota is 5-8 overall in those games, and just 2-4 when Towns goes off for 40+ and 15+. But three of those losses in Towns’ reign have been by two points or less.
Want more Towns statistics? Oh, we have some.
Player Efficiency Rating (PER) is a per-minute rating that measures a player’s positive accomplishments (points, rebounds, steals, etc.) and subtracts the negative aspects (turnovers, etc.). Basically, it’s a measure of a player’s impact on the court all in one number.
Through his four seasons (well, three complete seasons and 64 games in 2018-19), Towns owns a PER of 25.0. He’s one of 12 players in NBA history to tally such a PER of 25+ in the first four NBA seasons.
Extend that list to players with a PER of 23+, and you can see Towns is ahead of a few NBA legends.
Better PER than Charles Barkley. Better PER than Tim Duncan. Better PER than LeBron James.
| PLAYER | YEARS | GAMES | PER |
| Wilt Chamberlain | 1960-63 | 311 | 29.9 |
| Michael Jordan | 1985-88 | 264 | 29.1 |
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 1970-73 | 321 | 27.4 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1993-96 | 295 | 26.6 |
| Bob Pettit | 1955-58 | 285 | 26.5 |
| Anthony Davis* | 2013-16 | 260 | 26.3 |
| David Robinson | 1990-93 | 314 | 26.3 |
| Oscar Robinson | 1961-64 | 309 | 26.0 |
| Elgin Baylor | 1959-62 | 261 | 25.9 |
| Chris Paul* | 2006-09 | 300 | 25.8 |
| Neil Johnson | 1952-55 | 278 | 25.0 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns* | 2016-19 | 310 | 25.0 |
| Nikola Jokic* | 2016-19 | 292 | 24.9 |
| Dwyane Wade* | 2004-07 | 264 | 24.4 |
| LeBron James* | 2004-07 | 316 | 24.2 |
| Walt Bellamy | 1962-65 | 319 | 24.1 |
| Charles Barkley | 1985-88 | 310 | 23.7 |
| Tim Duncan | 1998-2001 | 288 | 23.6 |
| Ed Macauley | 1950-53 | 270 | 23.5 |
| Hakeem Olajuwon | 1985-88 | 304 | 23.1 |
| Bob McAdoo | 1973-76 | 314 | 23.0 |
*active
Of the 20 players on this list, 15 of them are retired -- and 14 have their own bust in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The only one who isn’t in the Hall is Tim Duncan, who will be a shoo-in when he’s eligible in 2020.
Yep, Towns is in some good company.
