It’s time to put some respect on Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns‘ name. Many laughed and grunted at the fact of seeing Karl-Anthony Towns on the three-point contest ballot. Immediately after the contest, Towns stormed into the press conference and demands his respect and an answer to his stifling question.
“Who bet against me?” Towns asked with an ear-to-ear grin.
To say the least, whoever did bet against Towns, lost!
I told ya…
— Karl-Anthony Towns (@KarlTowns) February 20, 2022
Although Towns had to shoot like his life depended on it in order to win the competition. Ultimately, he set a three-point contest record emerging as the winner, edging out formidable opponents. Towns defeated Atlanta Hawks Trae Young and Los Angeles Clippers Luke Kennard who both scored 26 points. If anyone bet on Towns to win the competition, let’s just say with 13-1 odds, they are very wealthy people.
Ironically, the last big man to win the three-point contest was also a part of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Kevin Love. He won in 2012; however, Towns is the first center to win the competition ever.
Karl-Anthony Towns is the first center to win the 3-point contest. pic.twitter.com/8zwEk11d2v
— StatMuse (@statmuse) February 20, 2022
Karl-Anthony Towns struggled to join the competition
Towns have been open about his struggles getting into the three-point contest. He says he lobbied the league for years to participate, barely escaping the open round of the competition. Towns took a deep breath for his final shot that just was enough to advance him to the final round.
From that point, Towns fell into the zone. He was upset at himself for not scoring 30, however, once he found out he made history that anger all went away.
“I’m super happy to win,” Towns said. “It’s great, but I just have such high standards for myself. … I’m the biggest critic of myself. There’s no writer, no blogger, no one who could critique and be harsher on their game than me on my game. So I was so messed up about not getting the 30. … I thought 30 was what I was going to need to win in the final round. I was able to scrape by with 29.”
🚨 Karl-Anthony Towns opens the final round of #MtnDew3PT with 29! 🚨
2 shooters left on TNT. #NBAAllStar #StateFarmSaturday pic.twitter.com/lyfAOUv6Es
— NBA (@NBA) February 20, 2022
This may have been more than proving people right for Towns
Towns wore a chain to honor his late mother, Jacqueline Cruz-Towns after the league made an exception to its policy prohibiting jewelry. His mother passed away in April of 2020 due to complications from COVID-19.
Karl-Anthony Towns thanked the NBA for allowing him to wear his mom's chain during the 3-point contest – an exception to the rule that didn't allow them to wear any jewelry during the competition.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) February 20, 2022
In Saturday night’s final round, Towns seemed to be more confident and was ready to set a mark. Obviously, things went as scripted for Towns. Oddly, he asked to go first among the other competitors.
“Just tremendously confident in my shooting ability and wanted to go first,” Towns said. “I wanted to keep pressure on everybody, get a high number that makes it feel almost unattainable.”
“The energy that I had all day wasn’t nervousness or anxious, it was super confident, and I can’t wait to show the world what I can do when given this platform and stage,” Towns continued.
This three-point contest meant more than just a competition to Towns. He was out to further prove to everyone, he’s the best shooting big man of all time. Not to mention, he prides himself in being a role model for the kids, showing them they can play their games freely.
