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 really happy to win,” Towns said. “It’s great, but I have very high expectations for myself. I’m my own toughest critic. No writer or blogger could be harsher in critiquing my game than me. So I was upset about not reaching 30 points. I believed that 30 was necessary to win in the final round. However, I managed to win 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.
“I had a lot of confidence in my shooting and wanted to go first,” Towns said. “I wanted to put pressure on everyone and set a high score that would seem almost impossible to beat.””The energy I felt all day wasn’t nervousness or anxiety, but rather a strong sense of confidence. I’m excited to demonstrate my abilities to the world on this platform and stage,” Towns expressed.
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. He’s proud to be a role model for kids, teaching them to play without constraints.