Karl-Anthony Towns made his return to the NBA with a purpose: to play for his mom. Towns lost his mother Jacqueline on April 13th of just this year, due to complications from COVID-19.
KAT put up a 23 point double-double in the 101-111 Minnesota Timberwolves’ win over the Detroit Pistons. It has been 288 days since Towns has played in a regular-season NBA game, in that time his life has changed in monumental ways.
The largest event to happen to KAT was to see his mother die from complications due to Coronavirus, the very reason why the league shut down in the first place. Understandably, Karl was very emotional after receiving the news.
KAT: "That Karl died on April 13. He ain't coming back. You're talking to the physical me … That man you're talking about from April 13 or before, I don't know him. He ain't there."
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) December 24, 2020
Here’s the full quote from KAT when asked about how the team’s game-to-game mindset compared to previous seasons pic.twitter.com/5cXuk4Gj7X
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) December 24, 2020
The Timberwolves won their first game back after not being invited to play in the NBA playoff bubble in Orlando. Towns said in his postgame interview with FOX that he wanted to win the game for his mother.
"It was heavy. It was different. It's just always different. I'm just happy I got this for her."
An emotional KAT chats with @MarneyGellner after playing his first NBA game since his mother's passing. pic.twitter.com/GB3QTZoOx8
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) December 24, 2020
“It meant a lot, selfishly for me it meant a lot… I’m just happy I got this for her.”
The Coronavirus pandemic has affected the lives of everyone across the globe. Every day in the US reports come out of more and more people dying from the disease. For an issue that at first seemed like a distant problem to hit so close to home has unfortunately been the case for too many Americans, and the NBA is no different.
The drive and motivation to play for his mother KAT could easily translate to the win column for the Timberwolves. The two-time All-Star will be playing alongside 2020 first overall pick Anthony Edwards, it will be interesting if KAT’s emotional intensity will rub off on the promising young rookie.
