Karl-Anthony Towns is entering his 8th year in the NBA and it is time for him to start leaving a winning history behind him. The 1st overall pick from the 2015 Draft, Towns has proven his individual ability over the years with a hist of All-Star appearances. However, the Timberwolves have only made the playoffs twice in his time with the franchise.
The latest playoff appearance came this season. Even though the Wolves lost to the Memphis Grizzlies, they put on a gutsy showing with their young core. Some of the young core has been traded to the Utah Jazz so that the Wolves could acquire Rudy Gobert in a win-now move.
Towns has started calling the 2022-23 season a ‘championship or bust’ year for the Wolves, something that has been mocked by others. Former NBA All-Star Eddie Johnson hasn’t mocked KAT, instead praising his mentality.
Timberwolves star Towns says “It’s championship or bust” for his squad!@JumpShot8 says Karl-Anthony’s comments are more about motivation than prediction. pic.twitter.com/bl8cPn1aXx
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) July 28, 2022
“Everybody’s record is 0-0. In order to get to the second round, you’ve got to say ‘hey guys, we are going to make the Conference Finals’. You have got to say this stuff. Karl-Anthony Towns knows there is talent in the West, but I thought what he said was excellent because what it did was put pressure on the guys on his team to show up in shape, to stay focused, to believe, and if they come up short in the second round, they probably wouldn’t have got there if he hadn’t said that… He’s put himself in the line of fire if it backfires, but I think he’s ready to accept that.”
The Wolves have given up most of their future capital to acquire Gobert, so every season with Rudy on the team is championship or bust.
Towns recognizes the amount of value Minnesota has invested in Gobert, so they need to deliver, or else the team is left without much of a future beyond their stars.
