NBA Rumors: Minnesota Timberwolves Rookie Karl Anthony Towns Winning Award

NBA rumors are swirling around Karl Anthony Towns. According to ESPN, the former Kentucky Wildcats star is set to be named the Rookie of the Year. Towns is being called the best rookie big man since Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs. To win the award, he had to beat out Kristaps Porzingis of the New York Knicks and Jahlil Okafor of the Philadelphia 76ers. The future of the Minnesota Timberwolves rests in his hands.

Consistency was the reason why Karl Anthony Towns was able to beat out Kristaps Porzingis and Jahlil Okafor for the NBA Rookie of the Year award. All three of them were able to put up good numbers and big games. However, Towns was able to do it more consistently. Jahlil Okafor could have had a much better season, but the Philadelphia 76ers center had off court issues. Porzingis looked like he was winning the award, but his body had trouble adjusting to the grueling schedule.

Consistency is probably the biggest reason why Tim Duncan is one of the greatest players in the history of the NBA. Karl Anthony Towns has drawn comparisons to the San Antonio Spurs legend, which is a very flattering thing for anyone that plays basketball for a living. Earlier in the season, Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Kevin Durant stated that he believed that Towns is going to be in the hall of fame some day.

Minnesota Timberwolves management is hoping that Karl Anthony Towns becomes the same type of franchise player that Tim Duncan was for the San Antonio Spurs. The Timberwolves have been seeking a franchise player since Kevin Love was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Love put up tremendous numbers for Minnesota, but he was never able to get them to the NBA Playoffs. That’s something that Towns hopes to be able to do.

Karl Anthony Towns has some competition for the franchise player title with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Andrew Wiggins isn’t about to concede that spot too easily. He won the Rookie of the Year last season. For a team that has missed the NBA Playoffs for the past 12 years, their rebuilding phase has been given quite a boost by drafting Wiggins and Towns in consecutive drafts. They now have their building blocks in place.

Since they have been one of the worst teams in the NBA for quite some time now, the Minnesota Timberwolves have been afforded the opportunity of stacking their roster. The supporting cast for Andrew Wiggins and Karl Anthony Towns is pretty good. Ricky Rubio, Zach LaVine, Gorgui Dieng and Shabazz Muhammed are all gifted players, and they each bring something different to the Timberwolves. If this group can grow together, then they can be perennial contenders like they were when Kevin Garnett was the franchise player.

Another thing that will help the Minnesota Timberwolves break their long NBA Playoffs drought is their new head coach. The franchise pulled off quite a victory when they were able to land Tom Thibodeau as their new head coach. He was highly praised by those in the league for his work with the Chicago Bulls. Many feel that he will be the one to help the Timberwolves turn things around and become contenders again.

As someone that has repeatedly stated that he’s not interested in individual accolades, Karl Anthony Towns isn’t going to make a big deal about the NBA Rookie of the Year award. He’ll probably do the same thing if he ever wins the Most Valuable Player award, something that might actually happen if he continues to be consistent and grow as a basketball player.

[Photo by Kevin C Cox/Getty Images]