Karl-Anthony Towns Wins Western Conference Player of the Week

It has been announced that Minnesota Timberwolves star big man Karl-Anthony Towns is the Western Conference Player of the Week.

For those who watched, this should come as no surprise. Towns finished the week with per-game averages of 32.0 points, 13.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 3.0 steals and 2.0 blocks. Whew. He led Minnesota to a surprising 3-0 start, and posted those raw numbers by shooting over 50% from the field and behind the three-point line.

The per-game averages and win/loss record are obviously great, but what should be most encouraging is the distribution skills as well as the defensive numbers. That kind of production keeps Minnesota at least relatively in the hunt for the 8th seed in the West for a while, as well as making Towns an MVP candidate.

Is Towns likely to continue playing at this torrid pace? Maybe not quite, given that he won’t shoot over 50% from three all year long and the stock numbers aren’t entirely sustainable. The scoring, rebound, and passing are, though, and the scoring numbers should stabilize once Towns settles back in at the free throw line, where he inexplicably made only 17 of 27 attempts.

At any rate, Towns absolutely deserved this honor to start the season, and it’s great to see KAT get rewarded. Let’s enjoy some highlights.