Karl-Anthony Towns finally made the postseason during the 2017-18 season. Towns was instrumental in Minnesota making it to the playoffs for the first time since the 2003-04 campaign, as the third-year big man averaged 21.3 points and 12.3 rebounds a night for the Timberwolves.
But the team didn’t punch its postseason ticket until the very last day of the regular season in just about the most dramatic way you can imagine. Minnesota hosted Denver with the final playoff spot in the Western Conference on the line, and in what might have been the NBA’s game of the year, the Timberwolves scratched and clawed their way to a 112-106 victory.
Prior to attending the 2018 Gatorade Athlete of the Year ceremony, Towns sat down with Dime to discuss that game, his love of Fortnite, and what he plans on working on during the biggest offseason of his young but promising career.
Who are your favorite NBA players to play Fortnite against?
I think the only NBA players I’ve really played Fortnite against were Josh Hart, Frank Kaminsky, and Larry Nance, pretty fun to play with them there. Frank is hilarious, Larry’s so laid back, and Josh is obviously the entertainer, so it’s pretty fun to play against them.
Are you a big Fortnite guy, or is it something that you only play when you get a chance to link up with those dudes?
Whenever I get the chance and I get some rest time I definitely play some Fortnite. I played with those three guys, but I think that the funniest guy I ever get to play Fortnite with and against is — well, only with, because you can’t play against anyone — I love, I love playing Fortnite with Andrew Wiggins. He’s hilarious and probably the funniest one of them all. I played a lot of games with them and every single time I get to play with him it’s a huge thrill.
Do you have an especially fun story of playing with Andrew?
I don’t think many people know that side of him who actually talks, but it’s a lot of fun when he’s speaking with his Canadian accent and really upset about something happening in the game. It’s a lot of fun to play with Andrew, I’ll tell you that much.
I want to ask about that final regular season game that y’all played this past year. What’s the energy like in the locker room and in the arena when you’re walking into what is essentially a one-game playoff?
What you’re essentially walking into is a college game. You’re walking into a March Madness game and there are things on the line. It was magical, it was the best NBA game I’ve ever been a part of and I’ve been part of pretty good ones. I don’t think that that game will be topped pretty soon. That game just had everything you wanted, it had thrill, it had excitement, anticipation, it had a sense of loss, and then fine sense of success and then going to overtime because you can’t get it done in the first 48 minutes. I think that game had it all for, not only for us as players, but it had it all for the fans. I think they were really in for a treat and in my opinion it was the game of the year.
Kind of looking forward, what’s your approach been to this offseason? Has it been “Let’s go full speed ahead after last year,” or are you taking some time to reflect and get your mind into 2018-19 mode?
It’s the same thing every offseason. I go out to the gym and my goal every offseason is to get to a point and a level in my game where I’m ready to go out there and beat anyone without the same jersey as me. It’s just always going out there and having a lot of fun. Obviously working my tail off and just making sure I can be the best player I can possibly be for my teammates.
What’s the big thing you want to work on this summer and where’s the place where the Timberwolves can stand to improve the most between now and the start of this upcoming season?
In the end I just want to be the best player I can be so I’m working on every aspect so I can be as sharp as possible for my teammates, and obviously we have a lot of things we got to do to be the best team so we have a lot of things to do.
So you’re a past winner of the Gatorade Male Athlete of the Year award. There are a million awards that get handed out to high school athletes. What is it that makes this one so special?
I think this award, what makes it truly more special than any other award, is that Gatorade takes the time to not only see the player for what he’s done on the court, or on the pitch, or on the pavement, but just also see what they have been able to do or change in their community. That how positive they’ve been able to be for society. So when you have a company like Gatorade who takes the time to put all that information together and see who’s not only the best player but the best athletes, student-athletes, nd also the best humans, it just speaks volumes.
