Karl-Anthony Towns' poster dunk would make Jimmy Butler proud
Karl-Anthony Towns delivered a message to Denver Nuggets forward Paul Millsap on Wednesday with a thundering dunk that might as well have been carbon copied to Jimmy Butler.
His monster and-1 move was the exact kind of aggression Butler was demanding from his then teammate in Minnesota.
Butler blasted Towns for being soft
Butler left Minnesota in a fit, upset without a long-term commitment and blasting his teammates in public and private for not being alpha enough.
Towns was a prime target of Butler’s, on the receiving end of his infamous practice tirade insults of “They ain’t s—!” and “They soft!” that also was assumed to include Andrew Wiggins.
Butler later doubled down on that stance in an interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols.
“Am I being tough on him, yeah? That’s who I am. I’m not the most talented player. Who’s the most talented player on our team? KAT. Who’s the most God-gifted player on our team? Wiggs. … Who plays the hardest? Me. I play hard. I play really hard.”
Timberwolves need more of this from Towns
Towns is also a frequent target of Timberwolves fans who also recognize his immense talent but lament the big man’s sometimes tendency to hang out on the perimeter as a 3-point shooter.
That dunk on Millsap was a prime example of not hanging out on the perimeter and surely put smiles on the faces of frustrated Timberwolves fans.
But the Nuggets would go on to a 103-101 win, dropping the Timberwolves to 7-11 on the season. Towns logged 22 points and seven rebounds on 14 field goal attempts, right at his average of 14.5 on the season.
A player with his talent and physical prowess should be taking closer to 20 shots a game. Until he shows more aggression like he did against Millsap, things aren’t likely to turn around for the Timberwolves.
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