The Timberwolves Have a Stiff Playoff Test. Karl-Anthony Towns Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way

A little over 10 months ago, Karl-Anthony Towns capped an offseason of prodigious boasting by telling GQ he was saving his finger for a championship ring. And then he backed up the big talk by helping the Timberwolves finish with one of best records in the NBA. That’s to say: Karl-Anthony Towns could so easily dunk on his haters right now. But he turns down the alley-oop.

It’s a day after the Timberwolves wrapped up their regular season and Towns is on the phone from Minnesota. Reflecting on the ups and downs of a super successful 2023-24 season that saw him make his fourth All-Star appearance and his squad earn home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, I ask KAT if he feels even the slightest bit of vindication over the critics who scoffed at his statements.

“You know what, I’m not worried about all of that,” he says. “In the end, I think it’ll be a very funny story to have that moment come to fruition with a deep playoff run.”

Even if the vibes are good—actually, really good—following a 56-win campaign that earned the Wolves the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, the pressure to change two narratives is palpable. Minnesota needs KAT to play as big as his 7-foot frame if it’s going to win its first playoff series in two decades, and KAT’s eager to prove himself as a playoff performer.

“We should have fun with this challenge and do something that hasn’t been seen here in Minnesota in a long time,” he says, “and we have an amazing team that has a chance to do it.”

Ahead of Saturday’s Game 1 showdown with Phoenix, GQ Sports caught up with the affable Towns to discuss his quicker-than-predicted return from surgery, Anthony Edwards’ astonishing feats of athleticism, playoffs vs. regular-season fits, and doing it the “Minnesota way” this spring.

What are the vibes like in Minnesota right now?

The vibes are good. They’re really good. Fans are excited about the opportunity of going deep in this postseason. Our team is really excited for the opportunity to showcase our talent at the highest level. For me personally, I’m just happy to be back playing basketball and where I love to be, which is on the court and on the sidelines.

You missed 18 games after tearing your meniscus in March, but you returned quicker than expected. How’d you defy the original timeline? Because initially it was reported you may not be back until the second round.

Attacking my rehab—allowing nothing to stop my progression in my rehab and attacking it full throttle. I had an unwavering determination and motivation to get back on the court. I was so locked in to being back to playing basketball. Seeing my team and understanding the opportunity that’s in front of us. The vibes and momentum we have, we have the chance to do something special. I wanted to be back on the court before the playoffs. I know my projection was to be back into the playoffs and all that, but I’ve been known to be a great patient and a quick healer so I was praying I would have the same results and glad I did.

How did you combat the disappointment and frustration of losing a month to injury when your team was rolling?

It was disappointing knowing I was having the best season of my career, I felt from an overall standpoint, and to have an injury that I suffered in a game, and finished the game with, and thinking after the game I didn’t have what I have. Tears were shed. I’m a player that lives to play the game of basketball and a player that was known, especially early in my career, for my durability. It was really tough to get the news of what happened. I’m sick of being hurt. I put so much time and effort into my body to stay as healthy as possible and be willing to take on whatever the stresses of the NBA season are. Mentally I’ve worked tremendously hard to not only take care of myself on the court, but also off the court.

It was extremely tough to get that news out of nowhere when I wasn’t expecting it. But I remember that moment of having some tears shed, having to call my girlfriend and having to call my father and hearing the doctors say, “Let’s give him a minute. I know this must be bad.” To me, it sounded like a weakness. I got competitive. You try not to give into the problem. I remember vividly the doctors saying that and then the tears stopped and I said, “Let’s get to work.” He looked at me like he was stunned my emotions changed so quick. Since that moment, there were no more tears shed but an unwavering determination and discipline to get back on the court quicker than what they told me I could do. I approached this rehab with ferocity and mental discipline that was going to be unmatched by my contemporaries. It’s ok to cry. It’s ok to show moments of emotion. But I was never going to allow those emotions to take over.

After last season, you were confident about the championship aspirations of the Wolves and your commitment to winning a ring in Minnesota. Haters laughed at that. Are you the one laughing heading into the playoffs?

This ain’t the moment to have that kind of moment. I told the world my aspirations, I told the world how I felt about my team, and how I felt about this upcoming season. I’m glad to say I was right about our team and our growth. But we have a lot more work to do. We’ve only made it out of the first round once in team history. This is the perfect time with the perfect opponent. Like I told one of our young fellas, nothing in the playoffs is easy and there are no preferred matchups. You take what’s given to you and make the most of it.

Alright, let’s dive into that. There have been a few headlines that said the Wolves ended up with a nightmare opponent in the first-round (since the Suns were 3-0 against you guys in the regular season). But from the quotes you gave after Sunday’s loss to Phoenix, you’re all about this challenge. Why?

It’s only right for a team like us that has talked about our aspirations and goals—it was never going to be easy. So it’s only right for us to even make it to the second round, it would [come against] one of our hardest opponents, an opponent we’ve struggled with all year. I’m excited. That’s what gets you up for games, when you get to go up against the best at this level. I remember leaving [Sunday’s regular-season finale] and just smiling. And my dad and girlfriend were like, What’s wrong? This is what it’s about. It’s about competing and the challenge. To do something special is going to be very difficult and it’s only right that we have to do it the Minnesota way, which is to go the toughest route.

How palpable is the pressure on you and your teammates to change the narrative around the Wolves franchise since it hasn’t won a playoff series in 20 years?

I mean, obviously the pressure is there. You want to do something special. We had an amazing season. It’s more about not wasting the work we put into the season. We couldn’t have asked for a better position. We got the home-court advantage [in the first round]. We’ve grown every single day, have a great record. And the talent that we’ve always talked about we possess in our locker room—starters to Naz Reid, the Sixth Man of the Year, Monte Morris, Kyle Anderson—for the NBA fan to see it is something that we’ve talked about and achieved. But there’s obviously pressure to break the narrative, the mold that has been set here, and beat the odds. But history is meant to be broken.

And the last Minnesota team to do it featured your boy Kevin Garnett, who is a mentor of yours and of course a Wolves legend. Has KG blessed you with any wisdom ahead of this playoff run about how to handle the pressure?

We’ve had talks all year, but I’m definitely going to make that call to lean into his experience and wisdom during this playoff run. But it doesn’t matter if we were the No. 1 seed playing the No. 8 seed, the second seed playing the seventh seed, or where we are—the third seed playing the sixth seed. Nothing is going to be given. Regardless of the opponent, we were going to be playing one of the toughest opponents in the NBA and earn our way into the second round. If there is any team better to test our mettle, test our discipline, and test all the things we said we are before the season, if we truly are that championship pedigree team, it would be against this team.

How would you describe the difference in intensity of regular-season basketball compared to playoff basketball?

It’s different. People will take away what your best thing is and make it very difficult for you to do it. But also they test your discipline. The biggest thing I’ve seen in the playoffs every year is your discipline is tested and your patience is tested. The pressure is increased and a lot of things you’re used to seeing in the regular-season are taken out. It’s a totally different intensity, it’s a different kind of defensive game plan against players, and a totally different scheme. You see the same opponent night in, night out. It’s a totally different game. And it’s fun. As fans, I know they appreciate playoff basketball because the players do, too. It’s a really fun time to play basketball. There’s a lot of blood, sweat, and tears put into this game so we can be the best versions of ourselves.

How did you react when you saw Anthony Edwards’ dunk [over John Collins]?

Wow. I remember watching it. I was home, in L.A. doing rehab after surgery, and I kind of levitated, like jumped off the couch a little bit. I pushed my girlfriend so hard by complete accident because I was in such shock at what just happened. I said to her, “I may have just seen legal murder and I don’t know how I should feel about that.” I joke around with Ant and say he made me put 2K on and turn all the sliders up on the dunks and see if I can recreate that dunk and I never got close. It’ll be one of those magical dunks we talk about with Vince Carter jumping over the 7-footer in the Olympics or DeAndre Jordan’s alley-oop dunk over [Brandon] Knight for a long time.

But what was better: Ant’s dunk or his block?

The block scared me more because of how high he jumped. I was more worried he was going to get hurt. When he dunked it, I was so caught up in the energy of the dunk that when he was looking at his finger I said, “He must’ve cut it. Who cares about that? You just DUNKED that ball.” I should’ve had more concern about the dunk than the block. But the dunk had so much energy that it was unbelievable. The block was incredible, but I really thought Jaden McDaniels was going to get it.

I was laughing because being with Ant for so long—since Day 1 of him being drafted—Ant always has chances for these dunks and he always misses it. So it was crazy to see him make it for the first time.

How do the playoff fits differ from regular-season fits?

I treat most of the games like it’s a playoff game. I’m always trying to get a fit off. It won’t be too much different for me personally. But I’ll definitely have a little more fun on a more national stage to show my sense of style and personality. Win the game before the game, right?

Something I’ve noticed: Is 50 Cent becoming the Minnesota version of Spike Lee? Because I’ve seen him sitting courtside at a lot of Wolves games lately.

[Laughs] His liquor is the official spirit of the Timberwolves and I know he has a lot of fun coming to the games with [Alex Rodriguez]. It’s great to see 50 Cent and for me being a Jersey kid, an East Coast kid, 50 Cent is a legend our way. To have a legend like that at our games—I remember buying Get Rich or Die Tryin’ at Best Buy and going to the mall and hearing him around—makes life come full circle.

Originally Appeared on GQ