Minneapolis/St. Paul – The Minnesota Timberwolves announced the team has signed All-NBA center Karl-Anthony Towns to a multi-year contract extension. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released.
Towns, 22, has appeared in 246 games over three seasons with Minnesota averaging 21.6 points, 11.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.4 blocks per game while posting career shooting percentages of 54.3% from the field, 38.7% from the three-point line and 83.6% from the charity stripe. The 7-0 center has increased his shooting percentages in each category in each of his first three seasons in the NBA, including hitting on a career-best 42.1% from downtown last season, which ranked him 14th in the NBA. Selected No. 1 overall in the 2015 NBA Draft by the Wolves, Towns is the first player in NBA history to accumulate 5,000+ points, 2,500+ rebounds and 250+ 3-pointers over his first three seasons in the NBA.
In his third NBA season, Towns finished the 2017-18 campaign ranked fourth in the NBA in rebounding (12.3 rpg), 20th in scoring (21.3 ppg) and 11th in blocks (1.40 bpg) en route to earning All-NBA Third Team and NBA All-Star honors for the first time in his career. Towns also set career marks in field goal accuracy (54.5% - second-highest percentage in franchise history), free-throw percentage (85.8%) and three-point percentage. He set the franchise record for single-game scoring when he tallied 56 points against Atlanta on Mar. 28, becoming the fourth Wolves player to record 50+ points in a game. Towns also led the league in double-doubles in 2017-18 with 68 (182 career). He was named Western Conference Player of the Week on Nov. 20 (third career honor), after posting averages of 20.3 points, 12.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists.
The Piscataway, New Jersey, native was named the 2016 NBA Rookie of the Year after averaging 18.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.68 blocks in 32.0 minutes per game his rookie season.Towns ranked eighth in the NBA in rebounding, eighth in field goal accuracy, 10th in blocks, 26th in scoring and third in double-doubles (52). He was chosen as the Western Conference Player of the Week for Apr. 4-10 (the first Wolves rookie to be so honored) and swept all six Western Conference Rookie of the Month awards. Towns won the Taco Bell Skills Challenge on February 13 as part of All-Star Weekend in Toronto.