Mitchell HansenWeb Editorial AssociateTwitter
In his second season in the NBA, Karl-Anthony Towns has made impressive improvements off of his Rookie of the Year campaign.
In his sophomore season, he has reached milestones that no other Minnesota Timberwolves player has before.
And in Tuesday night’s 100-98 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the final home game at Target Center this season, Towns reached yet another milestone.
Early in the first quarter, Towns recorded his 2,011th point of the season, passing Kevin Love (2,010 points in 2013-14) for the most points in a season in franchise history.
After tallying 26 points on Tuesday night, Towns currently stands at 2,033 points this season with one game remaining.
“I think it’s like having a toolbox, what are you going to use?” Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau said of Towns. “He’s got the right jump hook, left jump hook, he’s got the three, he can put it on the floor, he’s got the hesitation, he’s got a crossover.
“He’s got a lot of weapons, and it’s good.”
Towns also finished with 12 rebounds on the night and needs just 14 rebounds in the season finale to surpass the 1,000-rebound mark this season and become the youngest player in NBA history to record 2,000-plus points and 1,000-plus rebounds in a season.
With one game to play, Towns is averaging 25.1 points, 12.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 blocks this season.
Compared to his rookie season, the 7-foot big man is up 6.8 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game and is shooting 2.2 percent better from three and 1.9 percent better from the free throw line.
He’s just 21 years old. And he doesn’t appear to be letting up anytime soon.
Towns and the Wolves close out the 2016-17 season at 7 p.m. Wednesday against the Houston Rockets in Houston. The game will be aired on Fox Sports North Plus and 830 WCCO.