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#2 Karl-Anthony Towns
The Minnesota Timberwolves have done it! With an overtime win over the Denver Nuggets, they've made the playoffs for the first time in 14 years. The last time they were in the first round, George Bush was still serving out his first tenure as US president, Shaq and Kobe were still on the Lakers and LeBron James was only a rookie.
Before you raise any questions about the defensive demons the first-time All-Star is still encountering, just consider this statline: 21.3 points per game on 54.5% field goal conversion, 42.1% from 3-point range and 85.8% from the free throw line. Those are historic numbers for a center.
Back in March, Karl-Anthony Towns remarked after a starring role in the Timberwolves' win over the Golden State Warriors:
Seeds 5 through 10 in the Western Conference are a swamp, and only the real alligators are going to make it out to the playoffs
His performance in what was essentially a playoff game against the Nuggets on Wednesday should only drive home the point that Towns is very much a real alligator lurking in the swamps.
