Ranking Karl-Anthony Towns' Top 3 NBA seasons in terms of points per game
Karl-Anthony Towns has been in the NBA since being drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the first pick of the 2015 NBA Draft. While collective success has evaded the All-NBA center, he's certainly been one of the best and most efficient players in his position throughout his NBA journey.
Karl-Anthony Towns won the Rookie of the Year award back in 2015 and has been an All-Star twice in his six previous NBA seasons, but he's played in just five NBA Playoff games, all in 2018.
The Timberwolves currently hold an 11-14 record, with KAT playing in 24 of those games. Although he has suffered from injuries over the past couple of NBA seasons, playing 35 and 50 games in the last two campaigns respectively, Towns put up solid numbers. Before that, in his first four seasons, Towns had played 82 games three times and 77 in another.
Karl-Anthony Towns' Top 3 NBA seasons based on points per game (PPG) average
KAT is putting up strong stats again, averaging 24.2 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists together with a steal and a block per game in the 2021-22 NBA season. Towns is also posting a 50.9/45.3/80.8 shooting split, which is up there as the best of his NBA career to date.
For his career (432 games) Karl-Anthony Towns averages 23 points, 11.5 rebounds and three assists per game while making 52.6% of his field goals, 39.9% of his threes (four attempts per game) and 83.3% from the free-throw line.
Here, we take a look at Karl-Anthony Towns' Top 3 NBA seasons based on his average of points per game.
Without further ado, let us take a look.
Note: Seasons in which Karl-Anthony Towns did not meet the minimum number of games to qualify for league-leaders in PPG (58 games) will not be considered.
#3 2017-18 NBA season | 21.3 PPG
In Karl-Anthony Towns' third season in the NBA, the Minnesota Timberwolves made it to the NBA Playoffs for the first time since 2004. Of course, the team did have Jimmy Butler and Andrew Wiggins around KAT, with Tom Thibodeau coaching.
The team went 47-35 and grabbed the eighth seed of the Western Conference before losing to the Houston Rockets in the first round.
Karl-Anthony Towns had a solid regular season, posting 21.3 points per game along with 12.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.8 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. He also made a career-high 54.5% from the field, with a 42.1% from the three-point line and 85.8% from the free-throw line.
At the end of the year, Karl-Anthony Towns made it to the All-NBA third team, which has been his only All-NBA selection so far.
#2 2018-19 NBA season | 24.4 PPG
Karl-Anthony Towns' fourth season in the NBA was dominant on an individual level as he posted the second-highest points per game average of his career so far. However, the Minnesota Timberwolves ran into trouble and a 36-46 record was not good enough to reach the postseason for a second consecutive time.
KAT earned All-Star recognition for the second time in his career thanks to posting 24.4 points, a career-high 12.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.6 blocks per game.
He was as efficient as ever, Towns made 51.8% of his field goals, 40% of his threes (4.6 attempts per game), and 83.6% of his shots from the free-throw line in 77 appearances (5.8 attempts per game).
#1 2016-17 NBA season | 25.1 PPG
Karl-Anthony Towns' best season in the NBA based on his points-per-game average came during his sophomore campaign with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Dominican center had a solid season while playing in each of his team's 82 games in the regular season, although a 31-51 record was not postseason-worthy for the T-Wolves.
KAT posted 27.1 points per game in the 2016-17 NBA season, and his efficiency and individual dominance were certainly impressive for the then 21-year-old big man.
He posted a 54.2/36.7/83.2 shooting split for the entire NBA regular season, while also averaging 12.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 0.7 steals and 1.3 blocks per night. Karl-Anthony Towns remained short of getting All-Star recognition at the time, but had proved that he would be a great player in his position for years to come.
Also read: “I thought I had that LeBron effect, I could come in and just do it by myself” - Karl-Anthony Towns opens up on what it takes to win a championship in the NBA