NBA All-Star Involved in Car Accident, Coach Says
Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns was involved in a car accident on Thursday that has him uncertain for Friday’s game in New York, Coach Ryan Saunders said.
Coach Saunders told the media this morning that Karl-Anthony Towns was involved in a car accident yesterday on the way to the airport. He flew into New York last night and was excused from shootaround this morning to rest at the hotel. He is listed as questionable for tonight.
— Timberwolves PR (@Twolves_PR) February 22, 2019
Towns was on his way to the airport when he was involved in the crash, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported. He was on his way to join the team before their charter flight to New York to take on the Knicks.
The Star Tribune reported that Towns was able to catch a commercial flight from Minnesota to New York.
He missed Friday morning’s shootaround to rest up, and his official designation for the Knicks matchup was questionable.
Guard Tyus Jones said he saw Towns at the hotel before the rest of the team departed for shootaround and that the center was doing “all right.”
“It just goes to show nothing’s promised,” Jones said, according to the Star Tribune. “Tomorrow isn’t promised. Life and things can turn in a matter of seconds in the blink of an eye. Obviously, you get in a car and you’re not thinking you’re going to be in a crash or anything like that. It just puts things in perspective for sure.
“People need a reminder to just be thankful and grateful for just being able to wake up today.”
Saunders said the team would monitor Towns throughout the day before deciding if he would suit up against the Knicks. Towns is from nearby Piscataway, New Jersey, and often has many family members in attendance for his lone trip to New York each season.
But teammate Andrew Wiggins said he wasn’t worried as much about the game and was just happy that his friend appeared to be OK.
“That’s most important, that he’s healthy and he’s doing OK,” Wiggins said. “Because a lot of things could’ve went wrong, but God was watching over him. So we’re happy. We’re relieved.”
If Towns isn’t able to play Friday night, it will be a first for him in the NBA.
He has started and played in 303 out of 303 games since being the first overall pick in the 2015 draft. No other player has appeared in more games than Towns since the 2015-16 season.
Going beyond active players, no player in NBA history has had a start to his career like Towns has had in terms of games started.
the complete list of games @KarlTowns hasn’t played/started in during his career:
— Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) February 7, 2019
Towns’ last game was the All-Star Game in Charlotte, North Carolina, the second of his career. As a member of Team LeBron, Towns came off the bench to contribute 11 points and three rebounds in 11 minutes of action.
For the season, Towns is averaging 23.1 points, 12 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. He also ranks fourth in the NBA with a player efficiency rating of 25.6.
The Timberwolves are 11th in the Western Conference with a 27-30 record. They are four games behind the Los Angeles Clippers for the final playoff spot.
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