NBA Rumors: Karl Anthony Towns Voted As Rookie of the Year

By Jenn Loro - 17 May '16 13:53PM

Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl Anthony Towns has been unanimously voted as the NBA Rookie of the Year.

The Timberwolves haven't had any presence at the league's playoffs for 12 seasons- the longest playoff absence in NBA history. Yet, the Minnesota-based franchise seems to have one of the most interesting roster of young players in the league today.

Towns posted records in rookie scoring, blocked shots, rebounding, and field goal percentage. The 7" big man is the fifth unanimous awardee in 32 years. He joins teammate and fellow 2014-15 honoree Andrew Wiggins in making Minnesota the first franchise to have back-to-back Rookie of the Year winners in the past four decades.

As per NBA's official website, the young Minnesota center garnered all 130 first-place votes (650 points) from a panel composed of sports journalists across the United States and Canada joining a slew of other unanimously voted players since 1984 such as Damian Lillard (2012-13 season), Blake Griffin (2010-11), David Robinson (1989-90) and Ralph Sampson (1983-84). Trailing behind him is New York Knicks' Kristaps Porzingis (363 points), and Denver Nuggets' Nikola Jokic (59 points).

Kia Motors, the sponsor of the award, also donated a brand new Sorento CUV to Town's chosen recipient- the Minnesota Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The donation was a meaningful act of charity to honor the memory of the late Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders, the coach at the time of Towns' NBA draft to the team. Last October, Saunders succumbed to cancer at the age of 60.

"When I got the news I'd won the award and I was getting a Kia, I think the biggest thing I could only think about was Debbie [Saunders] and Flip," Towns said as quoted by ESPN. "They're like my family. They're like a second family to me. ... I knew right away I wanted to do something special for Flip."

The 20-year-old Kentucky player's wide margin lead over other leading Rookie award contenders prove his mettle as well as his future potential. In the 82 games he had played this season, he averaged 18.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, a pair of assists, and 1.7 blocks per game. Also on average, the 7-foot rookie turned the ball at 2.2 times a night and fouled only three times per game.

According to Yahoo Sports, Towns played a major part in improving Minnesota's wins by 13 in 2015-16 regular season. For all other teams filled with hardcore seasoned players, moving up with 29 wins is quite remarkable given the fact that its roster is made up mostly of very young players. Despite Saunders' recent death prior to the start of the regular season, the Kentucky-born center's presence on the court was a major source of stability.