The Minnesota Timberwolves haven’t witnessed postseason basketball in over 10 years. To be exact, it’s been since the 2003-2004 season, which was 12 years ago. However, for the first time in a while, there’s real expectations in Minnesota and for good reason.
Sure, Minnesota finished with a dismal record of (29-53) a season ago, but when looking at their losses, you’ll notice this young team had a difficult time closing games. With another year under their belts, you would expect Minnesota to become better in late-game situations and having a proven winner such as Tom Thibodeau on the sidelines doesn’t hurt either.
Before this year’s draft, Minnesota was fortunate enough to obtain the number one overall pick in back-to-back seasons (Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns). Both guys went on to win rookie of the year honors as well. For a consolation prize, Minnesota selected Kris Dunn with the fifth overall pick this summer.
With a plethora of talent assembled, there’s only one question. Who will take over as the leader?
Future hall of famer Kevin Garnett wasn’t much of a factor on the court the past couple seasons, but he still manage to leave an everlasting effect on the young guys. Garnett’s knowledge of the game is something any young player should want to absorb. During his last season, KG only averaged 14.6 minutes per game, but you could always catch him on the bench teaching.
Throughout tonight’s 109-100 victory over the Miami Heat in Kansas City, I noticed Karl-Anthony Towns picking up where Garnett left off. Now, by no means am I suggesting Towns can replace Garnett’s leadership because after all, this is only Towns second season. Nonetheless, it has to be a welcomed sign for coach Thibs to see his best player take on this responsibility.
Following the contest, I was able to ask coach Thibs about Towns becoming a leader, check it out in the video above.