Karl-Anthony Towns, saying he had a ‘5 percent chance’ to survive, has monster game in return to Timberwolves
By DAVE CAMPBELL MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns
By DAVE CAMPBELL MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns
By MIKE McCURRY While the current version of
The Minnesota Timberwolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns, last season’s unanimous NBA Rookie of the Year, and the Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid, who has won both NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month awards this season, highlight the list of 20 players selected by the league’s assistant coaches to play in the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge on Friday, Feb. 17 during NBA All-Star 2017 in New Orleans.
For the third consecutive year, the league’s annual showcase of premier young talent will pit 10 first- and second-year NBA players from the U.S. against 10 first- and second-year NBA players from around the world. The game will be televised live by TNT at 9 p.m. ET and will also be available on the Watch TNT App and on TNT Overtime. In addition, ESPN Radio will broadcast the event from Smoothie King Center, with audio also available on the ESPN app. BBVA Compass, the Official Bank of the NBA, maintains its role as title partner for the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge.
John Calipari’s goal of having half of the NBA All-Star Game comprised of Kentucky products may not have come to fruition yet, but many of his former players are legitimate NBA stars.
In the annual NBA GM survey, Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Davis and Devin Booker all received recognition.
Towns, the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year from Piscataway, N.J. and the Minnesota Timberwolves, was the pick of 48.3 percent of general managers for who they would sign if they were starting a franchise from scratch.
Golden State’s Kevin Durant was a distant second at 20.7 percent, while LeBron James was third at 17.2 percent.
