Karl-Anthony Towns reveals his knee was so swollen he couldn't walk

Towns underwent surgery to repair a lateral meniscus tear in his left knee on March 12 but returned for the playoffs.

May 22, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) speaks in a press conference after game one against the Dallas Mavericks in the western conference finals for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports / Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

If it appeared that Karl-Anthony Towns was laboring physically the deeper the Timberwolves went into the playoffs, it's because his knee was more bothersome than anyone really knew.

"When we started getting deeper into the playoffs, that's when the thing started — I came back so quick — knee started flaring up, started being super swollen. Some days I couldn't practice just because I was just unable to walk, it's like I can't do it. If it wasn't for our medical staff I would've been held out more," Towns said on Podcast P with Paul George.

The episode was released Monday but appears to have been recorded during the NBA's Las Vegas Summer League in July.

"I did what I had to do. When the season was over did I pay for those decisions that I made? For sure, still am right now," Towns continued. "I'm in a spot where I feel really confident about how I'm going to feel coming into next year. I'm going to be stronger, I'm going to be better, I'm going to be more experienced. Just more years under my belt."

"I don't think it was a disappointment in any sort of fashion," Towns said. "We said early on in the year that we wanted to do something special, the big lineup. Everyone's like it couldn't work and I was like watch it work. Everyone laughed and shit and now we was in the Western Conference fianls and now everyone acting like that shit didn't happen. We obviously did something right."

Towns underwent surgery to repair a lateral meniscus tear in his left knee on March 12. He returned to play in the last two games of the regular season exactly one month after the procedure and he wound up playing 28.5 minutes per game while averaging 19.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in a first-round sweep of the Suns.

In the second round against the defending champion Nuggets, Towns played 34.9 minutes per game and averaged 18.6 points and 9.1 rebounds to help the Timberwolves win the series in seven games. But his 3-point shots stopped falling dropped after Game 3 of the Denver series. Over the next nine games, ending with a Game 5 season-ending loss to the Mavericks in the Western Conference finals, Towns made just 12 of 52 3s (23%).

It's conceivable that Towns' knee was hampering his ability to knock down shots.

"You gotta have failure to succeed. We had to pay for our right to win a championship and I think that's what we did this year," Towns said. "Everyone got the chance to recognize that this ain't the Minnesota Timberwolves that they've known for a long time. We're true contenders, someone that can really compete at the highest level every single night and it's going to be tough to beat us in a seven-game series. I think that we showed a lot, did a lot, achieved a lot and now next year we get to cash in even more on those lessons and those teachings."