Karl-Anthony Towns has never been more efficient

Towns is playing some of the most efficient basketball of his career.

Apr 20, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) / Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Anthony Edwards is getting most of the headlines, but Karl-Anthony Towns deserves praise for how he has settled into being the No. 2 option for the Wolves.

KAT has received his fair share of criticisim throughout his career. As a former No. 1 overall pick he was once viewed as the face of the franchise. He has since shifted to the second fiddle next to Edwards. The transition has seen plenty of bumps, but these playoffs have shown that he might finally be comfortable in his role.

Towns has received backlash of being too emotional, leading him to lose his cool from time to time, but through five games this postseason he has been playing with poise and maturity. His running-mate Edwards criticized his fouls and at 4.4 per game in the playoffs that would be the highest mark of his career, but when he's on the floor he's never been more efficient.

Turnovers

The biggest difference from this playoff run compared to years past has been Towns' decision-making. Averaging only 1.6 per turnovers per game, it would be the lowest mark of his career in the postseason and substantially down from the 3.6 mark last season and 4.5 in the 2022 playoffs.

While limiting silly mistakes, he is averaging the most assists of his postseason career at 2.6 per game, a mark that ranks fourth on the team.

Field-goal percentage

Towns' decision-making has never been better and it shows up in his shooting percentage as well. His 54.8% field-goal percentage is six points higher than the second-best mark (48.8%) in his playoff career. He is taking 1.6 fewer shots per game compared to last year, but he is averaging 1.2 more points

His 3-point percentage (52.4%) is also the highest mark of his postseason career. He is making 2.2 from beyond the arc per game (postseason career-best).

Analytical efficiency

Turnovers and field-goal percentage are easily digestible stats, but Towns' analytics are off the charts, backing up the notion that he is playing some of the best basketball of his career.

Player Efficiency Rating (PER) is a metric that measures a player's efficiency based on per minute production and league average is 15. Towns' previous postseason-best was 17.3 (2022). This year he is at 23.4, which is the best of his career – by a wide margin – and the ninth-best in the entire league.

Box plus-minus (BPM) is a statistic that estimates the points per 100 possessions that a player contributes above a league-average player, translated to an average team. Through five games this postseason, Towns is at 5.9. Last season he was at -3.8, so that is a massive improvement in 12 months. He currently has the 11th-best BPM in the playoffs.

Towns is at the point of his career where he has proven that he can play at an All-NBA level, but it's now time for him to show that he can be a winning player in the playoffs. He is doing just that through five games and he is doing it a very high level.