Karl-Anthony Towns

Karl-Anthony Towns was born in Edison, New Jersey in 1995. The son of Jaqueline and Karl Towns, who played basketball at Monmouth University, Karl-Anthony showed off his prodigious basketball talent at a young age. By fifth grade, he was already practicing with the Piscataway Technical High junior varsity team. By the time Towns got to St. Joseph High School in Metuchen, New Jersey, he was already a superstar, and he led his team to state championships as a freshman, sophomore and junior. Towns connected on 127 three-pointers over the course of his final three high school seasons and was named to the All-State team three consecutive times. In his last year at St. Joseph's, Towns averaged 20.9 points, 13.4 rebounds and 6.2 blocks per game, shooting 66.1 percent from the field and 82.2 percent from the free throw line. Even more impressively, the academic standout left high school with a 3.96 GPA. He chose the University of Kentucky over the likes of Duke, Florida and Kansas. Towns' family runs the KAT Team Foundation, which endeavors "to create a scholarship fund for young adults throughout the United States and increase literacy in underserved communities." As a rookie in the NBA, he partnered with the Salvation Army in January of 2016 to launch a shoe drive, offering Timberwolves tickets in exchange for donations of new and unused shoes. For Thanksgiving in 2017, Towns donated $10,000 to the Minnesota House of Charity Food Centre to fund holiday meals for families and people in need. Towns represents the Dominican Republic on the international stage; in 2018, he and fellow Dominican Al Horford were both named All-Stars, marking the first time two players with ties to the DR played in one All-Star Game. You can follow Towns on Twitter @KarlTowns and on Instagram @karltowns. Towns' single season in college was an impactful one, as he was named the 2014-15 SEC Rookie of the Year while making both the All-SEC first team and the SEC All-Freshman squad. The Piscataway, New Jersey native paced Kentucky in rebounds (6.7) and blocks (2.3) per game, and his 10.3 points per game ranked second on the squad. Towns led the Wildcats to an SEC Tournament title win over Arkansas, then helped the team to the NCAA Tournament Final Four before losing to Wisconsin -- the lone loss for Kentucky that season. Towns announced for the 2015 NBA Draft after his freshman year and was selected with the first overall pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves.