Minnesota Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns reportedly has a torn meniscus and will undergo surgery to repair it, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Per that report, he’ll be reevaluated in a month, with the expectation he’ll be able to return in time for the postseason.
Towns had already been ruled out of Thursday’s matchup with the Indiana Pacers with what was originally diagnosed as knee soreness, though reports earlier in the day indicated that he was dealing with a torn meniscus. It is unclear when he first suffered the injury.
It’s a huge blow for a Timberwolves team barely holding on to the top seed in the Western Conference. The team is 44-19 and just a half-game ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder (43-19), 1.5 games ahead of the defending champion Denver Nuggets (42-20) and three games ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers (40-21).
Between now and the end of their regular season on April 14, the Wolves will face the Nuggets three times and the Clippers once. They will presumably do so without Towns.
The 28-year-old was having another strong season in the 2023-24 campaign, averaging 22.1 points and 8.4 rebounds while shooting 50.6 percent from the field and 42.3 percent from three. While Minnesota is now led by young superstar Anthony Edwards, Towns’ ability to operate as a second scorer, a strong rebounder and floor-spacing big has been valuable.
Without him, Edwards is on an island as a scorer, as fellow starters Rudy Gobert, Mike Conley and Jaden McDaniels aren’t likely to fill it up as offensive threats.
That was evident Thursday night, as the Wolves needed 44 points and an epic block from Ant to steal a win in Indiana:
NBA @NBA
ANT MAN SAVES THE DAY 🐜
Anthony Edwards scores 44 PTS and skies for an INCREDIBLE last-second rejection to seal the Timberwolves win! pic.twitter.com/lQUyMfbYSV
Gobert was the team’s second-leading scorer with 18 points.
In Towns’ absence on Thursday, Kyle Anderson stepped into the starting lineup, though Nickeil Alexander-Walker also saw 28 minutes off the bench and has made 17 starts this season. Undoubtedly, Minnesota’s offense and depth will be tested without KAT.
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