Towns 'very nervous' in summer league debut
Karl-Anthony Towns acknowledged being “very nervous” prior to his professional debut Friday in the Las Vegas Summer League.
“I started out like any other rookie,” Towns said, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “I ain’t going to lie — I had a lot of butterflies.
“I was very nervous, the legs felt heavy. It’s your first game out in front of everyone.”
Towns, who was selected by the Timberwolves with the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft last month, finished with 12 points, three rebounds and four assists in Minnesota’s 81-68 victory over the Lakers.
But the former Kentucky star admitted feeling some “rookie jitters” throughout the game.
“I didn’t even want to shoot the basketball,” said Towns, who also committed nine fouls in the contest. “It was just rookie jitters. I’m not going to be perfect. Just because I’m the No. 1 pick, doesn’t mean I’m going to be perfect.”
Towns impressed coaches and teammates in a highly anticipated matchup that also featured Lakers rookie guard D’Angelo Russell, the No. 2 overall draft pick.
“[Towns] can really pass that ball,” said Timberwolves guard Zach LaVine, who led all scorers with 24 points. “He can shoot and pass and he competed. That was the biggest thing.”
“He really settled down into a good comfort zone, the guys calmed him down and made him feel comfortable with everything, and really that’s him being a savvy kid,” Timberwolves coach Ryan Saunders added.
Towns was upbeat and jovial after the game, emphasizing the most important aspect of the first summer game was to get the win, and not about the top two draft picks meeting one another.
“It doesn’t matter what the back [of the jersey] says, it matters what the front says,” Towns said. “We went out there as a team and we wanted to come away with the W.
“I think you could see on the court — for as young as we are, we have a lot of chemistry. We did a great job tonight as a team, taking that first step of changing the view of this team and making us a winning team.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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