Karl-Anthony Towns is having a good month. Towns has been named to the NBA All-Star team for the first time in his young career and his Philadelphia Eagles are headed to the Super Bowl.
His good fortune doesn’t stop there, either. Towns currently has the 14th highest-selling jersey in the NBA, according to the Dick’s Sporting Goods Jersey Report.
It’s no surprise fans want to wear his jersey. The Timberwolves are sitting at fourth in the Western Conference, and they’ve had some of cleanest (and wildest) jersey designs of the season. His 20.1 ppg and 12.2 rpg averages don’t hurt either. We caught up with Towns to find out why he thinks Team Steph and the Eagles both have it in the bag.
What do you think it is that makes fans want to wear your jersey?
I’m trying to figure it out myself. I’m incredibly humbled to be on the Dick’s Sporting Goods Jersey Report and be 14th. It’s a huge honor. It must mean I’m doing something right on the court. I really think what makes it the most humbling is that the Minnesota fans, of course, being such a great support system and people across the world really respect what I do and respect my craft. It’s a humbling experience when people respect the amount of time you’ve put in your craft.
You’ve got a few teammates also on the report—Jimmy and Wiggins are both ranked but you’re ranked higher than them. Do you have a little bit of bragging rights?
Nah, you know what it’s fun competition but it’s nothing really like that. The biggest thing is that we all celebrate each other’s successes. It’s great to see my teammates be respected by the fans.
Was there a particular player whose jersey you always wore growing up?
I wasn’t a jersey guy. I never really had the money for it. I remember the one time I got a jersey that I really wanted, I got it for a birthday present. My favorite player is Len Bias and my parents got me a Mitchell and Ness Len Bias jersey from when he was at Maryland. I still have it to this day in my closet.
Out of the four jersey editions from this season, do you have a favorite?
We’ve had some very colorful jerseys to say the least. The green ones I think I like just because we’ve won a lot when we wear them. We’ve got the gray ones coming out that’s gonna be really cool, but if I had to say an early favorite I’d probably say the green ones.
What are you looking forward to most about your first time as an All-Star?
Just getting the chance to play on Sunday. That’s the goal and I’m very blessed to be representing the Minnesota Timberwolves and all my teammates in the All-Star Game with Jimmy because they’re the real reason why we’re All Stars, they’re the real All Stars. We’re just going in to represent the amazing team we have in Minnesota. The way I think about is that I get to now instead of playing on Friday and Saturday I get to stay one extra day and have a little more fun.
Does having Jimmy on your All-Star team give you guys any advantage?
Of course. When you’re playing with the best two-way player in the league it makes a big difference. It’s always great to have Jimmy on the court because he does a lot of things for us and it’s the reason why he’s an All-Star. He’s one of the best at what he does.
If you were an All-Star captain, who are you taking with your first pick?
I’m definitely taking a teammate. It’s not even a question, I’m taking whoever my teammate is. You stay loyal, you pick your people.
Why is Team Steph gonna beat Team LeBron?
I mean because we’ve got me and Jimmy, whatcha mean? That’s how we’re gonna win. I didn’t even know that was a question. Me and Jimmy are on that team…we got it.
We all saw you showing support for the Eagles last week on Twitter, real talk can Nick Foles top Tom Brady? And if so, what’s your final score prediction?
Can Nick Foles top Tom Brady? Of course! We’ve got this. We got our quarterback. Our quarterback is solid, I’m very happy with the way he’s been playing. That was a great game. I was very proud of the game because I knew going in there was no losing for me. I support the Vikings all the way. Being here they support us so much and it’s a huge honor that they really love coming to Timberwolves games. Obviously being a born Eagles fan, I’m very happy that I got to at least know in the Super Bowl I was gonna have a team to cheer for. Nick Foles got the job done. I think the Super Bowl is gonna be more high scoring than anything, I would say if I had to pick a score, I’d say 30-24 Eagles.
