Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns spoke to reporters on Friday and revealed that he has lost seven family members since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Towns’ turbulent year began this spring when he lost his mother, Jacqueline, to the virus. Since then, he revealed he’s lost six more family members and “hasn’t been in a good place” since Jacquiline died in April.
“I’m just trying to … keep my family out of harm’s way,” Towns told reporters via Zoom call. “I’ve seen a lot of coffins in the last seven, eight months. But I have a lot of people who are in my family, who have gotten COVID and I’m the one looking for answers still. Trying to find how to keep them healthy.”
The loss of family members has made 2020 worse for Towns as he and the Timberwolves did not get the opportunity to continue their season as part of the NBA’s bubble last summer. Even though Towns will get a chance to return to the court when the Timberwolves open the 2020-21 season on Dec. 23, Towns said it wouldn’t act as therapy for him.
“It’s going to be hard to play. It’s going to be difficult to say that this is therapy. I don’t think this will ever be therapy again for me.”
