Earlier this season, Karl-Anthony Towns proclaimed himself “the greatest big man shooter of all time.” On Saturday night, he took a step toward validating that claim after winning the NBA 3-Point Contest.
Towns entered the evening as a +1200 underdog according to FanDuel Sportsbook, but showed off in the first round. With an opening round of 22, Towns had the lowest score to advance to the finals but made the cut along with Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young and Los Angeles Clippers wing Luke Kennard.
The greatest shooting big man is headed to the next round 👀
22 Points in Round 1 for @KarlTowns pic.twitter.com/OVWJ8IRX3g
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) February 20, 2022
Towns made up for his modest opening round in the finals, catching fire with a score of 29. The performance set a record for the championship round and helped Towns join Kevin Love as the only players in Timberwolves history to win the contest.
The most points EVER in a final round.
That man is different.@KarlTowns
Three-Point Champ 🐺 pic.twitter.com/SZTsb0BR0O— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) February 20, 2022
“I told you since Day 1,” Towns said on the telecast. “I said it on Timberwolves Twitter. I said it everywhere. Only way I’m going to lose is if someone outshoots me. I’m not going to beat myself out here, so I said what I said before. I’m up there with the best shooting big men of all time. I needed this trophy to prove it.”
Towns went on to tell Shaquille O’Neal that “Vegas got the odds wrong.” He’ll have another chance to showcase his shot when he takes part in the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday night.
