Karl-Anthony Towns is one of the best shooters we’ve seen at his post.
But is he already the great man of the Timberwolves? the better?
“Honestly, I don’t have to play like anyone else. It’s me, ”Towns said in an interview with Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “I am the greatest great man shooter of all time. It is a fact. You can see the statistics. I don’t have to play like anyone else.
“Everyone tries to become the second version of me when I am the first version. I don’t have to be someone else’s second version. I’m already an original. I don’t have to be someone else’s duplicate.”
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Towns is right. He’s not even a decade away from being drafted, but he’s already made 697 3-pointers in his career. According to Stathead, that’s the third-most by a center, behind only Channing Frye (1,049) and Kelly Olynyk (708). Not only that, Towns has been incredibly efficient, knocking down 39.7 percent of his 3-point chances to date.
Here’s the full list of centers averaging a triple per game in their careers. Towns is both the most prolific and the most efficient of the bunch by a fairly wide margin.
| Rank | Player | 3:00 p.m. M. | 3PT% |
|---|---|---|---|
| one | Karl-Anthony Cities | 1.6 | 39.7 |
| two | Channing frye | 1.2 | 38.8 |
| 3 | Kelly Olynyk | 1.2 | 36.6 |
| 4 | Joel embiid | 1.1 | 33.1 |
| 5 | But Antić | 1.0 | 31.4 |
| 6 | Nikola Jokić | 1.0 | 35.0 |
If you isolate it to the most prolific individual seasons between centers, Towns’ name is once again on the list.
| Rank | Player | Season | 3:00 p.m. M. | 3PT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| one | Karl-Anthony Cities | 2019-20 | 3.3 | 41.2 |
| two | Nikola Vučević | 2020-21 | 2.5 | 40.0 |
| 3 | Karl-Anthony Cities | 2020-21 | 2.4 | 38.7 |
| 4 | Karl-Anthony Cities | 2021-22 | 2.4 | 42.0 |
| 5 | Brook lopez | 2018-19 | 23 | 36.5 |
| 6 | Cousins DeMarcus | 2017-18 | 2.2 | 35.4 |
| 7 | Channing frye | 2010-11 | 2.2 | 39.0 |
| 8 | Channing frye | 2009-10 | 2.1 | 43.9 |
| 9 | Channing frye | 2013-14 | 2.0 | 37.0 |
| 10 | Al horford | 2020-21 | 2.0 | 36.8 |
Of course, a notable name is missing from that chart: Dirk Nowitzki.
The reason Nowitzki doesn’t show up is because he spent most of his NBA career playing power forward, not center. He averaged 1.3 3-pointers per game in his Hall of Fame career, hitting them at 38.0 percent. In all, he made a total of 1,982 3-pointers, ranking 13th in the league’s all-time standings.
Additionally, Nowitzki will become one of the best mid-range shooters of all time. As detailed by ESPN’s Kirk Goldsberry, Nowitzki led the league in scoring in three of the four mid-range zones, both elbows, plus the right baseline where he separated teams with his trademark one-legged glide, in the 1990s. 2000. He was then the most efficient volume scorer of left and right baseline in 2010s, according to Goldsberry.
Not surprisingly, Nowitzki’s 3-point and midrange prowess ranked him number one in Bleacher Report’s ranking of the NBA’s best shots of all time.
Also Towns ya a of the best great shooters in NBA history? Absolutely. But it’s the the higher? Nowitzki would probably have something to say about it.
