RandBall: Is Karl-Anthony Towns the next Tim Duncan?

Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns is having an impressive enough rookie season that he is drawing flattering comparisons to all sorts of players. The one that he reminds me of the most — and this might be the loftiest praise of all — is future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan of the Spurs. Here is a comparison between the rookie seasons of both players, which show plenty of similarities (as well as a few interesting differences). All stats for both are through the All-Star break of both seasons unless noted:

CategoryTownsDuncan

Points per game17.1 18.2

Rebounds per game10.1 11.5

Field goal percentage54.4 55.7

Three-point percentage37.5 (18-for-48)0.0 (0-for-6)

Free throw percentage85.258.4

Blocked shots per game1.82.4

Minutes per game30.137.7

Years spent in college14

Age when he made NBA debut1921