Karl-Anthony Towns out for Friday's game after car accident
Minnesota Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns has been ruled out for Friday’s game against the New York Knicks after he was involved in a car accident Thursday.
Towns reportedly got in an accident as he was heading to the airport Thursday. The 23-year-old Towns was able to take a commercial flight to meet the team, but did not take part in the team’s shootaround Friday. The team initially listed him as questionable due to “rest” on the injury report.
When coach Ryan Saunders spoke early Friday, he said the team did not have information on Towns’ specific injuries. Teammate Tyus Jones said he saw Towns prior to Friday’s shootaround and described him as “all right,” according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Prior to Friday’s game, the team ruled out Towns. He will enter concussion protocol. It will be the first game Towns has missed during his NBA career after starting all 303 games since being picked first in the 2015 draft.
Karl-Anthony Towns (concussion) will miss the first game of his career tonight vs. the New York Knicks, per head coach Ryan Saunders.
— SKOR North (@SKORNorth) February 22, 2019
Additional details regarding the accident are scarce, according to The Associated Press.
It wasn’t immediately clear where the accident occurred. Minneapolis police said they didn’t handle any incident involving Towns. A Timberwolves spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a phone message from The Associated Press.
According to Chris Hine of the Star Tribune, however, Towns was not the driver of the car and assistant strength and conditioning coach Kurt Joseph was also in the car with him.
A couple details about Towns' accident emerged from postgame. Saunders and Tolliver mentioned assistant strength & conditioning coach Kurt Joseph was with Towns in the car. (A source told the Star Tribune earlier tonight Towns wasn't the driver). Taj Gibson drove by the accident.
— Chris Hine (@ChristopherHine) February 23, 2019
Teammate Taj Gibson actually drove by the accident that night, too, but didn’t know Towns was involved until they were in New York.
“The first thing I saw him, I ran up on him and gave him a hug because I really drove past the cars, the pileage,” Gibson told the Star Tribune. “It was a bunch of cars on the side of the freeway. I was just praying I hope everybody in this wreck is OK.
“We get to New York and I didn’t know he was in it. I’m just happy he’s OK.”
In 57 games, Towns is averaging 23.1 points and 12 rebounds. The Timberwolves are 27-30 on the season.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
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