Arguably the best big man in the Eastern Conference returned to the court for the Philadelphia 76ers last week in Joel Embiid.
Now, one of the top frontcourt players in the Western Conference could be in his final days before coming back from a long injury layoff as well.
Minnesota Timberwolves power forward Karl-Anthony Towns suffered a torn left meniscus in early March and he was immediately ruled out for at least one month.
Per Shams Charania of The Athletic, it looks like “KAT’s” return could come just over one month after the serious injury.
Minnesota has done more than tread water without its four-time All-Star, going 11-5 since he went down.
The Timberwolves (54-24) enter Monday tied at the top of the Western Conference standings with the Denver Nuggets (54-24). With four games left in both teams’ regular seasons, the No. 1 seed is still up for grabs.
Minnesota currently holds the tiebreaker with a 2-1 lead in this season’s head-to-head matchups, and it plays the defending champions on the road on Wednesday night.
Both the Nuggets and Timberwolves are just one game ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder (53-25).
Towns’ return takes Minnesota from playoff contender to championship contender.
The former Rookie of the Year gives the team another presence down low and a three-point weapon on offense. Towns is second on the team in scoring (22.1 points per game), rebounds (8.4) and field-goal percentage (.506) while recording a career-high .423 three-point field-goal percentage as well.
