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Tim Hardaway Sr. slams Karl-Anthony Towns for ‘changing the game’ claim

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James Foglio
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James Foglio Sports Editor

James is a Basketball Insiders contributor. He earned his bachelor's degree in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. James enjoys watching sports and helping gamblers win money.

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Updated15 Jun 2023

Tim Hardaway Sr. slams Karl-Anthony Towns for changing the game claim

Tim Hardaway Sr. responded to Karl-Anthony Towns’ claim that Towns “changed the game” of basketball. “I feel like when my time’s up, and I retire, and I put the shoes up, I feel like there’s going to be people who are going to say that I changed the game,” Towns said on Wednesday during an appearance on the “Pat Bev Podcast with Rone.”

“Who are these people saying that you changed the game with the way you played?” Hardaway Sr. said on “The Carton Show” on Thursday. “First of all, you need to win playoff games. You got four playoff wins in 12 tries, zero series wins.

“You go out there and you average 23 points, 11 rebounds per game, you’re playing well. He’s a good NBA player, but he doesn’t make anybody better on his team. It’s all about him at times.”

Per multiple NBA betting sites, the Timberwolves hold 16th-shortest odds to win next season’s championship in 2024. Sportsbooks are showing better odds for the Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings, and New Orleans Pelicans.

“He [Towns] tries to show up the referees instead of going out there to play team basketball,” Tim Hardaway Sr. added. “Sometimes he’s out there, and you don’t even see him. You don’t even know that he’s out there. I think he needs to have a reality check and he needs to work on his game a little bit more and making his teammates better and having a better season.

“In Minnesota, they just talk too much, all of them. Anthony Edwards talks, Karl-Anthony Towns talks, some other players, they talk. They just need to shut up and go out there and play basketball. They just need to go out there to play and try to win games.”

Tim Hardaway Sr. criticizes Karl-Anthony Towns for being less of a team player, says Towns is not even a top-five center

Karl-Anthony Towns appeared in only 29 games in the 2022-23 season. During the third quarter of Minnesota’s 142-127 loss to the Washington Wizards on Nov. 28, Towns suffered a non-contact right calf injury. The Timberwolves announced the following day that the center would remain out indefinitely due to a right calf strain.

While sources initially reported the injury as a Grade 2 strain and that Towns would miss 4-6 weeks, Towns revealed in January that he had suffered a Grade 3 strain, which takes about two months to heal. The three-time All-Star went on to miss the next 52 games.


Towns averaged 20.8 points, a career-low 8.1 rebounds, a career-high 4.8 assists, and 33 minutes per game in 29 appearances. The eight-year veteran also shot 49.5% from the field and a career-best 87.4% at the foul line.

Needless to say, Tim Hardaway Sr. spoke what was on everyone’s minds. Towns is still one of the best centers in the league today, but he had a down year due to injuries and lackluster effort.

Hardaway Sr. believes Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, Bam Adebayo, Brook Lopez, and Domantas Sabonis are better centers than KAT.

Less talk, better play is what Minnesota fans are asking for. Last July, the two-time All-NBA member signed a four-year, $224 million extension with the Timberwolves.

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