Every time Towns talks about what he’s been through, something new comes into focus. “I think my mom passing away was the first time I realized basketball can’t fix something,” Towns says. “Think about that. All the connections, all the people I knew, all the resources I had that people didn’t have with COVID, and I still lost. “I still watched her life fade away in my hands, literally in my hands, with a hazmat suit on. I couldn’t fix it. “It was the first time I realized basketball was not going to save me this time. I really had to do the work.”
Tag: Jacqueline Towns
After Jacqueline’s death, Towns says he …
After Jacqueline’s death, Towns says he first found himself looking to channel his grief into basketball. “Like, I’m going to just go crazy and just put all that energy into my game, but when I looked at basketball to give me that energy — I didn’t have it. “My mom was the purpose of me even playing basketball,” he says. “So when she passed away, I had to repurpose myself. I had to find what was going to be the reason that I want to go in every day and put my body and my mind and my spirit through all this stress. Why would I do this? “It took time and a lot of self-reflection.”
“If I learned anything in my life, it’s …
“If I learned anything in my life, it’s that nothing’s guaranteed. So I always try to tell people, ‘Hey, I appreciate you or thank you,’” Towns says. After everyone was aboard the plane, Towns stood up to address the team: “I just wanted to say, and I mean this from my heart, that I wouldn’t have wanted to do this 60-point game with anyone else but y’all. “My brothers. I appreciate you making this so special.”
NBA on ESPN: Karl-Anthony Towns felt …
NBA on ESPN: Karl-Anthony Towns felt his mother’s presence in his 60-point outing: “I just felt like she was there all night. … I was talking to my sister before the game about our mother and something clicked … talking about my mother changed my mentality for the whole night.”
Voluntary player workouts will be …
Voluntary player workouts will be permitted inside the Minnesota Timberwolves’ practice facility starting Thursday morning. As with other NBA facilities that are reopening, Mayo Clinic Square will follow strict rules during the coronavirus pandemic. Wolves president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas said star center Karl-Anthony Towns has been “incredible through this whole process” despite the death of his mother, Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, due to complications from the coronavirus on April 13.
“For any of you guys that know …
“For any of you guys that know Karl-Anthony Towns, he’s a very educated and intelligent individual who understands what’s going on. And I give him and his family a lot of credit because as they were going through this tragedy, they showed us the example,” Rosas said during Wednesday’s Zoom video media availability session.
“They were partnering up with Mayo; …
“They were partnering up with Mayo; they were helping their communities here in Minnesota and in the Northeast to do whatever they can to give back. He’s a very proactive individual who’s gone through a lot, has shown an incredible amount of character and toughness going through the loss of his mother.”
“Our guys are educated; they understand …
“Our guys are educated; they understand what we’re going through,” Rosas said. “They understand the risks and they understand all the situations that we’re living through right now, and they’re making educated decisions. We’re confident in our players are in a good place and they want to be back. They want to be in an environment that they’re familiar with but they understand that it’s a first step and it’s a small step, and for some of them it’s just the opportunity to mentally get in a place where it’s a safe haven for them, and I know that’s the case for Karl.”
Rosas added: “It’s little steps moving …
In just one season with the Wolves, …
In just one season with the Wolves, Sikka and Rosas became close to Towns’ parents, who attended almost all of their son’s games. “It very much hit home for us,” Sikka said. “I am never going to forget that experience with Karl. It changed my life, it changed his life, it changed our organization’s history. It was extremely challenging for everybody.” Prior to his mother’s death, Towns donated $100,000 to assist Sikka and the Mayo Clinic’s coronavirus research. “We took a cue from KAT and his family,” Rosas said. “We took that cue and looked for ways to be good teammates to the NBA and the 29 other teams by connecting with Mayo Clinic to try to find strategies to fight the virus.”