For the last few months, I have been experiencing a rather familiar melancholia. It is an annual tradition, an inescapable trip into the depths of Minnesota winter. Bitter cold days — sometimes weeks — with no clear view of the sun, grayness consuming everything. Grayness. The ugly and bland condition the earth presents leaving the soul feeling lost. The once-pristine, powdery snow is now hardened ice, blackened by the filth of humanity, serving as a cruel and persistent reminder that we are here. Whether by choice, by clan, or by cosmic circumstance, we have found ourselves here. Minnesota.
But I am emerging. Much like the budding spring flower, emerging from the nascent patch of soil which has newly poked its precious head out from beneath the melting snow, I rise. A close look reveals my delicate pink and purple petals ripe with anticipatory fervor, ready to bloom with the coming warmth. Spring, my friends, is beginning to be sprung. With the change of season comes a new lease on life. All the grayness replaced by the hope of lush color to come. And the sun. Oh, the sun returns and beats down on the earth, made rigid from the harsh winter, bringing life. This yearly rebirth replenishes my spirit and as if it is some distant far-off memory, the bitterness of Minnesota’s winter fades.
As new life begins to materialize around us and spring returns once again, the Minnesota Timberwolves also find themselves greeted with a presence for which they have been longing. Karl-Anthony Towns is back. And, with his return to the lineup, the Timberwolves’ spirit has returned.
Towns took the floor in a Timberwolves uniform for the first time since November on March 22. It feels like kismet that his return came just two days after the official start of spring. Not only did the universe allow him some symbolic relevance, but his return also came as the Wolves were struggling through the doldrums of the NBA season. Timberwolves basketball in February and March has historically mirrored the dull and lifeless dregs of winter in the state, even during a season that, juxtaposed against the vast majority of Timberwolves campaigns, has been pretty good. The team is fighting for playoff position — a rarity in the annals of Wolves history — and there are two burgeoning young stars for fans to get behind. What was wont to be an antiquated feeling has again found itself perfectly at home this season.
The context for the weird feelings this season extends beyond those that stem from KAT’s absence. But, without a doubt, his presence on and off the court was sorely missed. The impact of his arrival has been immediate on the court. In his first two games back with the team, he’s made the game-winning play. On Wednesday it was two clutch free throws. Last night, he did the spectacular.
With 15 seconds left, Kyle Anderson intercepts a pass from Draymond Green. I expected Chris Finch to use his final timeout to give the Wolves the opportunity to draw something up for the final shot. Instead, he let the Wolves run. Anderson rushes the ball up the court and kicks it to a streaking Towns who, without hesitation, pulled up for the three-point shot. Bang.
In the unyieldingly compressed Western Conference, these last games down the stretch bear a weight greater than that of one single game in space and time. Each game is an opportunity to inch closer to the crown jewel for the middle-class of the West: the coveted sixth seed.
With the sixth seed comes assurance. A ticket straight to the playoffs without the uncertainty of a win-or-go-home scenario that the play-in tournament provides. With Sunday’s victory against the Golden State Warriors, Minnesota crept closer to the sixth seed, which seemed hopelessly out of reach just one week ago.
Off the court, there is no questioning his importance to the Wolves. As he was welcomed back to the court on Wednesday night, the Target Center erupted. The franchise cornerstone, who has been here through thick and thin, was back. Timberwolves fans, as desperate for hope as we can be sometimes, have gravitated toward Towns and his talent for years as a beacon of a brighter future. Though the Wolves have failed to find sustained success with Big KAT as the centerpiece, his two playoff appearances and All-NBA nods make him already the second-greatest player to ever put on a Timberwolves uniform.
The fans missed him, and so did his teammates. He has been the heart and soul of this team for some time now. He is Minnesota Timberwolves basketball and he knows it. “This is what movies is made of,” he said after icing the game against the Atlanta Hawks. In his mind, KAT is living out his storybook tale. Regardless of what has happened, or will happen in Minnesota — playoff runs, title contention, or familiar mediocrity —Towns is here. He first arrived in Minnesota by cosmic circumstance, the first-ever No. 1-overall pick for the Timberwolves. Now, he is here by choice.
Lea B. Olson said to Towns after the Hawks game that the fans missed him. “I missed them,” he said resoundingly. Then he kept repeating “love.” Over and over again, the refrain of “love.” Love for the city, the fans, and for the Timberwolves organization. This is his home, and he has arrived back on the roster with the coming of spring to defrost the city’s frozen souls and push the Wolves to a playoff berth. The fans couldn’t be happier that he’s back, and neither can his teammates.
