Karl-Anthony Towns interview after winning 2016 Skills Challenge
InsideHoops.com | Feb. 13, 2016
Minnesota Timberwolves rookie center Karl-Anthony Towns shocked the world and won the 2016 Skills Challenge competition. Here are Towns interview quotes after winning the event:
Q. They said a big man couldn't do it. How do you
feel?
KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: I like proving people wrong,
so I'm glad I was able to make a lot of people wrong. I
was able to make critics wrong, Vegas wrong, Ricky
Rubio wrong. So I'm just so ecstatic right now.
I'm just praying that I can see Zach [LaVine] finish out
the weekend for the Timberwolves.
Q. They brought you big guys into it because of
where the game is going and how much more
versatile you guys are. But do you really think you
guys all showed that a little bit tonight?
KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: I think we did. I think we
did. The bigs were amazing today, and we were able
to just come out with a W, and I'm glad I was able to
help the bigs come out with this trophy. This is bigger
than me. This is for all the bigs out there, with the
game changing the way it is, to show that bigs can
stand up with guards and skillwise.
Q. What's it going to be like? I mean, Zach already
won the MVP. He's going to go for the Dunk
Contest tonight. Do you think you guys, [Andrew]
Wiggins had a big game last night, has the
Timberwolves being here shown that the future is
bright for you guys?
KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: It is, it is. It's amazingly
bright. We've got some of the best future talent in the
world. For us to be together on the same team is a
blessing, and something that no one could have
thought could happen.
Q. Is there an aspect about the Challenge that you
were nervous about going into?
KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: Oh, absolutely. My heart
was coming out my chest. I'm usually never nervous of
anything. But you know, I just went out there.
It's funny, the one thing I remember right before I got
nervous was [Kevin Garnett] teaching just to breathe.
He taught me how to breathe a certain way. While I
was nervous, I was a lot less nervous because of that
breathing technique he taught me. I just went out there
and tried to do my best.
Q. You didn't practice much of the
itself, right, before you did it?
KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: Oh, I came in today at I
think it was 11:00 in the morning and got a practice
run, but it doesn't translate to what it is when you have
millions of people watching, thousands of people in the
stands and also your heart racing like mine was. So
just to have that instance of just a feel of how it was.
Isaiah Thomas has a great feel. He was playing in it
last year, so a much better feel than all of us together.
So I was so happy to come out with a W.
Q. You had touched a moment ago about Kevin
Garnett with the breathing exercises and that. Can
you talk more about some of the things he has
taught you in this first year in the NBA?
KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: I mean, just how to be a
professional, how to be a professional in this game on
and off the court. Just to do my best to lead, and that's
the biggest thing. He teaches all of us how to lead,
and I want to be a leader for this team. So I'm trying to
learn as many steps as I can, because you never know
how many days Kevin has left to play.
Q. What's it like at the end? You have the trophy
and your other bigs come up and join you on the
podium? What was that moment like?
KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: I mean, it's amazing. Like I
said, this moment is bigger than me. This is a moment
that hopefully the NBA can cherish for a long time to
see the transition of guards and bigs only having to be
on the post, but also can be outside dribbling the ball,
dribble up the court and shoot threes. So I think this
moment was much bigger than myself, but it shows
that bigs are translating into a new facet of their games.
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