Towns a slam-dunk pick for NBA Rookie of the Year

Only four players in NBA history (Ralph Sampson, David Robinson, Blake Griffin, and Damian Lillard) have been named Rookie of the Year on a unanimous vote. There should be no doubt in anyone's mind that Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves will be the fifth.

There was a point early in the season where it felt as though Towns and New York Knicks center Kristaps Porzingis would take the race for the award down to the wire, with both bigs putting up incredible numbers for their respective squads. It didn't take long, though, for the Kentucky alumnus to pull away from The Big Apple's favorite Latvian, leaving little doubt as to who the face of the 2015 class was going to be in year one.

Towns isn't your prototypical 7-footer who camps out around the rim and avoids stepping out of that comfort zone. In fact, we've seen the 20-year-old hold his own quite well defending some of the quickest ball-handlers in the league today.

It takes impeccable footwork and elite timing to stay in front of someone like Stephen Curry, both of which Towns has in spades.

On offense, Towns is a jack of all trades who possesses a level of confidence in his shot that very few first-year players could ever attest to having. In an era where traditional bigs who operate solely in the post are being phased out, he's adapted his game to this wave of change.

Whether he's working with his back to the basket and using his patented right-handed hook shot, functioning as the roll man with Ricky Rubio, or even extending his range for an occasional 3-pointer, Towns tends to take smart shots in the flow of the offense, while converting his attempts at a respectable rate.

Western Conference Rookie of the Month honors never went to anyone else, and with another strong stretch in April seemingly wrapping up another, Towns will become the first rook since Blake Griffin (2010-11) to complete the sweep for an entire season.

He's also the only rookie to earn a Player of the Week nod (April 4-10), which hasn't happened since Michael Carter-Williams did so in Philadelphia in 2013-14.

Getting down to brass tacks, Towns is at or near the top of all statistical categories for rookies, which should itself be enough to convince naysayers that he's the cream of the crop. Some of his numbers even place him among the league's elite.

To put his production into perspective, Towns is set to become just the sixth rookie ever to average at least 17 points, 10 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.5 rejections. Three players (Robinson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Tim Duncan) went on to become NBA Most Valuable Players and world champions, while the two others (Sampson and Elton Brand) made multiple All-Star teams.

(Courtesy: Basketball-Reference.com)

It's rare for a franchise to possess back-to-back Rookie of the Year winners. The Buffalo Braves (now the Los Angeles Clippers) were the last to do it in 1973-74, with Bob McAdoo and Ernie DiGregorio. Even though Andrew Wiggins was drafted first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers, he still won the award with the Timberwolves.

Something special is being created in Minnesota, with Towns being the cornerstone of the team's eventual uprising in the West, alongside Wiggins and Zach LaVine. It's a shame the Target Center has the second-worst attendance numbers in the Association, because watching KAT and his young-gun teammates continue to grow as a unit is worth the price of admission.

Towns will be your 2015-16 Rookie of the Year. He's a once-in-a-lifetime talent who had already blossomed into one of the game's very best at his position. The fact that he can only get better and stronger from here on out should terrify 29 other teams.