No. 1 pick Towns on Summer League debut: 'I had butterflies, I was very nervous'
All eyes were on the Thomas and Mack Center at 8:30 p.m. ET on Friday, as the top two picks from the 2015 NBA Draft went head-to-head at Las Vegas Summer League.
Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated D'Angelo Russell and the Los Angeles Lakers 81-68, but the result was of far less consequence than the individual performances of the top two picks and a host of other intriguing prospects.
Related: VIDEO - Randle returns to action as Russell and Towns square off; LaVine shines
Towns, the No. 1 pick and presumptive top prospect in the class, scored 12 points with three rebounds and four assists in 32 minutes, shooting 4-of-10 from the floor. That's solid production, but he also committed nine fouls and four turnovers, and at times looked winded.
That may have been in part due to nerves, and in part due to the fact that 32 minutes is quite a lot for Towns after a season of playing shorter minutes at Kentucky.
"I ain't gonna lie," Towns said after the game. "I had butterflies. I was very nervous. My legs felt heavy."
The heavy legs could have been the cause of an early air-balled 3-point attempt, one of two misses from long range on the night. The fouling seemed to be a mix of catching up to the speed of play and some fatigue-induced sloppiness. Towns topped out at 31 minutes as a college freshman and averaged 21.1 thanks to Kentucky's obscene depth.
His conditioning was one of the few potential weaknesses in his profile, and he didn't seem to shy away from his need to improve.
"I played 32 minutes, and I'm used to a platoon system," Towns said. "That's 19 minutes, 20 minutes and I'm playing in five-minute spurts. Tonight, I was playing 10, 11 minutes straight. It's different, obviously. I'm not going to lie."
There's plenty of time for Towns to work up to playing 10-minute stretches, and he may not need to worry about 32-minute outings as a rookie.
While he's the top pick, the Wolves also employ Kevin Garnett, Nikola Pekovic, Anthony Bennett, Shabazz Muhammad, Adreian Payne, Gorgui Dieng, and Nemanja Bjelica, all of whom could see minutes in the frontcourt. There will be no need to overwork Towns too early or ask too much of him until he's ready.
You can read more about Towns in our pre-draft scouting report.