One of the first things players are taught when they start playing basketball is how to get into triple-threat position. If you aren’t familiar with it, the triple-threat is a way for the offensive player to protect the ball from the defender in front of them by putting themselves in position to make one of three basic moves: shoot if the defender gives them too much space, put the ball on the floor if the defender gets too close or pass to an open teammate. By being a threat in each of those areas, the idea is the player can take whatever the defense gives them.
By nature of the skills involved in using the triple-threat effectively, backcourt players are usually the ones who use it most — they’re the ones who are usually the most comfortable shooting, passing and attacking off the dribble. However, we’re starting to see more big men use it as a way of maximizing their ability to step out to the 3-point line. Nikola Jokic, Marc Gasol and Kristaps Porzingis are three names that immediately come to mind, who can shoot, pass and make plays off the dribble. But no other big man uses the triple-threat as well as Karl-Anthony Towns to create baskets for themselves.
It all starts with Towns’ ability to space the floor. He’s fifth amongst centers this season in 3-pointers made (83) and he shoots 35.5 percent from the perimeter. Not only are those good numbers for a player of his position, it’s pretty good by general NBA standards. Towns has made more 3-pointers than John Wall, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, Harrison Barnes and Dirk Nowitzki, and his success rate from behind the arc is better than Nicolas Batum, Jamal Crawford, DeMarcus Cousins and James Harden. He’s also comfortable from midrange having made slightly under 45 percent of his long 2-pointers on the season.
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Towns combines that shooting stroke with the ability to put the ball on the floor (third amongst centers with 3.1 points per game off of drives) and make plays for others (seventh amongst centers with 6.5 points created by assist per game). Together, it gives him the foundation he needs to use the triple-threat like he’s a point guard trapped in the body of a 7-footer.
Let’s take a look at some examples to see how he does it. Based on the image below, guess which of those three options — jump shot, drive, pass — Towns uses to score on Marc Gasol on this possession:
If you went with a face-up jump shot, you’re right. It shouldn’t come as a surprise. Gasol is a couple of feet away from him and Towns can knocking down jump shots from all over the court. He also has a quick release for a 7-footer, which makes it nearly impossible to block him even though he basically shoots a set shot. Once he squares up to the basket, it’s often an open look for him unless the defender is directly in his face.
Now look at this image and guess what Towns decides to do:
Marshall Plumlee isn’t giving Towns the space he needs to get off a shot, so he protects the ball and scans the floor for an opening. When everybody settles down, Towns gets Plumlee moving side-to-side with a jab towards the baseline — notice how he fakes with his body and the ball — and sinks a smooth hook shot over him in the paint. Being able to shoot and put the ball on the floor makes Towns a nightmare for traditional power forwards and centers to matchup with.
To throw a monkey wrench in the works, here’s one more to look at:
By facing up to the basket, Towns can quickly react when Jabari Parker leaves Andrew Wiggins on the cut to double team him. With his height and wingspan, it’s easy for him to pass over players — even ones likes John Henson who are 6-foot-11 with a 7-foot-4 wingspan — and he leads Wiggins perfectly with a pass to the basket. Although most of his assists come off of hand-offs or when he gets double-teamed in the post, Towns can make the right reads when he faces up.
All of those baskets were created out of fear of Towns doing something else. Gasol knows Towns can blow past him off the dribble, so he gives him some space for a jump shot. Plumlee knows Towns can drain a jump shot over him, so he crowds his dribble to take that option away. And because he’s a volume scorer, the Bucks try to double team Towns to turn him into a passer. By being a threat in each of those areas, he’s practically unguardable.
Taking Towns to the next level is his ability to pull off different moves out of the triple-threat. Think about it. Not only is he a threat to shoot, drive and pass when he faces up to the basket. He can also draw his defender out by faking a shot, blow past them with a crossover and finish over other 7-footers in the paint. He can pump fake on the 3-point, put the ball on the floor and pull up for an open midrange jump shot. He can even pump fake on the 3-point line and still shoot a 3-point when the defender doesn’t close out on him. If it weren’t for the triple-threat, Towns wouldn’t be able to string together those moves as seamlessly as he does.
Just watch what he does to Al Horford — he has to respect Towns’ ability to knock down a long range shot, so Horford crowds his dribble like Plumlee did. Towns responds with a jab step to make it seems as if he’s going to attack the basket, only to use it as a way of creating space for a jump shot. But he doesn’t shoot it immediately. He gets Horford in the air with a pump fake, loses him with a behind the back dribble and then drains a step back jumper.
There aren’t many guards in the NBA who could pull off that same move, let alone 7-footers who also grab 12 rebounds and block a couple of shots per game.
Here’s another example of Towns putting it all together. He fools Vince Carter with a pass fake and the threat of his jump shot pulls Zach Randolph out of the paint. He then navigates his way around Randolph, gets into the lane with ease and finishes the play with an uncontested dunk. Once again, being able to shoot, dribble and pass out of the triple threat is what set him up for success. If he wasn’t able to do all of those things at a high rate, defenders wouldn’t respect any of his fakes.
This one in particular against Steven Adams is just unfair:
The same goes for this acrobatic move against the Pelicans:
We looked at how the Timberwolves use him like a shooting guard at times by running him off of screens, so this is another example of how Towns is changing the center position before our eyes. And it’s hard to believe Towns will peak as a shooter at 21-years-old. The more teams have to respect his ability to stretch the floor, the more opportunities he’ll have to make plays for himself and others off the dribble. The more opportunities he has to make those plays, the more he’ll have to rely on the triple threat to choose the right option.
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When you account for how comfortable Towns already is in each of those departments, that’s a scary thought.