What you missed this week in the NBA: Cavaliers, Embiid, weed

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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – OCTOBER 27: Jimmy Butler #23 and Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves speak to each other during the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on October 27, 2017 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

2. Weed

In a recent interview with ESPN’s Nick Friedell, Karl-Anthony Towns shared his views on marijuana. Towns believes the NBA and commissioner Adam Silver should consider removing marijuana from the league’s banned substance list.

"I agree with David Stern with marijuana. You don’t have to actually make it “Mary J” [or] “Half Baked.” You don’t have to do it like that, but you could use the [chemical] properties in it to make a lot of people better. That’s something that [Commissioner] Adam Silver has to do, that’s out of my control, but maybe legalizing marijuana. Not fully legal where people are chimneys but using [marijuana] as a beneficial factor as an athlete, as a person living daily. I think a lot of times fans forget that sometimes there may be some things that are banned that may not be the greatest for playing basketball, but for everyday living off the court, sometimes those things that are legal could help us."

While Towns stressed the fact that he’s never done the drug, he claims to have seem its helpful remedies in action. He noted his work with autistic children, knowledge in the medical field and close-knit experience watching the drug be used in helpful ways as influences on his beliefs. Although what many do not know is, Towns studied to become a kinesiologist at Kentucky. As a matter of fact, the 22-year-old would have gone into the medical field had it not been for basketball.

Towns agreed with former NBA commissioner David Stern, who suggested marijuana become a legal substance, recently. In addition, he believes the drug would help NBA players, but stressed he is not talking about himself. Towns then spoke out about why he is taking this stance. While he does not seek to use the drug, he thinks others should. The youngster noted marijuana’s helpful effects; including improving everyday life functions.

All in all, the topic’s certainly gaining steam in professional sports. Although it remains on the banned substance list, that may not be the case for long. Towns’ comments may spark an even bigger conversation amongst league officials in months or years to come.

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