Karl-Anthony Towns nearing return for Timberwolves ahead of NBA Playoffs

After leading the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 127-117 road victory against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night, superstar wing Anthony Edwards boldly proclaimed that teammate and All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns is on the verge of making his highly anticipated return from a torn meniscus in his left knee during his postgame interview.

“KAT [Towns] coming back,” Edwards said as he stared into the camera with his eyes wide open and repeatedly nodded his head. “KAT will be back,” he added.

Players tend to be more opportunistic about injury diagnoses. But Edwards was not joking if the follow-up report from Shams Charania, Senior lead NBA insider for The Athletic, not even 24 hours after the fact is any indication.

Karl-Anthony Towns nearing return for Timberwolves and could return before NBA Playoffs

“Great news for Karl-Anthony Towns, he participated in his first team scrimmage on Sunday,” Charania said before referencing the remarks made by Edwards following the Timberwolves win over the Lakers on Sunday. 

“There is optimism that Karl-Anthony Towns will play before the playoffs start,” Charania adds.

However, Charania points out that the Timberwolves may not have necessarily expected Towns to return this season after suffering the injury on Mar. 4 and undergoing surgery days later. So anything they get from the 2015 No. 1 overall pick could be considered icing on the cake.

Despite being without Towns, their second-highest scorer since Mar. 7 and a core rotational piece, Minnesota has done an excellent job weathering the storm. The Timberwolves have gone 11-5 during that span, maintaining their position atop the Western Conference. But only a game separates them from the third-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder, making his pending return even more critical.

Towns averaged 22.1 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game while shooting a career-best 42.3 percent from beyond the arc on 5.3 nightly attempts through 60 games before going down with the knee issue.