Karl-Anthony Towns has not been in camp with the Timberwolves, sidelined by a non-COVID illness. Beyond that, there were not a lot of details other than his girlfriend Jordyn Woods saying on social media that she had taken him to the hospital.
Towns spoke to the media for the first time this season on Monday and said he was just cleared to walk again on Saturday, but did not get into detail about whatever illness he is dealing with.
Karl-Anthony Towns didn't go into deep detail about what he's been through, but said he only started walking again after his non-covid illness on Saturday. He's down to 231 pounds. But says he feels good to be back out on the court and is ramping back up.
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) October 3, 2022
Karl-Anthony Towns when he was in the hospital: "There was more drastic things to worry about than basketball at that moment. I wasn’t too worried about basketball for a while. But I miss the game, I love the game. I miss these guys."
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) October 3, 2022
First, it is Towns’ right if and when to disclose what he went through. This is not an on-court injury leading to a loss of playing time, and it is his call to talk about.
Towns has been sidelined before by illness, including COVID. After losing his mother and other family members to the disease, he also had a long battle with it. Fortunately, this is not that virus, but whatever it was it sidelined him for a couple of weeks.
That missed training camp is a setback as the Timberwolves try to get used to a two-big lineup with KAT and Rudy Gobert, plus some other new faces. Still, Towns and Minnesota should be good to go by the start of the season, a team thinking playoffs and much more after spending big this offseason.