MINNEAPOLIS — It’s easy to see the impact Karl-Anthony Towns had on the basketball court, but what he did off it might not be as obvious.
In just his second season with the Minnesota Timberwolves, prepping Thanksgiving dinner for families in need in 2017, Towns understood how he could be a catalyst for change.
“Whatever we do on the court is what we do on the court, but a true man’s legacy is left by the effect he does on the community,” he said at the time. “I feel I can do more off the court than on it."
He’s been living by that statement ever since, organizing a winter coat drive for kids and teenagers who don’t have jackets, fundraising for the Boys & Girls Club Twin Cities, helping formerly incarcerated people restore their right to vote, giving to families in need, and spending time with kids who are ill.
“The thing that I like about KAT, he shows up, he’s personal, he’s caring, and he’s made a really big impact on HopeKids and he’ll be deeply missed,” said Executive Director of HopeKids Minnesota Brian Anderson.
HopeKids helps children who have cancer or other life-threatening medical conditions along with their families.
“Every Christmas he would invite 100 people out to the Timberwolves facility, and we would go into the theater that they have, and we would watch a movie, a kid’s movie, and sometimes he would actually sit there and watch the movie in entirety with our families. It was pretty cool,” he said.
Anderson said he’s been hosting a Christmas party for HopeKids since 2018. He said KAT has made a big impact on their kids and has given them hope.
“The timeout that he took for people really showed that he cared makes a huge difference,” he said. “We’re going to miss him a lot.”
He isn’t sure if their relationship will continue, but he’s hopeful Towns will stop by when the New York Knicks come to Minneapolis in December.
Kai Glinsek will also miss KAT, but he’ll never forget how he helped his family through a hard time. Glinsek’s mother had pancreatic cancer, and the medical bills were piling up. The family started to a GoFundMe to help, but they were thousands of dollars short, until KAT heard about it.
“He changed my family’s life,” he said. "What KAT did for me and my family, I’ll never forget it. I’m never not going to be a KAT fan.”
Glinsek’s mother has passed away, but Towns got them to their goal, donating thousands of dollars.
“That meant the world to us and KAT didn’t want any recognition for it, he just did it. I believe it comes from the struggles he’s had,” he said.
He’ll never not root for KAT, and hope when people drive by Parkway Pizza in Northeast Minneapolis they’ll honk if they love KAT, too.
