Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves reacts to a play against the Dallas Mavericks in the third quarter of the game at Target Center on December 19, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Timberwolves defeated the Mavericks 111-105. David Berding/Getty Images/AFP
The Minnesota Timberwolves placed star center Karl-Anthony Towns in COVID-19 protocols prior to Thursday night’s game against the Utah Jazz.
Towns, 26, is the seventh Minnesota player in the protocol. Star sharpshooter Anthony Edwards is one of the others.
Towns missed 13 games last season due to a battle with the coronavirus. In addition, his mother, Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, died at age 59 from COVID-19 in April 2020.
The latest development hit Towns hard, and he took to Twitter to say, “Can’t catch a (expletive) break!”
Towns, a two-time All-Star, is averaging 24.5 points and 9.1 rebounds in 30 games this season. He has career averages of 23.0 points and 11.4 rebounds in 438 games over seven NBA seasons.
Towns was highly public about his experience with the coronavirus last season.
“COVID did not treat me well whatsoever,” he said upon returning to action last February. “A lot of scary nights.”
The other Timberwolves in protocols are Patrick Beverley, Josh Okogie, Taurean Prince, Jarred Vanderbilt and McKinley Wright IV.