NBA ALL-STAR 3-POINT CONTEST

February 19, 2022

Karl-Anthony Towns

Press Conference

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: I want to know who bet against me. That's all I want to know. I just want to know.

Q. Karl, you said you felt good this morning after practice.

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: I almost got that 30, and everyone on the bench said, Karl said he is getting 30 right now. I missed that last shot. I just said on TV, I'm super happy to win. It's great, but I just have such high standards for myself, and I think if anyone knows you've been with me in my career seven years in Minnesota, I'm the biggest critic of myself than anybody. There's no writer, no blogger, no one who can critique and be more harsh on their game than me, on my game.

I was so messed up about not getting the 30, I tricked the last two shots. I felt I could have got 31, 32, but I thought 30 was what I was going to need to win in the final round. I already had myself in the final round. 29, I'm happy I was able to scrape by with 29.

Q. How much did you want this?

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: Enough to wake up at 8:00 in the morning and practice. (Laughing) I think it's that simple. I said it multiple times, I didn't come here to participate. I came here to compete. I came here to win.

On the other hand, too, it's just I feel for me in my life, my motto has always been if I can't do something at 110% and give all of me, I don't want to do it, and I knew when I got the call, and I had been begging the NBA for years to let me do this contest, and I finally got that call this year to do it, so just wanted make the most of it. If I'm going show up, I'm going to try to show out as well.

Q. You said before that you're the best shooting big man of all time? Is this another notch?

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: I think this is a nice little thing to put on that résumé for it. Big man hasn't won in 10 years, and, of course, 10 years ago, a decade ago, who won it? The Wolves [Kevin Love]. It's coming back home where it belongs.

Q. Karl, you mentioned that you asked the league for years to be in this. Why do you think it took so long to get an opportunity to do it?

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: I'm a big. I think there's such electrifying, amazing guards out here. I knew when I went in the last round I had Luke Kennard and Trae Young, I knew that 30 was probably going to be the number to beat, that I had to really get myself a chance to win, and I was pretty much close to correct. 28, 29 I squeezed by.

So I said it out there. I think if anything, if anyone knows in this league right now recently I think I just know that God is good through all the bad, through everything. It's amazing the blessings He gives you when you open your eyes and you are willing to receive the blessings. So I'm just here receiving the blessings. I'm just staying true to myself and having the support of my family. And I want to give a shout-out, too, as well, before we go into the League, because the League said we can't wear earrings and jewelry, but they allowed me to keep my mom's chain on, so I really appreciate them for allowing me to do that.

Q. Karl, I know there had been some playful banter between you and Zach [LaVine] in the run-up to this. Just wonder if you had anything to say to him after winning and then especially advancing past the first round?

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: I told him in Chicago when we played I was going to win. I told him earlier today I was going to win. Told him before I shot my first round I was going to win. Told him in the final round I was going to win, and then after I told him I won, so pretty good lead-up. (Laughing).

Q. Hey, Karl, in the final round you went first, so what was that like to watch the last two guys?

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: I was happy. I was happy. I wanted to go first. I told Luke Kennard I wanted to go first, so I was glad when they called my name and said that I was going to go first. Just tremendously confident in my shooting ability, and I just wanted to go first. I wanted to put the pressure on everybody, get a high number. That makes it almost feel like it's unattainable. Just that feeling of you have to be perfect and you miss one, it kind of knocks the confidence out. So I wanted to set the tone real quick.

But I just felt good. I've said it to John and everybody. I felt really good and really confident all day, and the energy that I had all day wasn't nervousness or anxious. It was more just super confident and can't wait to show the world what I could do when I'm given this platform and this stage.

Q. Then you had to watch the other two guys, so what was that like?

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: Trae scared me with how many in and outs, so I was worried that the basketball gods were going to repay him and give him swishes and in and ins. It's definitely stressful, but the whole purpose is the reason why I wanted to go first was to put the stress on them. If I was stressed, I knew they felt a little more.

Q. Congrats for the win. What kind of message do you think you are going to send to the rest of the league winning this trophy?

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: I think the league knew I could shoot the ball the way I could from three. I just think that for all the kids -- the tall kids and for all the big men out there who are told that they won't succeed doing nothing but having their back to the basket and shooting hook shots, I want to be the example that that's not true. You can accomplish anything you want and be the player that you want to be at any time. My father and I when I grew up, I remember everyone told me to do the same way. Have your back to the basket. Why is Karl shooting threes? There's no reason for him shooting threes. We're experts. We know better than you. Me and my dad said screw them. We're going to do it our way. We're going to make the league our way. We're going to do it our way. We're going to be great in a way that the world has never seen before, and that's been my motto. Just show the world greatness from a different lens.

And I feel that in the seven years I've been in the league, I feel that I've shown them that, and I'm going to -- I'm only getting better. I'm just scratching the surface of what I can be. There's more levels to attain. There's more levels to unlock in my game and in my career, and I'm just super excited that I get a moment like this to take a step back from the competitive basketball standpoint and be able to celebrate these wins like this with my family and be able to have a little bit of a break to really enjoy this because, you know, when you win a big game, you hit a game winner, you play the next day, there's really no time to celebrate or really get to relish in it.

Q. Karl, you have a Skills title and a Three title. Is it Dunk next year?

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: No, I'm retired. I am going out on top. I said it on TV. I made sure I let it be known. I won the Skills Challenge. I remember everyone laughed at me. Ricky Rubio included. You remember? Everyone laughed. They said you're going to embarrass yourself out there. Not only am I not going to embarrass myself, but I'm going to win. I found a way to win.

This year the same way. Vegas had me at these crazy odds, and people said there's no way. My teammates were, like, we know you can shoot, but I don't know if you are going to win that one. Well, guess what. It's coming back home. It's coming back to where it belongs.

I didn't go to High Bounce University. I leave that for Anthony Edwards. That's not something I have in my game. I'm not going to be in the Dunk Contest any time soon, nor in the future, so I don't know. Maybe I defend this next year. I don't know. But maybe I go out on top, but I definitely have fun. I love this competition. It's something that when I was young, I used to replay the old NBA games and just consistently just play the three-point contest against my childhood friends, Greg and Vic. It's great to have -- especially I know I said the two childhood friends, but Greg is here, and Vic couldn't make it. Greg has rebounded for me for years before I even got into high school, and I think this is a win that me and him, who grew up in the same neighborhood, grew up our entire lives with each other. I think this is a win not only just for me and the Wolves, but I think it's a win for all my friends and my childhood friends and people I call brothers who helped me get to this point and were willing to rebound for me while I'm shooting threes and maybe clanking them or not having a good shooting day and running, never complained one second and do it just for the love of our friendship. I don't want to take that for granted, those guys and my boys really helped me now for years, and I'm just glad I get to celebrate this moment with them tonight.