Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves
Once considred the future of the NBA big men when he was drafted No. 1 overall out of Kentucky, Towns has not quite lived up to that expectation, but he has found himself in the conversation for the NBA’s best centers. In the tail-end of the second best season of his career, Towns is averaging a split of 24.7/12.5/3.3, putting him near the top of the list in scoring and rebounding. The incredibly athletic Towns poses a mismatch against many of the league’s less mobile centers. Towns is shooting a very effective 41.3 percent from three-point range this season, adding another dimension of talent to his ever-evolving game.
Opposite of Embiid, Towns did not miss a single game in his first 3 NBA seasons, playing and starting all 82 games. This season, Towns missed just three games, and is on pace to play 79 of 82 games, giving him a career playing percentage of 99 percent. For any NBA star, let alone a big man who gets banged around in the paint on a nightly basis, his availability night in and night out is something that separates Towns from the competition.
In their young career’s, Embiid and Towns have matched up just five times, with Embiid winning four of the five. Their splits are fairly similar, with Embiid posting numbers slightly better than Towns. Joel has produced 22.6/9.8/3.2, while Towns as gone for 19.0/11.2/2.0 in their matchups. In their first-ever matchup in 2016, Towns dominated Embiid, holding him to 10 points and 10 rebounds, while putting up 25 points and 10 rebounds of his own. That was the last time that Towns was able to write that script, with Embiid dominating Towns statistically in their last four matchups.
Towns is an elite center, and there aren’t many people who will argue that. His lack of physicality, however, is his biggest knock. Going up against players like Embiid who try their best to out-physical you while simultaneously getting in your head is a nightmare for Towns. For that reason alone, Joel Embiid yet again wins this matchup.
Advantage: Joel Embiid