After helping lead his team to the NBA playoffs last season, star forward/center Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves chose to keep playing during the summer by suiting up for the Dominican Republic in the FIBA World Cup overseas.
Even though the Dominican Republic wasn’t given much of a chance to win it all in the World Cup, Towns wanted to represent his country and keep his promise to his mother that he would play for the team at some point.
Towns recently spoke about the experience with ESPN’s Malika Andrews and what it meant to him to keep his promise to his mother while also being able to represent the country against the best of the best the world has to offer when it comes to international basketball, via NBA on ESPN.
"It meant everything being able to represent my mother. Her country, our country."
Karl-Anthony Towns on playing for the Domincan Republic at the FIBA World Cup. pic.twitter.com/ubbA0x7EJb
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) October 12, 2023
As expected, the Dominican Republic was unable to contend with the best of the best, and even the United States struggled, finishing fourth in the tournament behind Germany, Serbia and Canada.
Despite the team struggling against the stiff international competition in this tournament, Towns played well and showed that he can help this team moving forward if he chooses to continue playing for the country in other international tournaments in the future.
Now Towns will get back to work as part of a dynamic duo in Minnesota, playing alongside rising star Anthony Edwards, who also got a taste of what it’s like to play for his country and compete on the international level over the summer.
Edwards and Team USA fell short, but he also played well and has fans excited about the future of the Timberwolves.
NEXT: Fans React To Anthony Edwards' Tough Bucket On 2 Defenders
