Serving Minnesota was always personal for Karl-Anthony Towns

Otto added: “The young kids who want to play a sport, any sport, and they see an athlete like that and it gives them hope that even though they’re part of the community, they can still play sports in big leagues. It’s monumental to see these athletes come out to say, ‘I support you all, and I’ll stand here proudly next to you.’ It’s fantastic.”

Small actions can have a big impact. Towns always understood that, and he always prioritized his social justice work, even when it would have been easy to do nothing. He didn’t care what people were going to say on social media that night. He showed up to lend his voice and presence to the protests over Floyd’s murder shortly after his mother, Jacqueline, died of COVID.

Regardless of how you felt about him on the court, Karl-Anthony Towns always showed up for Minnesota.

Thursday at 8:30 p.m., Target Center

TV, radio: TNT, MAX; iHeart app

Wolves update: The Wolves have won six of their last seven games while compiling a defensive rating of 92.8, 10.7 points better than the No. 2 over that stretch. Jaden McDaniels is coming off his first career double-double Sunday against San Antonio, where he had 12 points and 11 rebounds.