Karl-Anthony Towns recorded the most double-doubles of any NBA player this season. He was the starting center of a defense that ranked top five because of his contributions on that end of the court – not in spite of them.
Voters wound up leaving Towns off of all three All-NBA teams entirely. The center, and his New York Knicks, have no other choice but to use the snub as motivation. The team is on a historic run in these playoffs, but fans know well that Knicks kudos on national platforms don't come from meeting expectations.
The standard was set long ago that the team has to exceed them. Towns knows well that expectations in New York City are simply just higher, but that doesn't change that the center was just given another lesson – the "hard way."
NBA awards confirm Towns' turnaround won't mean a thing without a ring
Despite playing four fewer minutes per game than last year, Towns was still second in the league in both total and average rebounds. His counting statistics decreased in comparison to last season, when he made the All-NBA Third Team, but he had a larger impact on the success of a better team.
Voters' job isn't simply to consider that Towns needed the entire season to adjust to Brown's new offense – or that the Knicks overhauled their defensive scheme midway through it. It's to watch games, across the entire association, and make highly-difficult determinations of which individual players contributed most to team success.
Towns' contributions to the Knicks' season didn't necessarily jump off of the box score on a night-by-night basis. The center continued his worst trend by leading the league in offensive fouls for the third-straight season, which left him watching several close contests from the sidelines.
On top of struggles staying on the court, Towns often had trouble closing the gap between the impact he desired to exact on his opponents and the effects he was actually having on his Knicks' chances of emerging victorious. As he tried to acclimate to Brown's new-look offense, he committed plenty of turnovers and shared frustrations regarding his role on the team.
But from February 1 and on, Towns and Brunson were the NBA's best pick-and-roll duo strictly by points per direct action involving both (where one served as a screener). From Christmas and on, the team was one of the league's five most efficient on both ends of the court. And Towns played major roles in assuring that success.
Being from the area, Towns is well aware that the Knicks have to prove their doubters wrong twice over to officially change their minds. Now that he's actually suiting up in orange and blue, though, he's getting to know that standard better than ever.
And he knows exactly which golden trophy his Knicks have to earn to finally get the recognition they deserve.
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