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Karl-Anthony Towns having historic season; Should be in NBA All-Star Game

Karl-Anthony Towns is having what may go down as the greatest season an NBA rookie has ever had.

By Jason Marcum
Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

The rise of Karl-Anthony Towns has truly been a joy to watch, whether you're a Kentucky or Minnesota Fan.

After a standout year with the Wildcats that ended with 38 wins and a trip to the Final Four, Towns went on to become the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft to the Timberwolves.

Now in his first NBA season, Towns is averaging 16.1 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game. He's also coming off a 25-point, 16-board, three-block performance against the Boston Celtics Monday night, which put the 20-year-old in some pretty historic company.

If Towns' current numbers continue for the remainder of this season, he will become just the fifth NBA rookie to average at least 19 points, 11 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per 36 minutes. The only other players to average that are NBA Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson and Ralph Sampson in addition to future Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal.

One of the best stats to see just how much of an impact a player has is his Player Efficiency Rating, which Towns comes in at 14th. The only Western Conference big men to come in ahead of him are Anthony Davis, Blake Griffin and Derrick Favors. It's also worth noting that Griffin (34.9), Favors (32.6) and Davis (35.8) are doing so while playing at least four more minutes per game than Towns (28.1).

Speaking of, Towns is currently on pace to have the best PER that any NBA rookie has ever had:

All of this is why Towns deserves to be in the 2016 NBA All-Star game, something Timberwolves Twitter is trying to make happen:

I think a little help from the #BBN would go a long way in getting Towns into the game, so let's make it happen guys and gals.

Go here to vote Towns and other deserving former Wildcats into the 2016 NBA All-Star Game.

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