BBNBA: Is Karl-Anthony Towns an early-season MVP candidate?

ZGeogheganKSR

Karl-Anthony Towns - John Jones, Imagn Images

Karl-Anthony Towns is on pace to have the best season of his 10-year NBA career. The move from Minneapolis to New York City has worked out well so far for the former Kentucky big man. He was dominant once again on Thursday night in an easy 125-101 win for the Knicks over the Charlotte Hornets.

Towns recorded his 19th double-double in the win (in played 21 games) with 26 points and 16 rebounds on 9-15 shooting (2-5 3PT) while adding two assists and two blocks to his stat line. It marked the Knicks’ fourth win in a row for a 14-8 overall record. Playing in the Big Apple under the bright lights certainly helps his case, but KAT is establishing himself as a legitimate MVP candidate roughly 25 percent into the 2024-25 season.

Looking at Basketball-Reference’s MVP Tracker, Towns checks in with the fifth-best percentage chance to take home the award. Beating out the likes of Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (who is second on the tracker; more on him in a minute) will be a tough challenge, but I’m not arguing KAT has been better than either of them. I’m arguing he’s been playing at such a high level this season, that he’s deserving of some love for the league’s top individual award.

On the season, Towns is averaging 25.2 points, a career-high 13.2 rebounds, and three assists in 33.8 minutes per outing. His shooting splits of 53.1/45.0/85.7 are lethal. Alongside All-Star guard Jalen Brunson, those two have formed the most potent offense in the entire NBA. We could be looking at a First-Team All-NBA selection for Towns if he keeps this up.

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SGA needs some MVP love too

Gilgeous-Alexander finished second in MVP voting a season ago (and fifth the season before that). It’s no shock to see him among the top MVP candidates again on an Oklahoma City Thunder squad that is even more dangerous than last season. During a 129-92 blowout win over the Immanuel Quickley-less Toronto Raptors, SGA went for 30 points, five assists, four rebounds, two blocks, and two steals in just 29 minutes. He shot 11-22 from the field (albeit on a 1-10 mark from distance).

Just look at Gilgeous-Alexander’s per-game stats and tell me this isn’t insanely impressive: 29.8 points, 6.5 assists, 5.4 rebounds, 1.8 steals, and 1.0 blocks in 34.1 minutes per game. His shooting splits sit at 50.7/32.6/85.7. OKC holds a 17-5 record. He’s been the best player on the league’s best team a quarter of the way through the season. If that keeps up (and Jokic ends up missing more time) then his MVP case will only continue to grow.

I want to give a shoutout to Cason Wallace, too. The second-year guard plays his role to perfection for the Thunder. He had nine points, three steals, three blocks, two assists, and one rebound in 23 minutes last night.

Other BBNBA notes

San Antonio Spurs wing Keldon Johnson dropped a season-high 28 points to go along with five rebounds in a 139-124 win over the Chicago Bulls. He shot 11-17 from the field in just 27 minutes of action.
Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns came up just short of the New Orleans Pelicans, falling 126-124. Booker finished with 28 points but on just 6-20 shooting (13-14 FT). Brandon Boston Jr. came off the bench for the Pelicans to score 11 points on 5-7 shooting.
De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk combined to score 41 points for the Sacramento Kings, but it came in a 115-110 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. Monk led the way with 23 points and five assists while Fox added 19 points, six rebounds, six steals, and three assists.

12/5/24 statistics

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	+/-	MIN
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC)	129-92 W @ TOR	30	11-22 (1-10)	4	5	2	2	2	28	29
Keldon Johnson (SAS)	139-124 L vs. CHI	28	11-17 (1-3)	5	0	1	0	3	-5	27
Devin Booker (PHX)	126-124 L @ NOP	28	6-20 (3-10)	4	2	1	0	3	-10	37
Karl-Anthony Towns (NYK)	125-101 W vs. CHA	27	9-15 (2-5)	16	2	0	2	2	25	39
Malik Monk (SAC)	115-110 L @ MEM	23	7-16 (4-9)	1	5	0	0	0	-2	31
Jamal Murray (DEN)	126-114 L @ CLE	19	7-16 (1-3)	4	6	1	0	1	-10	41
De’Aaron Fox (SAC)	115-110 L @ MEM	18	8-23 (0-7)	6	3	6	0	4	-4	38
Brandon Boston Jr. (NOP)	126-124 W vs. PHX	11	5-7 (1-3)	2	2	1	1	1	15	16
PJ Washington (DAL)	137-101 W @ WAS	10	2-7 (2-4)	7	2	0	2	0	5	24
Cason Wallace (OKC)	129-92 W @ TOR	9	3-7 (2-5)	1	2	3	3	2	8	23
Reed Sheppard (HOU)	99-93 L @ GSW	7	2-6 (1-5)	3	1	0	2	0	6	12
Nick Richards (CHA)	125-101 L @ NYK	6	3-6	8	3	0	1	3	-6	23
Immanuel Quickley (TOR)	129-92 L vs. OKC	DNP-Elbow	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Trey Lyles (SAC)	115-110 L @ MEM	DNP-Calf	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—