The Karl-Anthony Towns who will take the court for Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game in Charlotte is a far different player from the one who made his first All-Star Game appearance in Los Angeles last season.

He’s not the same guy he was when he entered the league, nor the player who averaged a career-best 25 points a game in his second campaign or even the center who started this season for Minnesota.

No, this version of the Timberwolves’ franchise cornerstone is much, much better The player Towns currently represents — one who makes big plays late, dominates both sides of the ball and leads in the locker room — is the type of guy a successful team can be built around.

“His growth from last year to now has just been tremendous,” Wolves point guard Jeff Teague said.

Towns achieved a few important firsts last season. He was selected to his first All-Star Game, made his first playoff appearance and was named to his first All-NBA team. But while Towns played well last season and still has not had a “down year,” those achievements were largely thanks to Minnesota’s team success and first postseason appearance since 2004.

But flaws were still apparent. Towns was still a defensive liability, he was pushed around by bigger players, his effort was inconsistent and he took a back seat in the locker room behind Jimmy Butler.

“Last year I just kind of made (the all-star team), it was cool,” Towns said. “But there was a lot more of my spirit into this one.”

If you throw out the early portion of the season when Butler was still on the Timberwolves’ roster — a wild situation that seemed to throw Towns out of sync — the stats show the Wolves’ all-star big man has alleviated any concerns about his game.

His defense is vastly improved. Towns is a better rim protector, averaging a career-best 1.8 blocks, and is in proper position more times than not. Since the Butler trade, the Wolves are surrendering 106.1 points per 100 possessions when Towns is on the floor — a career low — and Towns’ defensive real-plus minus, a stat from ESPN that measures his effect on the defensive end, is as far into the black (+1.28) as it has ever been. Towns is finally helping the Wolves on both ends of the floor.

“Even today I’m still maturing, finding ways to play the way I like to play but obviously not foul and finding ways to play defense, just reading things better,” he said. “When you’ve played people for so many years, you kind of see their moves, their tendencies, how they like to shoot shots, stuff like that.”

And on offense, Towns continues to make himself harder to guard. While he’s still a lethal 3-point threat, it’s not as easy as it once was to push the center out of post position. Towns averaged just 6.5 post-ups per game last season, per NBA.com. That number is up to 12.2 this season. Towns is shooting 52 percent in those situations and leads the NBA with 59 assists out of post-ups, a sign he’s getting better at handling extra defenders sent his way.

“He really is so gifted offensively where he can pass, offensive rebound (and) he sees the floor,” Luol Deng said. “Sometimes he’ll tell us what they’re doing defensively in terms of covering him and we’ve just got to execute. But he’s really that good offensively.”

Which is why it’s critical the Wolves go to Towns when contests are in the balance. They’ve done so consistently of late, finding different ways to get him touches in the fourth quarter, and he has come through. Over the Wolves’ past two games — both wins — Towns is averaging 6.5 points in the fourth, going a combined 6 for 6 from the field. The doesn’t include the winning buzzer-beater he hit against Memphis in late January.

“I’ve said it multiple times, the second half, especially the fourth quarter, that’s when my teammates need me the most,” Towns said. “I just try to dominate and take over the game.”

That mentality has been even more necessary this past month-plus, with the Wolves’ roster depleted by injuries. Yet Minnesota is still alive on the outskirts of the Western Conference playoff picture. That’s largely thanks to Towns, who us averaging 26.2 points and 13 rebounds since Christmas.

“Defensively, offensively just being a real beast down low. I think that set him over the top,” Taj Gibson said recently. “He had some big games for us, but just keeping the team afloat, you know what I’m saying? He’s been doing a good job.”

Both on the court and off. Towns’ rise to locker room leader has been a slow progression and was seemingly stunted by Butler’s tenure. But teammates have noted Towns’ leadership over the past few months. He has help from several veterans, most notably Gibson, Deng and Derrick Rose, but the locker room seems to now belong to Towns.

Regardless of the Wolves’ win count, you can’t call Towns’ stats empty any longer. Since the Butler trade, among Wolves Towns trails only Deng in net rating, with Minnesota outscoring opponents by 6.1 points per 100 possessions when he is on the floor. Player impact estimate, according to NBA.com, is an estimate of a player’s impact on winning. Above-average players should have a PIE above 10 percent. The higher your number, the more you’re doing to help your team win.

Since Butler was traded, Towns’ PIE is 18.7 percent — the sixth-best mark in the NBA. As a whole, this is likely the center’s best all-around statistical season. Yet this might also be the season where he’s putting the least emphasis on his individual achievements. Related Articles Timberwolves head into team bubble excited to spend time together, on and off the court

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That progression might be his most important one to date.

“Honestly, he just wants to win,” Teague said. “That’s just big to me. He’s starting to be a leader, be more unselfish as a player on both ends. You can just see the growth. It’s cool that he’s on his second all-star team, man. I’m happy for him. He’s one of my favorite players.”