BOSTON -- When Minnesota Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns entered the league, he was immediately handed as many opportunities as he wanted offensively.

A gifted scorer both in the post and behind the arc, Towns quickly demonstrated a unicorn skill set to go with excellent athleticism and a great NBA frame. The Timberwolves, seeing this, tried to give their young prospect the opportunity become a star as quickly as possible -- he played 32 minutes per game in all 82 games as a rookie, while tossing up 14 shots per game.

When Boston Celtics wing Jaylen Brown entered the league, his stat lines looked a little different. The athletic forward joined a team hoping to compete for an Eastern Conference title, and he was given a role as a slasher and a spot-up 3-point shooter for roughly 17 minutes per game, with 5.4 field-goal attempts. Both were expected to become stars by trial and error, but Towns had significantly more wiggle room. Brown, meanwhile, had considerably more veteran direction.

After the Celtics defeated the Timberwolves 91-84 on Friday, Towns noted that while both he and Brown have bright futures in the league, both will arrive at those futures in their own unique ways.

"I think it's two different roads traveled," Towns said. "We had the opportunity to play right away -- play and play and trying to find our way through our mistakes. Then we're able to learn on the fly by seeing what the right things were to do."

For the Timberwolves, the same proved true for Andrew Wiggins -- the former Kansas star averaged nearly identical stats to Towns, with 36 minutes, 82 games played and 14 shots per game.

Jayson Tatum's role, meanwhile, has been bumped up significantly since Gordon Hayward went down for the season on opening night, but the lengthy wing has been converting as a member of the starting lineup. Tatum had an off night Friday, scoring just four points on 2-for-7 shooting, but one of his two field goals was one of his more memorable this season.

Both teams have promising futures. Both have young players with a ton of room for development, but both also are already proving themselves more than capable of handling NBA responsibilities.

And, as Towns noted, both are hoping their talented young players can reach their ceilings and lead their teams to postseason success.

"It takes time," he said. "Everyone has a different road. Me and Andrew were given a different road than Jayson and Jaylen, but hopefully we all meet at the end, being some of the best players."