Towns surprise winner of Skills Challenge in 1st year for big men

The big men are back at the NBA’s All-Star weekend. Karl-Anthony Towns showed that.

The Minnesota Timberwolves rookie center defeated Boston Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas to win the Skills Challenge on Saturday night, further validating the evolution of the big man from a plodding post player to a playmaking force.

In the first year that frontcourt players were allowed to compete against the guards in the event that puts a premium on ball-handling, passing and perimeter shooting, Towns beat Golden State’s Draymond Green and Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins in the big men side of the bracket before edging Thomas in the finals.

“I’m glad I was able to help the bigs come out with this trophy,” said Towns, the No. 1 overall pick out of Kentucky in the June draft. “This is bigger than me. This is for all the bigs out there, with the game changing the way it is, to show that bigs can stand up with guards and skillwise.”

Towns said he overcame a case of nerves to win the event.

“Oh, absolutely. My heart was coming out of my chest,” he said. “I’m usually never nervous of anything. … It’s funny, the one thing I remember right before I got nervous was (Kevin Garnett) teaching me just to breathe. He taught me how to breathe a certain way. While I was nervous, I was a lot less nervous because of that breathing technique he taught me. I just went out there and tried to do my best.”

Towns’ victory was certainly unexpected. ESPN Stats & Info reported that no competitor taller than 6-foot-4 had won the event.

“I’m definitely talking some trash to Ricky Rubio,” Towns said of one of his Timberwolves teammates. “He doubted me since the beginning.”

Rubio responded on Instagram: “I said bigs can’t be quicker than PG but he keeps surprising me everyday. This dude has (no) limit. Congrats lil bro.”

It’s been four years since the NBA decided to eliminate the center position on the All-Star ballot in response to the dearth of talent at the position and the evolution of the game from post-centric offenses to pace and space.

With his ability to handle the ball, shoot the three and make the extra pass, Towns is the epitome of the improving big man. But heading into the competition, there were doubts that the big fellas could keep up with the small fries. Even Towns’ teammate, point guard Ricky Rubio, joked last week that he had no chance.

“I like proving people wrong, so I’m glad I was able to make a lot of people wrong,” Towns said. “I was able to make critics wrong, Vegas wrong, Ricky Rubio wrong. So I’m just so ecstatic right now.”

The course required players to weave through some obstacles, throw a pass through a target, dribble the length of the court for a layup and then make a three-pointer.

After Towns hoisted the trophy, Green, Davis and Cousins joined him on the podium to celebrate.

Thomas was disappointed to lose to Towns, a big man. “I should turn in my point guard card,” he said.

Thompson wins 3-point shootout; Booker third

The Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson defeated teammate Stephen Curry and Phoenix Suns rookie Devin Booker to win the three-point contest.

Thompson scored 27 points in the final round, making his last eight shots. Curry scored 23 points and Booker, a rookie out of Kentucky, finished with 16 in the final round.

Curry was the event’s defending champion.

Thompson made 19 of his 25 shots in the final round, and that even bettered his 18-for-25 showing in the first round. Combine them, and Thompson shot a staggering 74 percent – 37 for 50 – from long range over the course of the night.

This story was originally published February 13, 2016 at 8:55 PM with the headline "Towns surprise winner of Skills Challenge in 1st year for big men."