T-Wolves' Karl-Anthony Towns Says He, Knicks' Tom Thibodeau 'Squashed' Their Beef

The bad blood between Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns and his former head coach Tom Thibodeau is over.

Towns told reporters on Saturday they "squashed" their beef years ago: "Two men grown men got together and had a conversation."

Thibodeau coached the Timberwolves for two seasons in 2017-18 and 2018-19. Their first season together was a success on the court with a 47-35 record in the regular season and a playoff appearance for the first time in 14 years.

Things would regress for the franchise in Thibodeau's second year, which coincided with Jimmy Butler being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers just 10 games into the season.

Thibodeau was fired 40 games into the 2018-19 season and immediately after a game in which the T-Wolves beat the Lakers.

During a July 2019 radio interview with News Talk 830 WCCO in Minnesota (h/t Marcel Mutoni of SLAM Online), Towns seemed to refer to Thibodeau's player-development model as a "slap in the face" to young guys on the roster.

Thibodeau has a reputation for having his best players significant minutes for every game during the regular season. Towns, Butler and Andrew Wiggins all ranked in the top 13 of minutes per game during the 2017-18 season.

Towns hasn't played as many minutes per game in a season since his one full year under Thibodeau (35.6). He even made a joke about his playing time after a playoff game against the Memphis Grizzlies in April 2022 when he was on the floor for 43 minutes.

Both parties have come out of the other side of their feud in good shape. Towns has averaged at least 20 points and 8.0 rebounds per game in each of the past seven seasons. The Timberwolves have made the playoffs in each of the previous two years.

Thibodeau was out of the NBA for a little over a year before being hired as head coach of the New York Knicks in July 2020. They have made the playoffs in two of the past three years, including winning their first postseason series last season for the first time since 2013.