Karl-Anthony Towns, D'Angelo Russell Find Time Stops for No One in NBA Debuts

LAS VEGAS — Karl-Anthony Towns stood even taller with a hat backward on his head.

The cap had the words printed proudly in capital letters: "MINNESOTA WOLVES."

No one had told him that once you make the NBA, it's not so cool to wear team gear out on the town.

But the first overall draft pick had just finished his first NBA game, albeit at the NBA Summer League on Friday night, and Towns had clearly enjoyed it. He learned a lot about defensive alertness through his nine personal fouls—you're kindly allowed 10 before you foul out of a 40-minute summer-league game—and Towns got the message that he has to find a new level of conditioning and intensity now that John Calipari's five-minute, hockey-style substitution system at Kentucky is behind him.

"It's different, obviously," Towns said. "I'm not gonna lie."

When it was over, Towns asked where his parents were.

That was a frequent refrain after the NBA Summer League's showcase event, which pitted Towns and the young Timberwolves against the Los Angeles Lakers, who featured No. 2 overall pick D'Angelo Russell, Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson.

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The Wolves won, 81-68, mainly because of second-year guard Zach LaVine—who was also looking for his parents postgame. Randle caused a stir during the Raptors-Kings game played prior at Thomas and Mack Center by wandering down through the stands filled with Lakers fans to find his mom and girlfriend, who eventually sat right behind the Lakers bench during his game.

It was a reminder these guys, no matter how bright their futures, are still kids. Towns and Russell are 19; LaVine and Randle are 20.

Randle used the word "rusty" over and over to describe his shoddy game, which saw him score 11 points with no assists and four turnovers.

He missed all but the opening minutes of his rookie season after breaking his leg but has positioned himself to make a major impact through film study and dramatically improved conditioning.

On Friday night, though, he lacked confidence in his jumper, rushed makeable shots at the rim and was a nonfactor on the boards and on defense.

"My biggest thing is to slow down," Randle said.

That's the trap players new to the NBA often fall into: The faster pace of the game leads them to speed themselves up to the point they lose control.

The unfortunate reality is that they can't slow down just by thinking about one thing. To be an effective NBA player, you have to be aware of multiple actions at high speed and then calmly pick what your approach in that moment will be.

"Everybody was trying to do more than what their job was," Russell said.

In his breakthrough season at Ohio State, it was clear Russell has a sense he's at his best when he's neither too fast nor too slow. That's what makes him special in controlling games in five-on-five settings. 

But in his first NBA game, Russell's focus was scattered. He said he was torn between trying to help others, orchestrate the offense and assert himself beyond a couple plays at the start of each half. That made it hard for him to keep up with the pace of the game, much less set it.

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"[I] couldn't really get myself going individually," he said.

Russell had eight points, six assists and five turnovers.

Despite Towns' revelation that he needed to adjust, he actually did pretty well with the Lakers blitzing him all game in the post with double teams. He finished with 12 points, four assists and four turnovers.

He said he's used to it from both high school and college, and the happiest anyone at the Thomas and Mack Center saw Towns all night was when he exploded with exuberance once teammate Othyus Jeffers finally cut and converted one of Towns' passes in the third quarter.

Still, Towns was outrebounded, 13-3, by the Lakers' Tarik Black—and actually referred to his opponent postgame as "Mr. Black." Towns' body is not fully developed, which was obvious in the paint, where he lacked the power in his glutes and thighs to make explosive moves.

But the skills are there and the potential is ridiculous, a motivating factor Towns has revealed in the past.

After the game, Towns recalled he'd played in Vegas before. He was 16 and part of the Dominican Republic team—his mother is from there—going up against a USA dream team in 2012.

Back then, the guy known as Karl Towns Jr. had this to say to ESPN: "Kobe [Bryant] told me afterward while we were talking that you never play to be good; you always play to be great. That's one of the biggest things I took away and will always remember—just always working to be great."

Several guys on the court Friday night embrace the expectations of following Bryant now. Included among them are LaVine—whose favorite player growing up was Kobe and whose game on Friday featured Bryant's fadeaways, dunks and old No. 8 jersey—and Clarkson, who consistently attacked in his 23-point outing and could bump Bryant up to small forward in his final season.

The experience with NBA game speed LaVine and Clarkson gained last season was certainly a difference-maker on Friday night.

At least Towns and Russell now have a bit of that experience.

Kevin Ding covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @KevinDing.