Karl Anthony-Towns Thinks It's a 'Matter of Time' Until He's Best Player in NBA

Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns said he believes it's only a "matter of time" before he becomes the best player in the NBA.

On Friday, Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated passed along comments from the 21-year-old rising star about the longstanding confidence in his own potential.

"My confidence has always been so high. I felt coming into the league I could be [the league's best player] easily," Towns said. "I always knew it was just a matter of time. But before I was even drafted, I felt that I had that ability, faith and confidence in myself to do that regardless to what team I'm with. I'm very blessed to be with the Timberwolves, because with them I've expedited that process a lot."

Minnesota selected Towns with the first overall pick in the 2015 draft. The University of Kentucky product averaged 18.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.7 blocks during his debut campaign en route to NBA Rookie of the Year honors for the 2015-16 campaign.

The New Jersey native took another step forward last season. He put up 25.1 points, 12.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 54.2 percent from the field, including 36.7 percent from beyond the arc.

He ranked third in the NBA in Value Added behind only Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder and James Harden of the Houston Rockets, who also finished first and second in MVP voting, respectively.

Yet he's rarely mentioned alongside Westbrook, Harden, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard and Stephen Curry when it comes to the best player in the league.

Wolves head coach Tom Thibodeau told Spears he thinks Towns has all the tools to become just as impactful as those other big-name superstars.

"He has the talent to do it, the drive to do it and the intelligence to do it. He just has to keep working at it," Thibodeau said. "The one thing about him is he loves to be in the gym. I haven't really seen a big guy who has all the tools he has offensively. Offensively, he's incredible. He has put a lot of time into it. He's done a good job."

Meanwhile, Towns said he's hoping to make strides in his third season when it comes to making in-game adjustments, and pointed toward taking ideas from one of the best boxers in history to make it happen.

"As the flow of the game goes along, I've got to change," he told The Undefeated. "That's what makes boxers so great, especially Floyd Mayweather. You have to be able to change the game plan at any given moment."

Stephen Campbell of OddsShark noted Towns is tied for 12th in MVP odds (33-1) for the 2017-18 season with Washington Wizards guard John Wall and New Orleans Pelicans forward DeMarcus Cousins.