Karl-Anthony Towns Opens Up on Mother's Death from COVID-19 Complications

Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns opened up about the death of his mother, Jacqueline Towns, in an emotional video titled "The Toughest Year of My Life."

"Thank you everyone for the prayers, well wishes, and condolences during this time," he wrote in a message accompanying the video. "I also want to give a double thank you to all the true fans that support me as more than just a basketball player. My love for ya knows no bounds."

Jacqueline died on April 13 due to complications from COVID-19. The Timberwolves released a statement at the time saying she "had been battling the virus for more than a month" before she died.

In the video, Towns talked about how his mother "was everything to all of us" and that he could "never replace her":

Towns explained in Monday's video that she seemed to be doing better in the third week following her diagnosis.

However, she suffered a stroke during the night, and the doctors said she would not be able to have a meaningful life in the aftermath as a result.

One of the most emotional parts of the video came when Towns explained he then had to call family members to tell them of his decision to take her off life support, including Jacqueline's sisters, his father's family and his grandmother.

"The worst call, the most difficult one, it was calling her mom," he said (around 9:30 into the video). "It was calling my grandmother. Telling her, mostly, you lost your daughter. I done everything as a grandson I could do to protect her, I got to let her go. ... There's nothing worse than losing your kid."

As Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic noted, Towns also said he felt somewhat jealous of his older sister because she got to spend more time with their mother than he did and provided her with two grandchildren (around 13 minutes into the video).

"My kids get to meet her through me, because I am the most like her of anyone," he said.

Brian Ries and Kevin Dotson of CNN noted Towns also released a video in March announcing his mother was placed in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator due to COVID-19. He also donated $100,000 to the Mayo Clinic to help fight the virus.