Three-time NBA All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves announced in late July that he will play for the Dominican Republic in the FIBA Basketball World Cup. Last week, he explained how he made that decision to ESPN.

"There's a lot of passion and pride in the Dominican for our national teams," Towns said. "You see it in the World Baseball Classic. I've definitely felt it this summer."

Having been drafted by the Timberwolves as the No. 1 pick in 2015, Towns has averaged 23 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. He also improved his 3-point production from the 2019-20 season, draining more than two triples at around 40 percent per game since then.

Towns gets his Dominican heritage from his mother Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, who passed away because of COVID-19 in April 2020. Towns grew up in New Jersey, but he learnt a lot about the Dominican Republic from her mother's side via cooking.

Towns hadn't played for the Dominican Republic national team since he was 16. The last time he did so, the team was coached by John Calipari, who also coached Towns during the 2014-15 season in the University of Kentucky.

Towns began to pay more attention to the games by the Dominican Republic in February. The team overcame a 17-point deficit to eliminate Argentina in the World Cup qualifying tournament on the road. Towns was recovering from a calf injury during that time. He only made 29 appearances for the Timberwolves during the 2022-23 campaign, the fewest of a season since he came to the NBA.

Towns' long-time absence was bad news for the Timberwolves, but good news for his recovery, and thus, enabled him to play for the Dominican Republic with better strength after the NBA season was over. Many superstars, like Nikola Jokic of Serbia and Giannis Antetokounmpo of Greece, decided to skip the World Cup because of weariness.

"There was a lot that went into the decision," Towns told ESPN. "The timing is right. I didn't put as much stress on my body this last season because of the injury. I'm feeling great now, I'm 100 percent and feeling like myself again. It's a perfect time to work on some things in my game. And with my mom's passing, I felt an urgency to do it."

"The [Wolves were] very supportive when I came to them to talk about playing. There's a lot of commitment to get better this season, and for all of us this will be a head start," he added.

The Dominican Republic are in Group A with Angola, Italy and hosts, the Philippines in the World Cup. The team could definitely use Towns' combination of 2.11-meter height, athleticism and the precious ability of attacking off the dribble for his size.

"That he [Towns] is with us is a great contribution," Nestor Garcia, head coach of the Dominican Republic, told reporters in early August. "He is a player with a different caliber."