Projecting the 20 most promising young duos in the NBA

6. Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins (Minnesota Timberwolves)

The Minnesota Timberwolves‘ 23-year-old center Karl-Anthony Towns and 24-year-old small forward Andrew Wiggins have been playing together longer than any other duo on this list.

Towns, the No. 1 pick in the 2015 draft, and Wiggins, the No. 1 pick from the previous year, are going into their fifth season as teammates.

The problem is that the Wolves have only made one playoff appearance during the Towns-Wiggins era, which ended quickly in the first round, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to wonder if this duo has already peaked in terms of what they can accomplish together.

After making the playoffs in 2018 with the help of All-Star wing Jimmy Butler, the Wolves traded Butler and went 36-46 last season, landing in the lottery. Going into this season, no one seems to be naming the Wolves as a team worth worrying about in the West.

Despite Minnesota’s standout young duo and the addition of this year’s No. 6 pick Jarrett Culver, few analysts are picking the Wolves to make the playoffs in 2020.

Towns made his second straight All-Star Game last season, averaging 24.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. Wiggins hasn’t gotten an All-Star nod yet, and his 18.1 points per game and 41.2 percent field-goal shooting last season was a significant drop from what he was producing a couple of years ago.

The Wolves’ duo is undeniably talented, but on Butler’s way out of town, he raised some questions about their toughness and leadership that have lingered.

The foundation is still there — and there is plenty of time — for the Wolves to build something special around these two. They are still in the “potential” phase of their careers, but this season does approach with a now-or-never vibe.

Towns is arguably a top-3 center in the NBA. Wiggins can be a consistent 20-points-per-game scorer. On the surface, that’s a better young core than most teams in the league.