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Which NBA players could replicate Damian Lillard’s 2014 All-Star Saturday Night?

By Daniel Lubofsky

Portland Trail Blazers Damian Lillard. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2014 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
Portland Trail Blazers Damian Lillard. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2014 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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NBA Minnesota Timberwolves Karl-Anthony Towns
Minnesota Timberwolves Karl-Anthony Towns (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

2. Karl-Anthony Towns

It’s only fitting a big man appear on this list in 2020 and there’s no other worthy candidate with the combined prerequisite skills than Karl-Anthony Towns.

He may stand a towering 6’11”, but KAT — who took home the skills challenge title in 2016 — has developed into one of the game’s best long-distance shooters independent of size.

Consider how 13 NBA players are attempting more than eight 3-pointers per game on the season. Towns ranks second among them in percentage at 41.8, ahead of reputable perimeter threats like Damian Lillard and James Harden.

Dwight Howard aside, big men haven’t had the best track record in the dunk contest, especially in recent years, where guys like Mason Plumlee and Andre Drummond offered up uninspiring performances.

There’s no reason to automatically assume Towns won’t fall into that same pit, but he has several things working for him. Namely, a litany of athletic showcases including poster jams and soaring tomahawks.

Creativity is a must for all dunk contest participants but centers especially on account of their limited range of motion compared to shorter contemporaries.

That part is left solely up to the depths of the two-time All-Star’s imagination. He has the frame to attempt more dunks than most his size which creates new lanes of opportunities, while a hot hand — a la Kevin Love in 2012 — could seize a victory for the often under-appreciated big man.