Minnesota Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns earned the NBA’s Rookie of the Year on Monday, receiving a unanimous vote in his favor.
Towns, the No. 1 overall pick in last June’s draft, was selected by the late-great Flip Saunders, who served as the T’wolves head coach and president of basketball operations until he succumbed to Hodgkin’s lymphoma back in October.
Showing support for the man who selected him and providing a local charity with a key asset, Towns donated the Kia Sorento he won for receiving the award to the Minnesota Leukemia and Lymphoma Society:
Karl donates the @Kia Sorento to Leukemia Lymphoma Society, Minnesota Chapter in honor of late Flip Saunders! https://t.co/J6bs6089Pr
— NBA (@NBA) May 16, 2016
It’s a grand gesture for a 20-year-old man who figured the car would be better off in the charity’s hands. After all, he’s already a millionaire and probably had no real use for an SUV.
This comes on the heels of Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry donating the KIA he won to a local Oakland-based charity after earning his second consecutive MVP award.
The NBA continues to find itself placed in good hands by what appears to be a new generation of altruistic players. Towns’ awesome donation on Monday is just the latest example of this.
It’s definitely a breath of fresh air with all the drama surrounding the other three major professional sports in North America, primarily the National Football League.