Karl Towns on why he had to miss Big Blue Madness

Karl Towns met with the media following his 16-point, 14-rebound performance in the Minnesota Timberwolves' 101-96 win over the Miami Heat, and, to no one's surprise, came out wearing a Kentucky Basketball t-shirt. Karl was noticeably absent at Friday night's Big Blue Madness, and when I asked Karl why he wasn't there, he said he sacrificed going to Lexington to support his teammate Gorgui Dieng, who was honored at Louisville's football game vs. Duke the same night. “We had to support G [Gorgui Dieng]. G got a good ovation at a Louisville game. As much as I love BBM and I wanted to go to BBM, me and Cal talked a lot about it and team comes first. When you’re a leader you have to make sacrifices, and I was willing to do that for my team.” When asked, Karl said being at the Louisville game was "definitely different," but admitted he really admires Lamar Jackson. (Same) "Funny enough, I think of Lamar Jackson a lot. I think he's a great player, I've watched him all season, I've actually rooted for him, too. One thing about us, Lexington and Louisville, we may be bitter rivals, but when it comes to winning, if we're not going to win, at least someone else can." There were plenty of Kentucky AND Louisville fans in the stands tonight, and Karl said he made a bet with his teammates that he would be booed during introductions. Of course, he wasn't. "I didn't expect to get cheered for in the beginning, either. We had money that I was going to get booed, so that didn't go well for me," Karl said. "It was a lot of fun. It means a lot for people to come out and cheer for me, especially in Louisville. It just means a lot. I'm thankful for not only all the fans in BBN, obviously the family I have there, but for everyone in Louisville for showing respect and just courtesy." What was the bet? "It was something small," Karl said. "It was like a quarter." Of course it was. Check out Karl's full interview below. Spoiler: it will make you miss him, a lot.