Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns has entered concussion protocol and is ruled out of Friday’s road game against the New York Knicks after being involved in a car crash in the Minneapolis area Thursday.
The Star Tribune reports that Towns was headed to the airport when he was involved in the crash. Coach Ryan Saunders told reporters that Towns is with the team at Madison Square Garden, but it’s unclear if he’ll remain with them on the next stop of their road trip.
This will be the first game the 23-year-old big man has missed in his career. Towns’ streak of 303 straight starts to begin his career is the most since the NBA started keeping track of starters in 1970-71, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
The 7-footer is averaging 23.1 points and 12.0 rebounds per game.
It wasn’t immediately clear where the crash occurred. Minneapolis police said they didn’t handle any incident involving Towns.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.