Elsa/Getty ImagesThis has been quite the night for Karl-Anthony Towns.
As expected by the experts, the 19-year-old center out of Kentucky went No. 1 to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2015 NBA Draft.
Towns dressed for the life-changing announcement in a black and white chevron suit and took charge with the selfie stick, comemorating the big day with fellow NBA top prospects.
So, just who is this basketball star from Piscataway, N.J.? Here are five things to know about the new big man of the NBA:
Here's the 1st pick notecard Adam Silver read from at the podium tonight pic.twitter.com/DRu6MVzpWZ
? Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) June 25, 20151. He's got an imaginary friend who keeps it real: Towns created "Karlito," who figuratively sits atop his shoulder as he plays and practices basketball. He told Mashable in a Samsung video, "He'll mostly tell me to keep shooting or keep working hard if I make a couple mistakes. He's always making sure I'm on track and providing checks and balances and being a devil's advocate for how I feel."
"He's a critical man, but when you're doing well he's feeling good too," Towns also said of Karlito. "He's a very fun, outgoing, personable guy."
Some may find this strange or controversial. Frankly, we find it adorable.
2. Tall man's club: Towns is built like a true center. He measures up at 6-foot-11 and wears a size 20 shoe!
3. His heart is even bigger than his massive feet: Towns gave the Captain America socks off his feet to a young teen during the Kentucky basketball team's trip to the Bahamas last summer, during which they met with impoverished youth while working with the charity Samaritan's Feet. Hearing that they were out of the right size sock for one of the boys, Towns offered up his own pair. According to Bleacher Report, he was also known around town for his willingness to sign autographs for any fan, for giving change on the street to those in need and making unannounced stops at hospitals to visit with sick children. And the kinesiology major had expressed his interest in being a doctor "when the basketball goes flat."
Swoon. He was one and done at Kentucky, but he'll certainly be earning enough money in the NBA to finance another nine or 10 years of school.
4. He's a family man: No offense to the likes of Michael Jordan and LeBron James, but Karl Towns Sr. is the main man in his son's life. "I just look up to him," Towns told the New York Post last year about his father, a former high school basketball coach who would bring his boy to practice with him from the time he was 3 years old.
"My parents wanted me to be whatever I wanted to be," he said. "I took that idea and ran with it."
"I always told my son do what makes you happy," Karl Sr. agreed.
5. He's got a sweet tooth: Another reason why we're so sweet on him.
Congrats to the whole Towns family!