Karl-Anthony Towns issues emotional statement after contracting COVID-19 | NBA News

Karl-Anthony Towns has tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss extended time from the court. In NBA news on Friday, the Minnesota Timberwolves center addressed the issue with an official statement that expressed the heartbreak that he feels while going through this ordeal.

Full statement via @KarlTowns: pic.twitter.com/wWfLaFM4gp

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 15, 2021

News came in earlier that Towns had contracted the virus and will have to miss more games after he had just returned from a six-game absence following a wrist injury. More than a month into the 2020-21 season, Towns has only played in four games.

Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns says he has tested positive for coronavirus. 🙏🏽

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 15, 2021

NBA News: Karl-Anthony Towns has lost 7 family members to COVID-19

Karl-Anthony Towns lost his mother to COVID-19 last April, a harrowing experience that rocked the league when the NBA news came out.

"I've been through a lot, obviously starting out with my mom," Towns told reporters in a video call two weeks before the start of the season.

Prior to the start of the 2020-21 season, however, Karl-Anthony Towns revealed that six other family members had died from the virus which explains the emotional state of the six-year veteran when he issued his statement on Friday.

"I've seen a lot of coffins in the last seven months, eight months," Towns said at the time of the video call. "But I have a lot of people who have -- in my family and my mom's family -- who have gotten Covid. I'm the one looking for answers still, trying to find how to keep them healthy. It's just a lot of responsibility on me to keep my family well-informed and to make all the moves necessary to keep them alive."

NBA News: Memphis Grizzlies vs Minnesota Timberwolves game postponed before Karl-Anthony Towns' announcement

On Friday, NBA news arrived that the league was postponing the game between the Memphis Grizzlies and Minnesota Timberwolves following the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols.

The Timberwolves-Grizzlies game tonight has been postponed, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 15, 2021

According to the official NBA announcement, the Timberwolves did not have the league-required eight players available to suit up and play in the matchup with the Grizzlies. The league is currently in the process of contact-tracing within the Timberwolves organization likely as a result of Karl-Anthony Towns testing positive for the virus.

The game will be rescheduled at a later time.