Karl-Anthony Towns says seven of his relatives have died of COVID-19

Few people in the sports world have experienced more tragedy during the COVID-19 pandemic than Karl-Anthony Towns.

Towns’ mother died in April at the age of 58 after battling COVID-19. She had been placed in a medically induced coma in March and was on a ventilator before dying a few weeks later.

Towns’ father also had COVID-19 but has recovered. However, Towns' other family members haven’t been so lucky. Towns says his uncle died recently. He said on Friday that seven family members in total have died from complications due to COVID-19.

“I’ve seen a lot of coffins in the last seven months,” Towns said on Friday. “I have a lot of people who have — in my family and my mom’s family — 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.”

That is nothing short of awful. Towns says the tragedies have hardened him. He just turned 25 and has already experienced the kind of loss nobody should have to go through.

Luckily for Towns, he has the support of his friends and basketball family to help him get through the difficult time.