Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns have bonded over anime

According to a mid-game report by ESPN's Ros Gold-Onwude, the pair "haven't played a game together yet, but they have been able to bond over a love of anime." Broadcaster Jeff Van Gundy was baffled, saying "I don't know what anime is."

We're glad you asked, Jeff! "Anime" is the catch-all term for a style of animation originating in Japan in the 1950's, typically featuring characters with large eyes heads, and mouths, first popularized by the series Astro Boy, and gaining mainstream popularity worldwide with series like Pokemon and the films of Hayao Miyazaki.

Gobert has been a public fan of anime for years, even wearing sneakers inspired by the show "One Piece." Another big man anime fan, Steven Adams, reluctantly admired the shoes in 2018 while insisting he still didn't like Gobert. Anime isn't enough to make sworn enemies come to terms, apparently.

Meanwhile Towns is such a fan of animation that he signed to play Jacques Beau - the "handsome jock" - in Mindy Kaling's animated series Velma, alongside Kaling, Constance Wu, and "Weird Al" Yankovic.

Let's hope the show meets Gobert's lofty standards for animation or there could be trouble in the Twin Cities.