Karl-Anthony Towns is the one true unicorn

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

THE ONE TRUE UNICORN: Check out Kevin Arnovitz’s great feature on how Karl-Anthony Towns will revolutionize what it means to be an NBA big man. Then watch Towns fake Joel Embiid out of his mortal vessel and yam viciously on Timothe Luwawu.

THESE DUDES? BANAL?! WELL I NEVER: An argument that the fake Drake-Warriors beef is the most Drake and the most Warriors thing ever.

FOR NO DAMN REASON: Professional dunk theorist Zito Madu on the ridiculous dagger dunk Russell Westbrook put on Clint Capela the other night.

SERIOUSLY, DUDE: James Harden had a triple-double in three quarters to lead Houston past Portland.

SCORES GALORE ...

Knicks 112, Wizards 119
Bucks 73, Heat 96
Blazers 109, Rockets 125
Sixers 86, Wolves 110
Bulls 85, Jazz 77

RENOVATION: Zach Lowe dives deep on the Thunder’s new plan: rebuild around Westbrook with a young core.

APPEALED: Derrick Rose’s accuser has filed an appeal on the judgment on her civil case against the Knick. A jury had held Rose not liable in that case last month.

SUPER CHILL: Devin Booker gets ejected, still takes a moment to sign an autograph on his way out.

THIS IS ACTUALLY A GOOD STRATEGY: Draymond Green openly states he’s gunning for the Defensive Player of the Year award. He’s been the runner-up to Kawhi Leonard for two straight years. Claiming this goal out loud will lead voters to pay a bit more attention to Green’s defense, which is consistently excellent. That will help!

HMM: Incoming USA Basketball chair Gen. Martin Dempsey talks about representing the country in the age of Trump.

LOYALTY: Westbrook was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame of Thursday. Michael Jordan gave the induction speech. He focused on loyalty.

DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS: Thursday’s newsletter identified Marc Gasol’s celebration as a shimmy. It was actually the Billion Dollar Strut invented (unintentionally?) by Vince MacMahon and popularized by MMA wunderkind Conor McGregor. We regret the error.

NEXT UP: ESPN’s Friday doubleheader features Warriors-Celtics (8 p.m. ET) and Clippers-Kings (10:30 p.m. ET). NBA TV’s Saturday doubleheader offers Wolves-Grizzlies (8 p.m. ET) and Bulls-Clippers (10:30 p.m. ET). There are lots other good games this weekend, including Hawks-Hornets (Friday, 7 p.m. ET), Pistons-Cavaliers (Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET), Spurs-Lakers (Friday, 10:30 p.m. ET), Jazz-Rockets (Saturday, 5 p.m. ET), Celtics-Pistons (Saturday, 7 p.m. ET) and Bulls-Lakers (Sunday, 9:30 p.m. ET). Yes, the Lakers need to be on national TV more. I said it.

Be excellent to each other.