A look at the voting results for the 2017 All-NBA teams shows just how close Minnesota Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns was to getting a spot. Only four votes kept Towns from getting the center spot earned by LA Clippers center DeAndre Jordan.

Towns spoke with Sean Deveney of The Sporting News and opened up about how not making the All-NBA team upset him, how the Wolves are shooting for the playoffs in 2017-18 and more:

“You know what, it did a little bit, it did a little damage to me,” Towns told Sporting News. “But that’s all right, because it is all about team success. You’ve got to win. You’ve got to win to be respected in this league. You have to do little things, there are things we can do as a team. We have to come back as a stronger team and win in the playoffs, because the playoffs are the most important thing.”

Towns’ Timberwolves may have moved a step closer to that goal last week, when Minnesota pulled a draft-night deal for All-Star guard Jimmy Butler. It’s a deal that streamlines the Timberwolves roster, gives them two active defenders (Butler and Andrew Wiggins) on the wings and should allow the Timberwolves to bolster what was a slipshod defense last year.

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“I expected more,” Towns said. “We all expected more. I could care less about statistics, it’s all about team success. I am not comfortable with how last year went because we had a goal in mind and we let go of the rope. We did not accomplish the goal we had before the season started. This has to be the year we get those things done, we get that playoff experience.”

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A trip to the playoffs here in the NBA might soften that blow. The Timberwolves have better pieces now, and Towns thinks he could yet take another step forward. Thibodeau, as his reputation suggests, was not shy about putting Towns on the floor last season — Towns played all 82 games and was second in the league (at 3,030) only to Wiggins (3,048) in total minutes.

But that’s just fine with Towns.

“I just want to play,” he said. “I love the game so much, I just want to play every time I can. Every time I get to lace up my shoes, I am happy. Every time I see my jersey and I get to put it on, I feel like a kid in the candy store. Every time I get the chance to play, I am going to play.”