NBA star Karl-Anthony Towns has received his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine ... one week before the anniversary of his mother's tragic coronavirus-related death.
The 25-year-old Minnesota Timberwolves center shared the news on Tuesday ... posting a pic of the moment he took the needle in his left arm, while giving a big thumbs up.
Of course, the Towns family was greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic -- KAT's mother, Jacqueline, tested positive in March 2020 and the symptoms were severe. At one point, doctors placed her in a medically induced coma due in hopes of saving her life -- but it didn't work and she passed away on April 13.
Karl and his father, Karl Sr., later contracted the virus ... but both have since fully recovered.
A large number of NBA players have received the vaccine over the past month ... although commish Adam Silver says it is not currently a requirement to play.
KAT previously spoke about how the virus affected his family ... saying, "I pray every day that this nightmare of a virus will subside and I beg everyone to continue to take it seriously by taking all of the necessary precautions."
"We cannot stop the spread of this virus alone, it must be a group effort by all of us."