Karl-Anthony Towns says Jordyn Woods got him through the darkest moment of his life ... crediting the model for helping him cope with the sudden and tragic loss of his mother.
The Minnesota Timberwolves star praised his girlfriend repeatedly on Taraji P. Henson's "Peace of Mind with Taraji" show ... explaining Woods meant everything to him after his mom died from COVID-19 in April 2020.
"A woman that meant so much to me in my life left my life to be replaced by another woman to take that spot," KAT said of his mom and Woods.
"I feel like in a way, when my mom passed, she was like, 'I'm not going to leave you alone. I'm going to make sure you know who you're supposed to be with.'"
Towns said because Woods had dealt with similar tragedy -- she lost her father several years ago -- he used her shoulder to allow him to process the hurt.
"I leaned on her because she's one of the only people who would actually know how I was feeling and what was going through," KAT said. "Because she was super close with her father just like I was super close with my mother."
KAT and Jordyn didn't officially start dating until around Sept. 2020, nearly five months after KAT's mom's passing, but it's clear the bond they formed following her death springboarded them into their romantic relationship.
And, they've been nearly inseparable since, vacationing all over the globe, speaking glowingly of each other ... and, as was the case with Jordyn's birthday last month, showering each with expensive gifts.