Karl-Anthony Towns Says Fiancé Wasn’t Happy With James Dolan’s No Sex Idea

1. After the Knicks defeated the Spurs on Saturday night to become NBA champions, video came out of owner James Dolan giving a pump-up speech to the team before a shootaround on April 3, shortly before the playoffs began.

Dolan’s main theme to the New York players was that they needed to sacrifice EVERYTHING for the next 10 weeks in order to win the NBA title.

The owner even suggested the players give up sex during the postseason so they could keep an edge.

“I had this idea that maybe you should give up sex for the next 10 weeks,” said Dolan. “You don’t have to give up sex for the next 10 weeks, but, like the Spartans, you know what Spartans are? They denied themselves, right, so that they can have an edge. Get the edge.

“Go home, talk to your wives and tell them—don’t tell them you’re not gonna have sex and don’t tell ’em it was my idea—but let them know what this is gonna be like, what the commitment is gonna be like, and how they’re gonna have to sacrifice, too. Those concerns at home, they can’t come on the court. They can’t come into the practice. For the next 10 weeks, it’s gotta be all about us and about how we play. It’s not who we play, it’s how we play because I believe this team can beat ANYBODY in the NBA.”

The NSFW sacrifice James Dolan joked about with players https://t.co/oPW75HfQu9 pic.twitter.com/6ho5WFDMRA
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) June 15, 2026

To no surprise at all, this topic came up Tuesday morning when Karl-Anthony Towns joined The Howard Stern Show on SiriusXM for an interview.

Stern: Karl, when James Dolan, he was joking around, he told you guys to avoid sex during the postseason. He didn’t want you guys draining your energy. There’s always that myth in sports, your energy will be drained. Did you take that seriously because I know you’re engaged. Congratulations. When is the wedding and you’re probably gonna want to invite me?

Towns: We’re trying to figure out [a date] now. We actually have the ring in hand, so we’re gonna sit down after the parade. I can tell you right now there’s been no time to even think right. I’m a happily engaged man. I would definitely say when I came home and told my fiancé what he said, she didn’t like to hear that one.

Stern: You ignored James Dolan and you said, listen honey, I am going to deliver the goods. Is that correct?

Towns: [Laughing] I would say she’s very happy.

2. Speaking of Towns, you have to love how he and Jalen Brunson couldn’t hide their embarrassment at Knicks coach Mike Brown busting out a “Who Let the Dogs Out” chant on The Tonight Show on Monday.

“We’ve got to put that to bed!”

-@jalenbrunson1 on Coach Mike Brown singing “Who Let the Dogs Out” 😭 @nyknicks #KnicksOnFallon #KnicksInStudio6B #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/ga3g0kHyuy
— The Tonight Show (@FallonTonight) June 16, 2026

3. During that interview with Stern, Towns was asked if Victor Wembanyama congratulated him or embraced him on the court after Game 5. Towns, clearly not wanting to get involved in any sort of controversy, said that he was busy celebrating so he didn’t pay attention to Wembanyama. But we all know Wembanyama went right to the locker room without shaking hands or congratulating the Knicks. It’s amazing how much damage Wemby did to his reputation during the this postseason. The evidence, as seen below, is damning.

4. Everybody is watching sports. The ratings across the board in sports, in part because Nielsen has a new measurement system for viewership, are very impressive.

Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday drew 20.9 million viewers.

Game 5 of the Stanley Cup on Thursday pulled in 5.8 million viewers, up 116% from Game 5 last year.

Friday’s U.S. soccer game on Fox landed 15.9 million viewers.

5. Draws are the way to go if you’re betting the World Cup.

Four World Cup games today ... and four more draws.

Spain-Cape Verde 12-1✅
Belgium-Egypt +300✅
Saudi Arabia-Uruguay +333✅
Iran-New Zealand +230✅

If you bet a draw in every game so far:

➡️16 games
➡️8 ties✅
➡️+26.5 units💰💰
— Ben Fawkes (@BFawkes22) June 16, 2026

6. This week’s SI Media Podcast With Jimmy Traina will be out earlier than usual because the guest is Mike Breen. Instead of a Thursday release, the podcast will come out some time Tuesday, so make sure you follow me on social media or subscribe to the podcast so you get it the minute it’s live.

If you missed any recent episodes, make sure to catch up. Recent episodes have featured:

ESPN’s Kevin Clark:

Sports Business Journal’s Austin Karp:

Inside the NBA’s Charles Barkley:

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: One of the best videos I’ve seen post-NBA Finals.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on X and Instagram.

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