Karl-Anthony Towns Had Heartfelt Reaction to Loud Reception at Yankee Stadium

KAT seemed so grateful for the love.
New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns on May 16, 2025.
New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns on May 16, 2025. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images
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When Karl-Anthony Towns was traded to the New York Knicks in the fall, he surely couldn't have predicted the kind of season he would have—or the way N.Y. sports fans would rally around him when, against all odds, the team advanced to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 25 years.

Case in point: During an appearance on the Jumbotron at Yankee Stadium over the weekend, Towns was greeted with a thunderous reception, as fans of both the New York Yankees and New York Mets joined forces to applaud their center after a big playoff win.

And speaking about the moment on Tuesday, KAT was nothing but thankful for the love.

"It was special, like you said. Grew up a Yankees fans, die-hard Yankees fan, and to be respected by New York that way, it means everything," Towns told the media. "The respect is everything to me. it just makes you want to work harder."

Watch that below:

Now that's definitely an answer worth of applause.

Knicks fans will be making plenty more noise for KAT & Co. during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, slated for Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.


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Brigid Kennedy
BRIGID KENNEDY

Brigid Kennedy is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, she covered political news, sporting news and culture at TheWeek.com before moving to Livingetc, an interior design magazine. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, dual majoring in television, radio and film (from the Newhouse School of Public Communications) and marketing managment (from the Whitman School of Management). Offline, she enjoys going to the movies, reading and watching the Steelers.