Emotional Reason Karl-Anthony Towns Loves Knicks

Coming to the New York Knicks meant just a little more for Karl-Anthony Towns.

Jan 10, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) shakes hands with New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau as he exits the game during the third quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Despite some recent hiccups, New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns is grateful for the city.

Towns' move from Minnesota to New York ended the 2024 offseason with a bang and he has lived up to the hype to the tune of 25.3 points and 13.9 rebounds. Acquiring prized talents from abroad is nothing new for the Knicks, but it means just a little more for Towns, a New Jersey native who is once again making an impact in the tri-state area.

"Karl-Anthony Towns is so grateful to play where his now-late mother spoke out loud about where she wanted to see him play," longtime NBA reporter/analyst Michael Wilbon said during an appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio. "I talked to Karl-Anthony Towns and his dad, this is before a regular season game [at Madison Square Garden] ... They were both in or near tears, just talking about the emotion of getting to play there, not knowing that some people shrink from that pressure."

Towns lost his mother Jacqueline during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. He and his parents were Knicks fans in the Garden State, taking in the team's new-century affairs unaware that one day he himself would don a New York jersey in an effort to end the team's long-standing championship drought. His father Karl Sr. has become a mainstay in MSG's seats near the court.

Wilbon praised Towns for embracing the emotional aspect of his trade amidst the mounting metropolitan pressure.

"He was so grateful," Wilbon recalled of Towns' pregame demeanor at MSG. "I remember coming away thinking, man, I didn't expect that. Kudos to him that, as a grown man making all the money in the world, he can get himself [like that]. It seems to take no effort ... Karl-Anthony's dad told me you have no idea what this means for us. His father was walking around like he was the proud father of a Little League parent."

The younger Towns has had no issue turning the Garden into his playground in the early going, as double-double efforts are commonplace on the famed scoreboard above the floor. Towns has pushed the Knicks (25-14) to the third spot on the current Eastern Conference playoff bracket and took home the group's Player of the Month award for December.

Towns will look to continue making his domain proud on Sunday afternoon when the Knicks look to get back in the win column against the Milwaukee Bucks (3 p.m. ET, MSG).

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