How Knicks' Karl-Anthony Towns Turned Adversity into NBA Championship

NEW YORK — Karl-Anthony Towns will soon long for some overdue sleep. But not yet.

Since June 13, when his New York Knicks took over Frost Bank Center in San Antonio en route to the franchise's third NBA championship, the seven-foot center has smoked a cigar, popped champagne, flown back to the East Coast, sat in on the Tonight Show and, most recently, worked behind the counter in the fast food industry.

Towns' morning shift at Raising Cane's in Times Square a few days later rounded out his championship press tour ahead of the Knicks' ticker-tape parade. As far as he's concerned, he could keep this going for weeks. He might prefer to.

And why? He's never seen Manhattan like this before.

"I didn't realize until after the win," Towns began, sporting a Raising Cane's T-shirt, "how much healing this (has done) for the city ... even for us as players."

June 16, 2026; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks center Karl Anthony Towns (32) takes questions from reporters at Raising Cane's two days before the Knicks' ticker-tape parade after winning the NBA championship. | Photo courtesy of Raising Cane'

Towns spent the morning soaking in another day of life as a winner. He has plans to take some time off this offseason—particularly to plan a wedding with his fiancée, Jordyn Woods—and eventually return to the Dominican Republic. But he's going one step at a time.

After spending nine months focused on bringing the Larry O'Brien trophy home to New York, the 30-year-old is enjoying the feeling of personal accomplishment.

"It's truly a humbling feeling when you know you have walked the path," Towns admitted. "I stayed faithful. Every decision that I was supposed to make, I made the right one."

Before he was traded to the Knicks as part of a deal that routed Julius Randle to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Towns spent nine seasons trying to make magic happen at the top of the Midwest alongside another No. 1 pick in Anthony Edwards.

He earned four All-Star nods, three All-NBA distinctions and the NBA's Rookie of the Year Award in process, but fell short of a title in four separate postseason berths.

Those losses, he says, provided him valuable lessons as a professional.

"It builds you as a man," he said. "The things I thought I wanted and the timing I wanted it to happen, it wasn't meant for me ... I just kept my head down."

Jun 13, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) hugs Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) prior to the opening tip against the San Antonio Spurs in game five of the 2026 NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center. | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Not by his own volition, Towns' time with the Timberwolves ran out. The center went on to win a title, while Minnesota fell to the San Antonio Spurs in the second round of the playoffs, breaking its two-year streak of reaching the Western Conference Finals.

Towns credits his time in Minnesota as a launchpad for his ascension into a bona fide NBA star. But before then, he made history with a Kentucky Wildcats squad in 2015—a period of his career he says prepared him for the moment he became a champion.

"It taught me how to win at the highest level," Towns told Knicks OnSI.

A Wildcat All-American turned NBA champion

When Towns first found out he was heading to New York, he took the inital shock straight to an old friend. John Calipari brought him straight back to reality.

"I told him, ‘Please, (the Knicks) are perfect for you,'" Calipari said via the New York Post in an exclusive interview in 2024. "Don’t worry about all the other stuff. Move on."

The "other stuff" referred to having to uproot the only NBA life Towns had ever known. It meant leaving before bringing a title to the squad he imagined himself finishing his career with. But Towns learned, in that moment, the harsh reality of a business-driven league.

"I kept working," Towns said. "I kept getting back up when people pushed me down, put me in the mud and told me I wasn't good enough. I just kept believing in myself. I believed in my work ... I kept pushing and kept putting (my) left foot in front of (my) right."

Calipari, perhaps better than anyone, understood something many around Towns had long preached: winning had never been solely about him. Yes, the center went on to become a No. 1 overall pick after one season with the Wildcats, but he was part of a greater good.

"Even though we didn't win (the championship)," Towns said, "we were a historical team. It was the connectivity that made us special. The unity."

Apr 4, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Karl-Anthony Towns (12) and Devin Booker (1) embrace as they leave the court following their loss to the Wisconsin Badgers 71-64 in the 2015 NCAA Men's Division I Championship semi-final game at Lucas Oil Stadium. | Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

In Towns' lone collegiate season, Kentucky finished 38-1 — the best winning percentage ever by a team that did not finish undefeated — after falling in the Final Four to the Wisconsin Badgers. Towns, the SEC's Freshman of the Year and a second-team All-American, found solace in the process that brought his Wildcats there in the first place.

"We won 38 straight games," Towns said. "That wasn't a fluke. We enjoyed the process. We enjoyed the challenges. And we never wanted to disappoint each other as brothers."

He continued: "The most successful teams I've been part of have been the teams who really enjoyed each other's presence, and never wanted to see each other fail."

Beyond the joy of brotherhood, Calipari knew his star would take with him to the next level. It was flashes of his game that got him excited about Towns' potential. The coach pushed Towns to improve more than anyone had to that point. It paid off.

"There is a natural grace about him that you don’t see in many athletes his size," Calipari said of Towns in his 2016 book, "Success is the Only Option."

The pair continued their friendship well beyond Towns' time in Kentucky Blue. And when Towns landed in New York under newly hired coach Mike Brown, he began to develop a similar level of trust that ultimately led to the Knicks finding a seamless chemistry.

"We finally got to a point where he was comfortable," Brown said of Towns. "I was comfortable, Jalen (Brunson) was comfortable ... that's what the regular season is about."

Jun 18, 2026; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown (left to right) and forward OG Anunoby and guard Jalen Brunson and center Karl-Anthony Towns and team president Leon Rose stand for the national anthem during a ceremony at New York City Hall following their NBA championship parade. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The result was a championship built on the same principles Towns learned in Lexington, Ky. After Game 5 of the NBA Finals, Towns was happy to share his magnum opus with his teammates and a city that had pined for success for more than five decades.

"It wasn't my moment," Towns said. "It was our moment. It was always our moment."

Towns, who led the Knicks in playoff Net rating with the second highest usage behind Brunson, played a pivotal role in New York's title aspirations, as he did for Kentucky as a freshman. Twelve years of losing made the moment he finally won even sweeter.

Asked on his championship press tour about proving doubters wrong, Towns explained he's never needed outside validation. Not from Brown, nor Calipari, nor the media.

Now an enshrined NBA champion, he got it anyway. He didn't have a choice.

"I truly love that dude," Brunson said two games before the Knicks popped their champagne. "(I love) everything he's done for this team, the city and as a friend. He's been fantastic."

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