Knicks Star Growing Relationship With NBA MVP

The conference-vs.-conference format has been ditched but east still meets west at the 2025 NBA All-Star Game starring two New York Knicks.

That's especially true for "Chuck's Global Stars," the squad assembled by NBA legend/TNT personality Charles Barkley for Sunday's main event (8 p.m. ET, TNT). With the exhibition switching to a four-team tournament format, Barkley assembled mostly international stars to complete his roster, including three-time MVP Nikola Jokic (Denver).

The Serbian sensation is looking forward to a rare opportunity to collaborate with Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns, lauding his growing relationship with the metropolitan paint presence during Saturday's lead-up to the contest in San Francisco.

"You just kind of make some kind of relationship," Jokic said (h/t DNVR_Nuggets on X). "It's not something that's close close. We are not going to go to each other's house [but] we're doing the same job. We're eating the same bread. So, why not be a little bit communicative?"

Nikola Jokic says Karl-Anthony Towns is a player he’s gotten closer to throughout the years:

“We are doing the same job. We are eating the same bread.”

“So why not be a little bit communicative.” pic.twitter.com/kgv5dJ9UkK
— DNVR Nuggets (@DNVR_Nuggets) February 15, 2025

Towns and Jokic have done major battle on several recent occasions in the Western Conference while the former was stationed with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Knicks enjoyed Towns' contributions in two wins against Jokic's Nuggets this season, including a 145-118 shellacking at Ball Arena back in November.

Jokic previously sang the Knicks' praises after hard-fought battle at Madison Square Garden in January, one the hosts took by a 122-112 final. Towns' arrival, Jokic hinted, made them an undeniable championship contender in the Eastern Conference.

“They’re playing really well. They’re well-coached, they’re pushing the pace and in the halfcourt they know what they’re doing. So they’re a really good team,” Jokic said, per Brian Reynolds of the Associated Press. “I think they are the favorites, not the favorites, but I think top-five candidates for the title.”

For now, championship aspirations are set aside for mid-winter glory: Jokic and Towns, never one to express pride in his Dominican heritage, lead Barkley's united nations into battle alongside other international-born talents like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City), and Alperen Sengun (Houston).

A metropolitan civil war is set to ensue, as Chuck's Global Stars face "Kenny's Young Stars," a group curated by Kenny "The Jet" Smith in the opening round. Smith's squad features the talents of Towns' teammate Jalen Brunson, who joins Towns as the first pair of Knicks companions to grace an All-Star Game's starting lineup since Walt "Clyde" Frazier and Earl "The Pearl" Monroe went to Phoenix in 1975.

The winner of Barkley and Smith's squads face the winner of a latter matchup featuring Shaquille O'Neal's team of veteran talents and Candace Parker oversight of the winner of Friday's Rising Stars competition.

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