Knicks' Karl-Anthony Towns Looks Like Himself Again

Karl-Anthony Towns came into the 2025-26 season with a lot expected of him, and for the most part, he delivered early. Then January arrived, and suddenly every bad New York Knicks loss had his name attached to it.

His numbers told the story. Towns averaged just 15.9 points and shot 42.3% from the field across all of January, a sharp drop from the 22.3 points and 52.4% shooting he put up in December. When the Knicks lost, he was the easiest target, and people lined up to take the shot.

February was better, but not enough to quiet the noise. He was back up to 19.4 points on 54.5% shooting, and yet one bad game was all it took for the criticism to come back. A team loss and the finger pointed straight at KAT, almost by reflex at that point.

What has changed since then is hard to argue with. Through ten games in March, Towns is averaging 21.3 points and 12.9 rebounds while shooting 57% from the floor. He has recorded a double-double in every March appearance, leading the NBA in that category this season with 49 on the year.

Karl-Anthony Towns Stepping Up When the Knicks Need It Most

Mar 20, 2026; Brooklyn, New York, USA; New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) reacts after scoring a basket against the Brooklyn Nets during the second half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The timing matters too, because he is not doing this in a vacuum. Mikal Bridges has been one of the most inconsistent stories of the second half of this season, averaging just 9.9 points on 39.1% shooting in March. He went scoreless against the Lakers and got benched in crunch time against the Clippers.

Josh Hart has not done much in the scoring column until recently either. Towns has been picking up the slack quietly, doing it game after game without making it a production.

His defense has also been more visible this stretch. He is not turning into a DPOY candidate, but you can see the effort. He is staying engaged on the glass, contesting shots with better timing, and not giving up easy position in the post.

Coach Mike Brown noticed it too, saying in a pre-game press conference:

"I think he's been pretty good defensively now, we, as a team, need to, and we showed this to our guys, our communication has to be a little bit better overall. But if you're talking about individually leading to the whole, it's been pretty good overall besides one area, not just KAT, but all of our guys can get better in the communication area."

"I think he's been pretty good defensively... we, as a team, our communication has to be a little bit better overall. If you're talking about individually... it's been pretty good overall"

Mike Brown on Karl-Anthony Towns' defense recently: pic.twitter.com/EN7oDrRKd8
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) March 22, 2026

With Towns carrying his weight on both ends, the bigger question now is whether the rest of this roster can match that energy when it matters most.

Brunson has done it before in the playoffs, averaging 29.4 points across 18 games last postseason, but his current form this season leaves that as a question more than a guarantee. If that version does show up in April, having a KAT playing like this next to him makes the Knicks a genuinely difficult team to beat.

The pieces were always there. Towns just needed to find his footing again, and right now, it looks like he has.

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