Knicks' Karl-Anthony Towns Makes All-Star Team as Reserve Pick

The New York Knicks will send two players to Los Angeles for All-Star Weekend. For the third consecutive season, New York is having more than one player representing them at the midseason showcase.

Karl-Anthony‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌ Towns made it to his sixth All-Star game when the pool of reserves was revealed during the NBC telecast. Towns, along with Jalen Brunson, make up the duo that will represent New York in the upcoming game at Intuit Dome on February 15. Brunson was named a starter for the second consecutive ‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌year.

The NBA All-Star Starters & Reserves!

The three rosters for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game will be announced Tuesday (2/3) at 7:00pm/et on Peacock. pic.twitter.com/AyWd7v1TtI
— NBA (@NBA) February 1, 2026

Towns is averaging 19.8 points and leads the NBA with 11.8 rebounds per game across 46 appearances. His 31 double-doubles rank second in the league. His shooting percentages have dipped to career lows at 46.1% from the field and 35.9% from three, but his rebounding production earned him the nod from coaches.

The‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌ Knicks were close to having a third player. Despite OG Anunoby's great two-way performance throughout the whole season, he was left out of the final list. Some analysts did say that he was a long shot for ‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌selection.

All-Star Reserves Feature Six First-Timers

Towns‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌ is alongside an impressive list of talented reserves from the Eastern Conference. Donovan Mitchell from Cleveland, Jalen Johnson from Atlanta, Pascal Siakam from Indiana, Norman Powell from Miami, Scottie Barnes from Toronto, and Jalen Duren from Detroit make up the East ‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌picks.

Three‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌ of these guys are going to have an All-Star Weekend for the first time. Johnson, Powell and Duren were all first-time picks and it is worth mentioning that Powell, who is 32 years old, is among the oldest first-time All-Stars in the recent NBA ‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌history.

Out‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌ west, the reserve players include Minnesota's Anthony Edwards, Denver's Jamal Murray, Oklahoma City's Chet Holmgren, Houston's Kevin Durant, Phoenix's Devin Booker, Portland's Deni Avdija, and the Lakers' LeBron James. With this selection, James has made 22 consecutive All-Star appearances, setting a personal ‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌record.

The‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌ timing couldn't be better for Towns to receive this recognition, as he had to battle through a tough first season with Mike Brown. January was probably the most challenging month for him, as he averaged less than 17 points and was even publicly criticized for his lack of ‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌hustle.

It‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌ was his bounce back that really turned things around for him. Towns has dominated the glass with 22 rebounds against Toronto and 20 more against Portland, showing coaches he's still an elite big despite the scoring ‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌struggles.

The‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌ format of this year's All-Star Game is a new USA vs. World style, where three teams will be competing in a round-robin tournament. If he has his way, Towns will get together with international stars such as Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and wear the jersey of the World ‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌team.

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