Karl-Anthony Towns Opens Up About His Dominican Roots, Expectations and What It’ll Take for the Knicks to Make a Postseason Run
They say if you wanna hear God laugh, tell him your plans. Karl-Anthony Towns knows this all too well. It was just months ago that KAT was wrapping his mind around how he could help lead the Minnesota Timberwolves on another deep postseason run after falling short to the Mavs in last year’s Western Conference Finals. Then boom, just a few weeks before tip-off, news broke that the Timberwolves were sending KAT east, close to his hometown roots, to the New York Knicks in a blockbuster trade.
But the Good Book also says God’s plans are to give you hope and a future. And safe to say, the future is looking brighter than ever for the perennial All-Star, who has taken his game to an otherworldly level and is in the middle of arguably his best season as a professional.
As we go to press, the sharpshooting big man is averaging a 25.4 points and 13.9 rebounds a game, with exceptional shooting splits of 55%/45%/84%. And just in case you’re wondering, the Knicks are sitting comfortably as a top-3 seed in the East. And what’s even more noteworthy than these gaudy numbers is the humility and gratitude that KAT continues to walk with on his path to basketball immortality. The Knicks gained much more than a franchise cornerstone when he came to town.
The gentle killer pulled up to SLAM HQ on a blistering cold winter evening to chop it up about how he’s managed the transition back home, representing for his fellow Dominicans in the city and abroad, celebrating his 10th year in the League, what it’s gonna take for these Knicks to make a deep postseason run, what he expects of himself when he puts on that blue and orange and much more.
SLAM: You grew up not too far from here, right across the river in New Jersey. It’s now been a few months since the trade, and you’ve had some time to process this move. How’s the transition been?
Karl-Anthony Towns: It’s crazy you say it’s been a few months; it feels like yesterday. It’s awesome to be back home, to be with my family, see my grandmother and my aunts—a lot of my Dominican family still resides here in New York, so it’s really cool to be able to see them more often than I was able to when I was in Minnesota.
SLAM: You’ve always been vocal about how much your Dominican background means to you. New York has a large Dominican population; how has that full-circle moment been, being able to represent for your culture front and center in a place where the Dominican population is so concentrated?
KAT: It means a lot. My mother immigrated from the Dominican Republic to New York. And like you said, it’s a full-circle moment to go from playing basketball with my cousins in the backyard in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and just hoping to be an NBA player one day, to now being here in Madison Square Garden. Playing for and representing my heritage means a lot to my family, especially my Dominican side, and I’m just proud that I get to go out there every night and represent for them.
SLAM: I read that you had been working on building a youth facility down in the Dominican Republic.
KAT: Oh yeah, I was able to work with Go! Sports, GO Ministries and World Youth Clubs, and we will be making a whole sports facility out in Santiago, in the Dominican Republic. It’ll have four basketball courts, a full soccer turf field, three baseball fields—about to be a fourth—we’re building a track and field and we also have two volleyball courts. Being able to give this to the kids in the Dominican Republic has been an awesome opportunity.
SLAM: Another full-circle moment you experienced coming back to New York is reuniting with Coach Tom Thibodeau. Can you speak to how it’s been getting back together with him and your relationship with Thibs in general?
KAT: Like you said, me and Thibs are at different points in our lives, especially as men. I have more years of life under my belt and more experience in this game and business. I have a different outlook on life and a different outlook on my profession. I’ve always had tremendous respect for Thibs, even back in Minnesota, and my respect for him has only grown more as I got older and played more games in the NBA. You see the determination he has to win and the sacrifice he makes every single day to prepare his team with the best opportunity to win. That’s something that you don’t take lightly in my position. And for him to be that kind of guy to really sacrifice so much of his life so that we can have the best opportunity to take care of our families—I got nothing but respect for that.
SLAM: Not to say you weren’t already proving your greatness in Minnesota, but as an observer, it seems there’s just a different spark you’ve been playing with since the trade. What about playing for New York has allowed you to shine the way you have?
KAT: I mean, it’s just a different role. And I always talk about being a superstar in my role, and my role here is different than it was in Minnesota. I just wanted to be the best I could be for my teammates, and New York presented a new role for me to fulfill.
SLAM: What about this year’s Knicks squad is different from other teams you’ve been a part of?
KAT: I’ve been very fortunate to be part of some amazingly talented teams, and this team is just…different. I think we’re as talented a team I’ve ever played for, but it’s just a different team. We’re not the tallest team, and I’m used to being around a bunch of 7-footers. That’s probably the biggest physical difference. But the talent is here, and it’s abundant. I love the professionalism the team brings every day. I love the humor Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson bring fasho’, and especially when you add Mikal Bridges, too. I still think OG [Anunoby] is the funniest on the team, though. I love our grit—that New York grit. The culture is about leaving it all on the floor for the fans and respecting their time. And I just love that.
SLAM: From an aerial perspective, how would you assess the season so far as we head to the midway mark?
KAT: I think we’ve done a great job putting ourselves in position to win, even the games we’ve lost—to be in position to win is the most important thing, and we’ve done a great job of finding different ways to win. I see ourselves growing every single day as a team. I also think it’s great that we’re learning hard lessons early on in the season rather than later when you can’t afford them. I’m really proud of our team. The way we came together, the way that we find ways to win and the way we continue to fight regardless of the outcome speaks volumes to the characters in our locker room.
SLAM: What do you think it’s gonna take to make a deep run this postseason?
KAT: When I think of my Minnesota team last year, God was good to us with health. So it’s gonna come down to just staying healthy and playing our best basketball at the right time, and just executing. From my experience, we just have to be the best versions of ourselves when we need to be the best version of ourselves. We’re gonna use this time to continue to learn, continue to build our team and continuity and continue to find ways to impact the game in many different aspects.
I always talk about being a superstar in my role, and my role here is different than it was in Minnesota.
SLAM: Speaking of experience, you’re celebrating your 10th year in the League. How do you reflect on this when you’re thinking about the ups and downs and lessons you’ve learned on this journey?
KAT: I look back at the 19-year-old boy I was coming into the NBA, and how life has made me a man. It grew me up, whether that was the losses on the court or the losses off the court. It’s changed me, and it’s made me a stronger, more resilient, better version of myself. And some of those hardest lessons came with the steepest price, and I’ve paid them. I’m 10 years in, still standing strong, still got a great support system, still blessed to have my father, my sister and have my mother’s [presence] still with me every day. I’ve been blessed to still be inspiring the next generation of basketball players, to continue to find success in this League and, more importantly, to continue to impact change and positivity into my communities. I’m very happy with my first 10 years in the NBA, and I know my next 10 are going to be some of the most impactful years of my life, and I’m excited. I’m blessed with whatever I get. I’m happy to be in this situation, because not a lot of people can say they are.
SLAM: You speak of inspiring the next generation, but what’s inspiring you to keep chasing greatness?
KAT: Again, it starts with my support system and family…It really does mean a lot to me when I see little kids—and I’m not just talking about them being fans of me—respecting the game at a higher level just by watching me play. That drives me to be a positive reinforcement of why the game of basketball is so great. Those little things in life wake me up in the morning and put a smile on my face. And I really appreciate the fans and my family for making this experience so enjoyable, so rewarding and, most importantly, so humbling.
SLAM: You’re already in the conversation as one of the most talented big men to ever play the game. But building on that, what are your expectations for yourself, especially coming back east to New York?
KAT: Take nine years of amazing experience I had in Minnesota, take the year in college and all those years I had in high school here in Jersey and cash in all that experience and that time and work put into the gym, and just hope to bring wins here to New York. That’s all I’m thinking about every single day. I just want to utilize all that experience and find ways to bring wins to Madison Square Garden and to the fans here. That’s what keeps me up at night—finding different ways to help this team, help my teammates be the best version of themselves and working on myself so I can be the best version of myself for my team.
THE SLAM 254 KAT COVER COLLECTION
Portraits by Marcus Stevens.
