Karl-Anthony Towns, Kristaps Porzingis big opponents with bigger friendship as Knicks prepare to face Celtics
New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) misses a dunk against Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis (8) during the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY, on Tuesday, Apr 8, 2025. Credit: Brad Penner
GREENBURGH, N.Y. — They first met in New York during the predraft events in 2015, and maybe it wasn’t surprising that they would find each other. They are a pair of big men from different parts of the world but with a similarly unique set of skills that earned at least one of them a nickname that has stuck for a decade now.
But when Karl-Anthony Towns, who was the first overall pick in that draft, and Kristaps Porzingis, chosen fourth by the Knicks at that time, meet now, it’s clear that both of them are what Kevin Durant named Porzingis — a unicorn.
Both possess unlikely skills and shooting range for players over 7 feet tall. And while neither is the top attraction on his current team, as the Knicks and Celtics get ready to meet in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series Monday night in Boston, they will have, well, big roles.
In that first season, Towns talked to ESPN about the friendship and said, ”When you’re in part of the same draft class, you always have a certain connection that not many other people can have with each other.”
But there is so much more that unites them. Porzingis was supposed to be the linchpin to a return to prominence for the Knicks when he was drafted, but he left with the team still floundering. His trade at least began a true reset that eventually led to where the Knicks are now.
Towns arrived with similar expectations on the eve of training camp before this season. He beat out Porzingis for the Rookie of the Year award in their debut season and piled up All-Star designations five times and All-NBA honors two times (likely soon to be three). He was the complementary piece to Jalen Brunson that the Knicks hoped would lift them to another level — and match up with the likes of Porzingis and the Celtics.
“I love Porzingis, man,” Towns said after the Knicks’ practice Saturday. “We came into the league together. We had a bunch of great battles that you all got to watch personally. Just that competition. We got a lot of respect for each other. It’s always great when you get to go against one of the best bigs in the NBA. You get to go out there and compete at the highest level.”
But just as Porzingis learned about expectations and pressure in New York, Towns, who grew up in New Jersey, has become the center of expectations for the series. Towns saw his numbers dip from the regular season with some glaring offensive struggles in the first-round series against the Pistons. He had no points in the second half of Game 2 as the Knicks lost and only 10 points in the final game.
Against a team as talented and deep as Boston, the Knicks certainly need more than just Brunson’s heroics.
“I’m about wins, so as long as we win, then everything is fine,” Towns said. “All I know is as long as we win, we’re good. I’m going with that.”
“When there’s a second and third defender coming, I don’t want him to try to shoot over three people,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “I want him to make a pass. If he does that, he’s helping his team. That’s probably the biggest thing. I thought KAT played a terrific Game 6. If you look at the rebounding and the defensive plays he made at the end of that game, that was huge for us. Huge.”
Towns did have his moments in the series — a 23-point, 11-rebound, four-steal effort in Game 1 and a pair of huge shots (degree of difficulty and importance) to spur the Game 4 win. He also had the pair of 10-point nights. While the Knicks may all circle around Brunson’s star, Towns is the player on the Knicks who has the ability to consistently take over a game offensively. But the Knicks insist that it’s not shots that they are judging him or any of them on.
“Yeah, we can’t let offense or shots falling dictate the way or how hard we play or the things that we can control,” Brunson said. “So I feel like a lot of people on this team have that mindset. And we’re going to have to because the longer we go to playoffs, the more difficult games are going to be. So we just can’t let little things like that kind of have an effect on how we’re playing.”
Porzingis, speaking about Towns after Boston’s practice, said, “He’s a tough matchup with the shooting, with his talent offensively. He’s a tough matchup for anybody. It’s going to take a team effort to stop him.”
Brunson has seen it from both sides, not just tasked with teaming up with Towns now but also having played alongside Porzingis with Dallas.
“The biggest thing I’ve seen from him is his selflessness,” Brunson said of Porzingis’ growth. “He’s been so unselfish, going into a team with a lot of pieces and then doing more than just fitting in. He’s added to the culture. He’s brought a level of toughness, and obviously he stretches the floor offensively and then defensively. He’s a rim protector, so he does a lot for their team for them to be successful. But the way he just got there and fit in seamlessly right away, I think that was pretty special to see. I mean, I’m happy for his success and everything, and just being able to be teammates with him and see him now, it’s great to see. He’s a handful and you got to be ready for him.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
