Knicks' Karl-Anthony Towns: With his stats, more than meets the eye
Karl-Anthony Towns of the New York Knicks. Credit: Jim McIsaac
CLEVELAND — Maybe it was the trip to Los Angeles for All-Star Weekend, earning a trophy as part of the Shooting Stars squad alongside Jalen Brunson and Allan Houston and then playing for the World team, but suddenly Karl-Anthony Towns is playing like an All-Star again.
Much of the season has been a struggle for Towns. He was good enough to earn that All-Star spot but not up to the levels he has produced throughout his career as one of the best-shooting centers in NBA history. But in the three games back from the break — maybe just in time, with the Knicks facing the suddenly surging Cavaliers on Tuesday — Towns has found his shot again.
He scored at least 20 points in each of the three games, extending his streak to five straight — his longest stretch of producing at least 20 points all season. But more than just the scoring, capped by a 28-point effort in Sunday night’s 105-99 win over Chicago, his shooting touch has come back. He shot 56.3% from beyond the arc (9-for-16) and 58.7% overall (27-for-46) in the three games.
Towns is shooting 36.5% from three-point range and 47.4% overall this season. Last season, his first with the Knicks, he shot 42.0% from outside the arc and 52.6% overall. That has led to lengthy debates about what has gone wrong. Has it been the adjustment to new coach Mike Brown’s system? Is it the secondary role he’s taken behind Brunson, who leads the Knicks in scoring at 26.8 points per game?
“My confidence is built in the gyms that don’t have any fans, no lights, and it’s just me and my [performance] coach, Mark Bryant, or my trainer,” Towns said. “My confidence is built there. Because of that, I never lose confidence in my shooting ability because I continue to put the work in. I don’t think — I’m a true believer, maybe false, maybe true — I don’t think anybody is outworking me doing this. So I believe that. That’s what my confidence is built from, the work. It’s not built in results. It’s built of work.”
Still, the recent results are what the Knicks expect from a player who was acquired on the eve of the 2024-25 season in a deal that sent out Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and a first-round pick. His production last season helped the Knicks reach the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 25 years.
The process has been shaky from the start this season. Maybe it was a self-fulfilling prophecy, as Towns expressed early apprehension about his role after the coaching change. His minutes have dropped from 35.0 per game last season to 31.4 this season and all of his shooting metrics are down. His effective field goal percentage has dropped from .584 to .532 as his shooting inside and outside the arc are down.
Brown has had to answer for it and now is blunt about the reality.
“Some of the questions, you’d have to ask him,” he said. “ . . . End of the day, [Brunson's] getting the most field-goal attempts. KAT’s our second-best player. Go look at the cumulative stats. He’s got the second-most field goal attempts. He’s the second-leading scorer. He was an All-Star.
“ . . . But at the end of the day, if it averages out to where he’s what I just said he is, second in those categories and he’s an All-Star, he’s having a pretty good year. He’s not going to get 10 shots every half of every game. He’s not going to shoot 50% from three and 75% from the two. It’s just not going to happen. I understand it’s something that we need to talk about and I’m OK talking about it, but until those numbers change, there’s not much for me to say because he’s getting an opportunity.”
Towns is averaging 20.1 points and 11.8 rebounds per game this season, down from 24.4 points and 12.8 rebounds per game in 2024-25. But a deeper dive into the data this season reveals that the Knicks win more when he isn't producing the way he did last season.
In the 54 games in which he’s played this season, the Knicks are 19-4 (11-3 against teams with a winning record) when he attempts 13 or fewer shots and 16-15 when he shoots 14 or more times. They are 18-7 when he scores fewer than 20 points and 17-12 when he scores 20 or more.
The most important thing, and the one thing that Towns has insisted is the priority, is winning. The Knicks are third in the Eastern Conference at 37-21.
“Personally, my career has been full of pressure,” Towns said on the court after Sunday’s game. “I’ve always been held to a higher standard than everyone. I understand that criticism comes with that when you're not succeeding, and rightfully so.
"My whole career has been based on me getting that ring and winning. I understand, more than ever now in my career, that winning trumps everything. That's why I'm so adamant about our team staying together, having that continuity, having that unity and nothing deteriorating us or dividing us on this team.”
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.
