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You need to tell me about OG’s play. Where were you on the court? Karl-Anthony Towns: I’m right next to him. I was gonna dunk it in. I see OG flying in the sky and I’m like, if he tries to tip the ball back in and it goes off the front rim, I’m going to dunk it back in. OG made it. It was something special. The play was designed to go to me, and then two people guarded me. We finally got the ball to J.B. [Jalen Brunson], and J.B. took a quick pull-up three, and OG, who was inbounding the ball, found himself with no one on him, and he crashed to the board and got the offensive rebound, which was the tip-in, and found a way to make the bucket. It’s going to go down as one of the greatest plays in New York history. One of the great plays in N.B.A. finals history.
When you see that ball go through the hoop, what is that feeling? Are you even having thoughts? Karl-Anthony Towns: No. When you see me in the game, it’s so loud I didn’t hear the whistle. I just see people running on the court so my first reaction is to tell everyone to get off the court right now and stay focused on the game, but then I look back and see the ref grabbing the ball and I’m like, Oh, it’s a timeout. I see OG, and OG is very, uh, OG. He doesn’t have a lot to say. Karl-Anthony Towns: New York all knows how OG is. I saw him, and it was one of those things — you want to hype him up and stuff. I have such a close friendship with OG. I was like, Nah, you’re gonna get a hug for this one. This is a career-changing bucket for all of us. And he gave us a chance. We still had to get a stop, and he gave us a chance to get that stop.
There’s another moment from the series I want to ask you about. You had just scored against Wemby. You’re coming off the court, and the camera caught you saying something like — we’re not supposed to curse here — he can’t “fudge” with me. What was that in response to? Karl-Anthony Towns: I was just being competitive. I have tremendous confidence in my ability and what I do and the work I put in. It’s the finals, and you’re on the biggest stage against one of the best players in the world, and I wanted to prove again, after all these years, where I stand in the N.B.A. You had to take it a little personally, just as a competitor, to hear how much people were talking up Wemby before the finals. Karl-Anthony Towns: He deserves it — he’s a generational player. He’s extremely tall, and he’s God-gifted with intangibles that none of us were able to get. I mean, I’m seven feet, thank God, but 7-foot-4 would’ve been cool, too. He deserved it, but I’ve earned my stripes in this league, too.
Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns were given a warm welcome at the Garden on Saturday — but this time was not for basketball. The two Knicks stars made WWE appearances during WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event. Brunson, sporting sunglasses and a brace on his left wrist, was met with a booming roar from the crowd as he emerged from the tunnel alongside Roman Reigns at about 10:00 p.m. for the final event of the night. Fireworks shot off in the arena as the two pointed up, a reference to the wrestler’s iconic “The One” gesture.
Karl-Anthony Towns, who took the stage earlier in the night, was a bit more physical. He helped Danhausen — known for “uncursing” the Knicks after going down 2-1 against the Hawks in the first round — defeat JD McDonagh after making a surprise entrance late in the match. The Knicks’ center made his entrance in epic fashion, walking out of a smoke-filled container titled “cloning machine box.” Then during the match he choke-slammed McDonagh before doing the same to Dominik Mysterio through a wooden table.
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“Karl was taking some heat and I was so mad. He didn’t deserve that. But the only thing I did tell him – ‘They’re not calling fouls so quit flopping,’” Calipari told The Post in Las Vegas during Summer League. “If you’re going to shoot it, they’re going to foul you. And they’re not calling it. I’m watching the Spurs and OKC beat the s–t out of each other (in the Western Conference finals). No calls. And I said, ‘Look man, go for and-ones, and if they don’t foul you, at least you’ll make the basket. Flopping ain’t helping.’”
Does Karl-Anthony Towns get an extension with the Knicks? If yes, how much will that extension be for? — Troy M. My educated guess is that New York will offer Towns an extension. The question is: will the Knicks offer him the max deal that they can offer him: four years, $272 million? That’s where I pause slightly. Towns came here and, within two years, helped New York reach the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in a quarter century, then turned around and helped the franchise end a 53-year championship drought. He’s done his part.
Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns, in attendance for the 2026 ESPY Awards at Lincoln Center on Wednesday night, took a swipe at one of the team’s playoff foes as New York looked to take home the Best Team award. “You can pick up all the analytics and statistics you want,” Towns said during a pre-show interview Wednesday with ESPN’s Kevin Negandhi and Christine Williamson. “Analytically, we should win this one. We should win this one analytically.”
Ian Begley: Knicks targeted Andre Drummond due to his veteran experience in the league, strong rebounding ability and his playoff experience, per source familiar with the matter. Club will lean on former Mount Vernon star to backup Karl-Anthony Towns. Knicks have roughly $6.2M left under second apron
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Ian Begley: Knicks have secured agreement with free agent Andre Drummond, source confirms. Drummond, former Mount Vernon star, will be backup 5 for Karl-Anthony Towns after Mitchell Robinson exit. Drummond has agreed to one-year deal. First reported by @MikeAScotto. If he becomes free agent, Jonas Valunciunas is on NYK radar as 3rd center, per sources
NBA Base: Mike Brown says his early clashes with Karl-Anthony Towns almost broke the team and became a massive media distraction "Dealing you know with the highs and lows with KAT especially the first time was pretty tough because you know again you have a thought in your mind what you want to do, similar to bringing them off the bench, what you want to do offensively, what you want to do defensively, and to see what you envision not fit KAT, but you still think he could, was tough kind of going back and forth with him and trying to figure out what we needed to do. And then it got bigger than what it should have because the media started getting involved — I thought that was a distraction and others started getting involved — and I thought, so I didn't know if we would recover from that." (Via @Roommates__Show)
Windhorst: "If you say to me Giannis is now been traded, who would be the next NBA star that you would watch? The answer would be Anthony Edwards. Already, Anthony Edwards has watched Karl-Anthony Towns, a player he totally fit with on the court, be traded to the Knicks and win a championship. Last summer, they let Nickeill Alexander-Walker go, he goes and wins most improved player down in Atlanta."
Karl Towns Sr. is the proud papa of NBA champion Karl-Anthony Towns, who was a key component in the team’s playoff run — which snapped a 53-year championship drought. Papa Towns take a shot at some Father’s Day Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby. Q: Why do you think New York City fell in love with your son Karl-Anthony? A: Because he’s humble, caring, loving. And he wanted to bring something to New York that they’ve been thirsting for 53 years. When he puts on that jersey, he knew every time he put it on he was representing his mother, the city, and he wanted to give them a chance to be where they were yesterday.