When the New York Knicks traded for superstar Karl-Anthony Towns late in the offseason, it shocked most, including the then-Timberwolf himself. All that is behind him now. Towns is humming along with his new team, putting up numbers in a good start for his first season as a member of the Knicks.
Knicks Superstar Feeling Like His True Self in New York
NY Knicks Superstar Karl-Anthony Towns Feeling Like ‘A Better Version’ of Himself
Apart from the new team and teammates, Towns is also back to playing center full-time. Going back two seasons in Minnesota, he had primarily played at the four while Rudy Gobert commanded the five. Considering that he is a threat from three and plays well outside of the paint offensively, it made sense for him to play more power-forward minutes in addition to Gobert’s presence. So far into this season, though, that has changed. KAT is now back to playing the five, the center position, regularly. And by going off what we’ve seen thus far, it’s going to bode well for head coach Tom Thibodeau and the Knicks in the long run.
Towns sluffed it off when asked about being back at the five by essentially saying it just came back to him without having never lost it.
“I don’t just lose the ability to play the five…it’s just being able to do what I did a lot of years at the five,” Towns said postgame after the Knicks beat the Milwaukee Bucks Friday night. “I feel I’m a better version of myself. I’m smarter, more experienced, I think I’m more talented than I’ve ever been. So being able to utilize that for our team is what I want to do every single night so it can translate to wins.”
Has the Trade Unlocked More of KAT?
At center, Towns has fit in perfectly with the Knicks offensive scheme. Of course, he still finds time to float around the three-point line, which has resulted in him shooting 53.7% on the year. So, it’s nice to see his long-range touch has stayed with him. His points per game (24.9) are also up from last season (21.8), as are his rebounds (from 8.3 to 12.3). So, even though the Knicks have started slow, KAT looks pretty good.
It took Towns and Gobert an entire season to become comfortable with each other. At the beginning stages of their pairing, it was sluggish. In year two, though, it showed that sharing the floor together had turned sluggish to excellent. The Timberwolves thrived defensively off of Gobert’s and Towns’ partnership. The entire Timberwolves unit led by Anthony Edwards also excelled, which helped propel them to the Western Conference Finals. A controversial move to begin with—trading for Gobert from the Utah Jazz—turned out to be a short-lived success.
Now in New York, Towns is excelling both as a player and, as he alluded to, personally as well. Yes, the Knicks have struggled out of the gate. Keep in mind, though, that they’re fitting in two new players (Towns and Mikal Bridges), and that takes time. In the meantime, Towns definitely looks like a better version of himself. And that bodes well for the Knicks as they have deep playoff success aspirations in their sights.
