Karl-Anthony Towns Knows the Knicks' Win Was Bigger Than Basketball

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
This podcast is supported by Her Private Hell, official selection of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival. Her Private Hell is the newest film from Nicholas Winding Refn, director of Drive and The Neon Demon. It has been hailed by critics as a visually striking, hypnotic neo-noir. Starring Sophie Thatcher and Charles Melton, Her Private Hell is now playing in theaters.

**David Marchese** (0:28)
I'm David Marchese and today I'm talking to NBA champion Karl-Anthony Towns. The seven-foot tall center for the New York Knicks helped the team secure its first title in 53 years, lighting up the court, the city, and the country, and landing his fiance Jordan Woods' bag, which was seen as a lucky charm for the team, in the Guggenheim Museum. Towns grew up in New Jersey, so joining the Knicks in 2024 was something of a homecoming. His mother died of complications from COVID in 2020, and he has said her memory fueled him through this year's playoffs. So what's it like making New Yorkers the happiest they've been, maybe ever? Here's my conversation with Karl-Anthony Towns.
Karl-Anthony, thank you for being here.

**Karl-Anthony Towns** (1:19)
I appreciate you having me.

**David Marchese** (1:21)
You know, even just on the way into the studio, there were people congratulating you, wanting to shake your hand. And when I've been talking to Knicks fans, something people will say is, I can't believe that happened. Almost like I still can't believe it happened. I was going to say, how does it feel to you now, like about a month after it happened?

**Karl-Anthony Towns** (1:40)
It still is something hard to believe, you know? 53 years, me as a Knicks fan growing up, just seeing the Knicks not be able to win the championship and to be in a Knicks jersey and be the one to do it with the Knicks, it's an honor, it's a blessing. I still can't fathom that we've done it and I keep now being here and people call me champ and I'm like, I don't know why they keep calling me that, but it's something that I've earned and it's something that we've earned and the city's earned and the right to be calling ourselves champions.

**David Marchese** (2:11)
All right, I want to do some pure, like relive the magic fan service with you right now. I think game four of the finals is the game that people are going to be talking about.

**Karl-Anthony Towns** (2:20)
I don't know what happened that game.

**David Marchese** (2:22)
No one knows what happened that game, but that's the game that people are going to be talking about years from now. So first half of that game, you guys are getting your butts kicked, you know, you're down.

**Karl-Anthony Towns** (2:31)
I feel like that was all pretty awesome. It was the whole finals.

**David Marchese** (2:34)
But talk to me about what you were thinking and feeling late in the first half when you're down almost 30 Like I know you're going to say, you know, we just need to hit singles, stay in it, but was there a moment where you're like, oh, this is just not our night, or they're kicking our butts tonight?

**Karl-Anthony Towns** (2:48)
I mean, I'll put the words for you, because I know you don't want to say, we were getting our ass kicked for sure. You know, they're hitting shots, we're not hitting many shots.
They're executing at a higher level. We weren't. They were bringing more physicality to the game than us, and we weren't. So we had to take our game to another level and amplify ourselves in the face of adversity. We found ourselves finding our best version in the second half. And last year, we had the same situation in Boston, game one and game two, and we found ourselves winning down 20 plus. You know, at half time, I just told the guys and everyone, you know, we have experience coming back from these moments, especially in the playoffs.
Just trust our experience, trust each other. And if anything, let's go out there and let's swing for the fences, you know, at least give ourselves a chance, you know. And if not, at least we'll have a different standard walking into the next game. We build off of this game, get ready for game five. But this team, man, they're special, have no quit in them. And we went out there in the second half and we found the way to get the job done.

**David Marchese** (3:46)
And then when in the second half, do you really think, all right, this might happen? Is it, I think it's early in the fourth, you hit the three falling down.