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It's common to see children dream of playing in the NBA Finals for their favorite team. Rarely do they get this opportunity. Except for Karl-Anthony Towns.
Towns, the New Jersey native, grew up as a major Knicks fan who dreamed of suiting up to play in Madison Square Garden. Since a midseason trade in 2024, Towns has gotten the chance to live out this very dream.
However, the NBA Finals drought has been lengthy for the Knicks. The last time the Knicks made it this far, Towns hadn't even begun elementary school.
Here's what to know on how Towns became a major Knicks fan.
MORE: When was the last time the Knicks won an NBA Championship?
Is Karl-Anthony Towns a Knicks fan?
Growing up in New Jersey, Towns was a New York Knicks fan as a child. He was born in November 1995, meaning he was just three years old the last time the Knicks made the NBA Finals. Now, he's playing in it.
"Playing knightly at the Garden, the Mecca of basketball, has been a longtime dream," Towns told Sports Illustrated in 2025.
Towns was eager to join his local team, and has enjoyed the chance to play in front of his family more often.
The moment that cemented his intense fandom for the Knicks was the "Linsanity" run of 2012, where Knicks guard Jeremy Lin went on an underdog rise to stardom before crashing back down to Earth.
Inside Karl-Anthony Towns' Knicks fandom
With the Nets in town as well, growing up in New Jersey doesn't always make a Knicks fan out of every child. For Towns, it was his family that instilled that love. His father, Karl Sr., was invited to the Knicks' training camp before Karl Jr. was born, but did not make the team.
Towns also grew up loving the Knicks because of his mother, who passed away due to COVID in April of 2020.
"I am honored to play for the team my mother loved; she was a huge Knicks fan and my father’s past relationship with the team is a full-circle moment for me. I am proud to be a New York Knick." Towns told SI.
Towns cites Jeremy Lin as a childhood favorite, especially after a recent video of Lin wearing a Towns Knicks jersey.
"[Lin] made me so passionate about the Knicks and it's crazy now that I'm in this position, in this chair, talking to you as a Knicks player," Towns said in a recent press conference.
The rivalry between the Knicks and Spurs is nothing new to Towns. While he may hardly remember the 1999 NBA Finals, he wore a 1999 Finals shirt to his first game as a Knick back in 2024.
Karl-Anthony Towns arrived in a 1999 NBA Finals shirt tonight 🔥 pic.twitter.com/H4QOuLzAn1
— The Strickland (@TheStrickland) October 6, 2024Where is Karl-Anthony Towns from?
Towns was born in Edison, New Jersey, but grew up in Piscataway. He attended high school in nearby Metuchen, New Jersey.
Now, he's returned home with the Knicks. Madison Square Garden is about 35 miles from Edison.
Where did Karl-Anthony Towns go to high school?
Towns went to St. Joseph High School in Metuchen, New Jersey. During his freshman season, he led the team to a New Jersey state championship.
He would only spend three years there, however, reclassifying to graduate a year early and join Kentucky. He was the Gatorade Player of the Year in his final season with St. Joseph.
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