Karl-Anthony Towns

Early life

Towns was born in Edison, New Jersey to an African-American father, Karl Towns Sr., and a Dominican mother, Jacqueline Cruz. He grew up in Piscataway, New Jersey, and attended Lake Nelson Seventh-Day Adventist School, before transferring to Theodore Schor Middle School from Our Lady of Fatima School in 2009. At Theodore Schor, he reclassified and repeated seventh grade in order to gain an extra year of development. Towns's father played basketball for Monmouth University and holds the University's record for total rebounds in a season with 319. He also coached basketball at Piscataway Technical High School, where the precocious Towns practiced with the junior varsity team as a fifth grader.

High school career

As a freshman at St. Joseph High School, Towns led the basketball team to a state championship in 2012, earning himself the top position in the ESPN 25 national ranking of high school players. He also led his team to state titles in 2013 and 2014. Towns was selected at the age of 16 to play on the Dominican Republic national basketball team, eligible due to his mother being from the Dominican Republic. John Calipari, head coach at the University of Kentucky and former NBA head coach, coached the team in the 2011 and 2012 competitions. They finished in third at the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship and fourth at the 2012 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men, falling one position short of qualifying for the 2012 Olympics basketball tournament.

As a sophomore in December 2012, Towns announced that he was going to reclassify to the class of 2014, foregoing his fourth year of high school eligibility, and commit to play for the Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team under Coach Calipari. ESPN, which had ranked him as the top prospect in the 2015 recruiting class, listed him as third-ranked in its 2014 class. Towns graduated from high school with a 3.96 GPA on a 4.5 scale. He was named the 2014 Gatorade Player of the Year.

On January 6, 2013, Towns recorded a quadruple-double with 16 points, 17 rebounds, 11 blocks and 11 assists. He recorded a second quadruple-double on January 5, 2014, with 20 points, 14 rebounds, 12 blocks and 10 assists. Towns averaged 20.9 points, 13.4 rebounds and 6.2 blocks per game as a senior.

College career

In his freshman year, Kentucky used a unique "platoon system" that limited the minutes of each player, and he subsequently averaged 10.3 points and 6.7 rebounds in 21.1 minutes per game. He studied kinesiology in his one year at Kentucky, and hopes to become a doctor after his basketball career. Though he left Kentucky for the NBA, Towns enrolled in online courses, and hopes to earn his degree. He was named a second-team All-American by the Associated Press and NABC, and a third-team All-American by The Sporting News. Throughout the 2014–15 season, Towns was often ranked behind Duke center Jahlil Okafor as a draft prospect. However, due to strong play in the NCAA Tournament, and a growing consensus that Towns was a better defensive player and had an opportunity to become a better offensive player as well, Towns overtook Okafor in most draft rankings.

On April 9, 2015, Towns and fellow Kentucky teammates Andrew Harrison, Aaron Harrison, Dakari Johnson, Devin Booker, Trey Lyles and Willie Cauley-Stein, all declared for the 2015 NBA draft.

Professional career

Minnesota Timberwolves (2015–2024)

On June 25, 2015, Towns was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the first overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft. He signed his rookie scale contract with the Timberwolves on July 7, and made his NBA debut in the Timberwolves' season opener against the Los Angeles Lakers on October 28, recording 14 points and 12 rebounds as a starter in a 112–111 win. In the following game on October 30 against the Denver Nuggets, his 28 points and 14 rebounds propelled the Timberwolves to their first 2–0 start with two wins on the road in team history. Over his first 13 games of the season, Towns averaged 16.0 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. Those numbers dropped, however, to 8.4 points and 6.0 rebounds over the next five games. Despite this, on December 3, he was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for November, becoming just the seventh Timberwolves player to win NBA Rookie of the Month honors.

On January 20, 2016, Towns had a season-best game with 27 points and career highs of 17 rebounds and six blocks in a 106–94 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. On January 29, he recorded 32 points and 12 rebounds in a loss to the Utah Jazz, becoming the youngest player to have 30 points and 10 rebounds in a game since Kevin Durant did so in 2008. On February 2, he was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for January—his third consecutive rookie of the month honor. On February 10, he scored a then career-high 35 points in a 117–112 win over the Toronto Raptors. Three days later, he won the 2016 NBA All-Star Weekend Skills Challenge over point guard Isaiah Thomas, becoming the tallest, heaviest, and youngest winner of the event. On March 3, named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for February, joining teammate Andrew Wiggins (November, December 2014, January, February 2015) as the second player in Wolves history to earn NBA Rookie of the Month honors in four consecutive months.

On March 25, Towns grabbed 10 rebounds against the Washington Wizards, setting a Minnesota rookie rebounding record, pushing his season total to 741 and passing Kevin Love's record of 734. On April 7, he recorded his 50th double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds in a 105–97 win over the Sacramento Kings. Four days later, in a loss to the Houston Rockets, Towns passed Christian Laettner for the franchise's rookie scoring record with 1,475 points. Earlier that day, he was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played Monday, April 4 through Sunday, April 10. Towns played and started in all 82 games for the Timberwolves in 2015–16, averaging 18.3 points and 10.5 rebounds per game; he subsequently earned unanimous NBA Rookie of the Year honors. Towns earned Western Conference Rookie of the Month honors in each of the season's six months, becoming the first Timberwolves player to do so. In addition, he became just the fifth unanimous NBA Rookie of the Year, and with teammate Andrew Wiggins winning the award in 2014–15, Minnesota became the first team with back-to-back Rookie of the Year winners since the Buffalo Braves in 1972–73 (Bob McAdoo) and 1973–74 (Ernie DiGregorio), as well as the first team with back-to-back No. 1 draft picks earning Rookie of the Year honors. He also earned NBA All-Rookie First Team honors.

New York Knicks (2024–present)

On October 2, 2024, Towns was traded to the New York Knicks as part of a three-team trade with the Charlotte Hornets. Along with Towns, the Knicks acquired the draft rights to James Nnaji from the Charlotte Hornets. The price was steep: The Knicks sent Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, Keita Bates-Diop and a future first-round pick to Minnesota, and Charlie Brown, DaQuan Jeffries, Duane Washington Jr. and two future second-round picks to Charlotte.

On October 29, Towns posted 44 points and 13 rebounds in a 116–107 win over the Miami Heat. He was 17-of-25 from the field, 4-for-5 from 3-point range, and 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. The 44 points also were the most in a game by a Knicks center since Patrick Ewing in 1995. Towns also became the first player in Knicks franchise history with 40 points, 10 rebounds and 65% shooting in a game since Carmelo Anthony in 2014. On November 13, Towns scored a season-high 46 points on 60% shooting from the field and grabbed 10 rebounds in a 124–123 loss against the Chicago Bulls. On December 19, In his first game back at Target Center after a nine-year tenure with the Timberwolves, Towns recorded 32 points, 20 rebounds and six assists in a 133–107 victory. With the performance, he joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1975 vs. Milwaukee Bucks) as the only players to record 30+ points and 20+ boards in their first game back against their former team. Towns also joined Willis Reed as the only Knicks with a 30/20 game on 80% shooting. For his play in December, Towns was named Eastern Conference Player of the Month for the first time in his career. He helped lead the Knicks to a 12–2 record in December, averaging 23.2 points, 14.6 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game.

On January 25, 2025, Towns was named as an Eastern Conference starter for the 2025 NBA All-Star Game. On February 12, Towns scored 44 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a 149–148 overtime win over the Atlanta Hawks. He recorded 40 points in consecutive games for the first time in his career. Towns also joined Patrick Ewing, Bernard King, Carmelo Anthony and Jalen Brunson as the only Knicks players with at least 40 points in consecutive games. On March 25, Towns put up his first triple-double as a Knick with 26 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists in a 128–113 win over the Dallas Mavericks.

In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, Towns delivered a playoff career-high 35 points along with 12 rebounds, though the Knicks fell short in a 138–135 overtime loss to the Indiana Pacers. In Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals, Towns scored 20 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, grabbed 15 rebounds, and helped lead the Knicks to a 106–100 comeback win over the Pacers, after trailing by as many as 20 points. He also became just the second Knick in the play-by-play era to score 20 or more points in the fourth quarter of a postseason game, the first being Jalen Brunson. The Knicks would go on to lose to the Pacers in six games, despite Towns's 22-point and 14-rebound outing in a 125–108 close-out loss in Game 6.

National team

Towns has represented the Dominican Republic national team internationally since 2012. He debuted for them at the 2012 Centrobasket, when he was age 16. He would not play for the Dominican national team in the following years, until he joined them for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, confirming his presence in July 2023. He averaged 24.4 points, fifth-most in the tournament, as well as 8 rebounds over five games.

Player profile

Despite playing most of his career at center, Towns is known for being an exceptional 3-point shooter, averaging nearly 40% from the arc over his career. His career three point field goal percentage is the highest among all players listed at 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) or higher. He and Dirk Nowitzki are the only 7-footers to ever win the NBA Three-Point Contest. The two are often cited as among the best big men shooters in NBA history.

The Ringer has called him "a singular presence… Bigs who can shoot like Towns (to the extent they can) are almost never as physical and competitive on the glass as he is." His flexibility and shooting have allowed him to slot in at power forward alongside more traditional bigs like Rudy Gobert in Minnesota.

A three-level scorer, Towns ranked 7th in the NBA with 1.21 points per direct drive during the 2024–25 season. He also excels working in pick-and-pop sets, daring defenders to leave him isolated on the 3-point line.

While his offensive versatility makes him a unique weapon in the modern NBA, his defensive limitations have been noted throughout his career. Despite being a consistently elite rebounder (11.1 per game in his career), Towns is often derided for his post defense. Some, like Jim Souhan of the Star Tribune, have speculated that his lack of rim protection spurred the Timberwolves to trade for 4x DPOY Gobert in 2022. According to The Athletic, New York Knicks coaches and players were frustrated by Towns's defensive habits throughout the 2024–25 NBA season. The frustration was caused by Towns's defensive process and execution of incorrect coverages without communicating his reasoning.

Other media

WWE

On July 18, 2026, at Saturday Night's Main Event XLV, Towns came out of Danhausen's cloning machine to help him defeat JD McDonagh (who was accompanied by Dominik Mysterio) by pinfall in a No Disqualification match.

Awards and honors

NBA

NBA champion: 2026

6× NBA All-Star: 2018, 2019, 2022, 2024–2026

3× All-NBA Third Team: 2018, 2022, 2025

NBA Cup champion: 2025

NBA Cup All-Tournament Team: 2025

NBA Rookie of the Year: 2016

NBA All-Rookie First Team: 2016

NBA Three-Point Contest champion: 2022

NCAA

Consensus second-team All-American: 2015

SEC Freshman of the Year: 2015

First-team All-SEC: 2015

High school

Gatorade National Player of the Year: 2014

McDonald's All-American: 2014

First-team Parade All-American: 2014

Career statistics

Personal life

Towns began dating socialite Jordyn Woods in March 2020. The following month, his mother died from complications of COVID-19. Towns has stated that six other family members have died after contracting COVID-19. For the first anniversary of Towns's mother's death, Woods commissioned her brother, John Woods Jr., to create a portrait of Towns's mother, which was then gifted to him. On December 25, 2025, Towns and Woods announced their engagement. They were married on August 15, 2026, in Malibu, California.

In 2024, Towns received the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion Award from the NBA for his social justice work. The award announcement highlighted his work advocating for voting rights and specifically in support of Minnesota's state legislation that restored the right to vote to people who had formerly been incarcerated. The award also noted his work as the producer for a short documentary about the justice system, Forgiving Johnny.

Towns is a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles. Growing up in New Jersey, he was a Knicks fan. He made a cameo as himself in the film The Devil Wears Prada 2 (2026).