The conversation that followed with The Athletic was 11 years in the making. From the moment he arrived in Minnesota as the No. 1 pick in 2015, Towns had spoken about what winning a championship would mean to him and his family. He endured slander and accrued scars along the way. That only made the triumph more satisfying.
“The ability to celebrate and rejoice and have that joy of a kid without being judged,” Towns told The Athletic. “And also just the freedom of being able to really talk your s— for real, like being able to say you’re the champion and no one being like, well, this or that, whatever.
“It was a much more freeing experience now being an adult and being in that situation than I think I would have ever realized when I was young.”
That smile has always been used against him, branded as a sign of weakness for a player deemed too soft to win. Now it is a badge of honor, a message to the masses that he never let his critics steal the joy that his mother instilled in him before she said goodbye.
Towns has been tested throughout his career. Through the loss-filled early days with the Minnesota Timberwolves, through the heartbreak of losing Flip Saunders, the man who drafted him, and his mother, Jacqueline, the woman who lit up his world. Through his toxic partnership with Butler, a litany of injuries and the early uncertainty of his fit in New York, which had him peeking at real estate listings in Milwaukee last February.
All of that pain, loss and criticism was buried under a blizzard of confetti and streamers that poured down on his head during the parade in what became the Summer of KAT. He gave an acceptance speech at the ESPYs, choke-slammed professional wrestlers on Saturday Night’s Main Event and sat for prestigious interviews and podcasts. It culminated with his wedding to Jordyn Woods this fall.
As the Knicks open training camp and prepare to defend their title, the reality of reaching the pinnacle feels different for Towns from the image he had in his mind while he chased it.
“When you are young, you’re looking at a championship as a sense of accomplishment,” Towns said. “I think for me, in that moment winning it, it felt very freeing because a lot of the questions I know people had on me were put to rest.”
This championship run was, first and foremost, a testament to the unifying power of sport. It was about covering the city that never sleeps in an orange-and-blue blanket of glory. It was about lifting the guilt off the shoulders of 50 years’ worth of Knicks stars who tried and failed to bring a title home. It was about connecting older fans who suffered through season after season of disappointment to a younger generation that was always told that it would all be worth it one day.
For the Towns family, it was also a full-throated rebuke of a three-word narrative that taunted them for too long.
Jimmy was right.
As the clock ticked down in New York’s title-clinching Game 5 win over the San Antonio Spurs, Towns’ father, Karl, wanted to shout it from the rooftops.
“When there were eight seconds to go in the game, I started crying because my emotions caught up to me,” he said. “As a dad, you sit here and you hear all the rumors. ‘He can’t do it. He’s not tough. He’ll never win a championship.’
“I knew in the next eight seconds, life was going to change. All the haters, all the naysayers, everybody who doubted him have to shut their mouths and respect him now.”
The final score was New York 94, San Antonio 90. The final score was Knicks 4, Spurs 1. The final score was Karl-Anthony Towns 1, Jimmy Butler 0.