The New York Knicks are in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999. The city has been waiting over two decades for this moment, and the players who got them here each carry their own reasons for what it means. Eleven straight playoff wins. Three series won. A franchise reborn.
For Karl-Anthony Towns, the journey to this stage has been unlike almost anyone else in the league. He has carried the weight of profound personal loss, adapted to a new city and a new role, and found something special alongside Jalen Brunson and this group of Knicks. Wednesday night in San Antonio is the reward for all of it.
Before Game 1, Towns spoke about what reaching the Finals actually means to him. The answer went deeper than basketball.
Towns Opens Up on What the Finals Means
Behind Towns’ right ear is a tattoo he has to fold his ear to reveal. It reads “4:/13.” The first meaning is a reference to Philippians 4:13, his favorite Bible verse. The second is something far more personal. Towns lost his mother, Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, on April 13, 2020, during the pandemic. Two meanings. One date. Carried quietly everywhere he goes.
His mother was Dominican, a die-hard Knicks fan who raised her family in New Jersey not far from Madison Square Garden. When Towns was traded to New York two years ago, the move carried meaning that went beyond basketball. He was coming home to something his mother loved.
When asked about the honor of competing for a championship, Towns kept returning to one word. Gratitude. And then he explained why.
“It means a lot for my mother when she emigrated from DR to New York,” Towns said. “Saw Madison Square Garden for the first time and saw the energy the city has for MSG and the Knicks.”
She is not here to see Wednesday night. But in every meaningful sense, she is the reason it matters as much as it does.
What Towns Has Meant to This Run
GettyKarl-Anthony Towns of the New York Knicks.
Towns arrived in New York and immediately embraced the expectations that come with playing for this franchise. He has been one of the most versatile offensive weapons in the league this postseason, giving the Knicks a dimension that opposing defenses have struggled to contain.
His partnership with Brunson has been the foundation of everything New York has built. Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Josh Hart have all elevated their games around them. The Knicks have a chance to end a championship drought that stretches all the way back to 1973.
The Spurs present a real test. Victor Wembanyama is the most unique talent in basketball, and San Antonio’s defense has been suffocating all postseason. Towns will be at the center of how the Knicks try to solve that puzzle, both as a scorer and as a key part of a defense trying to slow down Wembanyama.
What This Series Means for the Knicks
The Knicks have not won a championship since 1973. The Finals appearance alone has already given the city something it has been starved of for a generation. Towns understands the weight of that better than most.
His mother came from the Dominican Republic, fell in love with the Knicks, and raised a son who now wears that uniform in the NBA Finals. Madison Square Garden was part of her identity. Now it is part of his.
Towns gets to play for all of that on Wednesday night.
Final Word for the Knicks
Karl-Anthony Towns has been through more than most players his age. The tattoo behind his ear tells that story without him having to say a word.
The gratitude he described is real because the journey behind it is real. He didn’t arrive at this moment easily. Neither did the Knicks.
Four wins. That is all that stands between this team and the championship New York has been waiting for since 1973. His mother once felt the energy of this city and this team. Towns carries that with him.
She would have loved this.
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