Karl-Anthony Towns is turning one of the most memorable nights of the New York Knicks’ championship run into a tribute to the person who could not be there to see it.
Topps revealed on August 10 a one-of-one card celebrating Towns’ performance in Game 2 of the 2026 NBA Finals. Beneath his autograph, the Knicks star added two especially personal words in blue ink: “Jackie’s Son.”
The inscription honors Towns’ late mother, Jacqueline “Jackie” Cruz-Towns, who died from complications of COVID-19 in April 2020.
It also directly connects the collectible to what Towns said after that very Finals game.
Karl-Anthony Towns Prayed to His Mother Before Game 2 Finish
The image chosen for the card shows Towns celebrating at the rim during New York’s 105-104 Game 2 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on June 5.
Towns was one of the Knicks’ most important players that night. He scored a team-high 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting, made three of his five 3-point attempts and grabbed 13 rebounds as New York escaped San Antonio to take a 2-0 Finals lead.
But his most personal memory came at the end.
With the Spurs holding the ball and a chance to win, Towns said he prayed to his mother before New York’s game-clinching defensive stand. Victor Wembanyama ultimately missed the potential winning shot as time expired.
The “Jackie’s Son” inscription makes the one-of-one card about more than Towns’ stat line. It permanently ties the collectible to the private meaning he attached to one of the biggest moments of his career.
That was not the first time Towns spoke about his mother during the series, either.
After New York’s Game 1 victory, Towns said he had experienced an unusual sense of calm during his first NBA Finals game and believed it came from his mother.
“I don’t know what it was, but I just felt a calm and a peace that, I don’t know, had to be coming from the woman above,” Towns said after the Knicks’ 105-95 win.
He finished that opener with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
‘Jackie’s Son’ Card Now Represents Knicks Championship History
What happened after Game 2 gives the card another layer of significance.
New York eventually defeated San Antonio in five games to win its first NBA championship since 1973. The Knicks clinched the title with a 94-90 Game 5 victory, completing a postseason in which Towns became an integral piece of the franchise’s long-awaited return to the top of the league.
That makes the one-of-one more than a card documenting an isolated Finals performance. It captures one of the wins that pushed New York halfway toward ending a 53-year championship drought.
And Towns has an unusually strong connection to the collectible side of the story.
Topps has described him as a trading-card “supercollector,” and Towns participated in a Topps trade night during Fanatics Fest in July, shortly after the Knicks’ championship. Topps NOW also produced cards throughout New York’s postseason run, including previous Towns releases and rare autograph variations tied to the Knicks’ trip through the Eastern Conference.
That background makes his handwritten message on this particular card feel deliberate.
Towns could have limited the one-of-one to his signature. Instead, on a card commemorating the night he said he prayed to his mother before one of the defining possessions of the NBA Finals, he signed it as Jackie’s son.
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