Karl-Anthony Towns still has love for his Minnesota teammate.
Karl-Anthony Towns became an NBA Champion on Saturday as the New York Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs in five games to capture the title.
Towns was the second-best player on the Knicks all season, and throughout the course of his career, has endured personal loss and professional struggles that would've kept a lesser man and player down and out.
2025-26 marked the second season in New York for Towns after a shocking trade just days before training camp opening in the 2024-25 offseason. Towns was drafted first overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2015, spending nine seasons with the franchise before the deal.
During his nine season with Minnesota, Towns became one of the most beloved players in franchise history, and looked like he was building something alongside Anthony Edwards, who was taken first overall in 2020.
Towns Still Has Love For Minnesota
After the Knicks were crowned champions, Towns was still basking in the glory when he made sure to send some love to his former teammate.
During the ESPN post-game show, Towns stated, "Shout out to my brother Anthony Edwards."
Edwards took to social media and posted a photo of himself on FaceTime with Towns, who was holding the Larry O'Brien trophy.
Towns spent four seasons playing alongside Edwards as Minnesota went from a 19-win team in the season prior to Edwards' arrival to a Western Conference Finalist in Towns' final season.
Throughout the playoffs, Towns commented on how he was keeping up with how Minnesota was doing, and Timberwolves' players noted their happiness for Towns as he advanced to the Conference Finals and then the Finals.
Looking Back At The Trade
Coming off a Western Conference Finals appearance in 2024, it looked like the Timberwolves had found stability with a core of Edwards, Towns, Gobert, Naz Reid, and Jaden McDaniels.
Instead of keeping that core together, Minnesota traded Towns to the Knicks for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo.
The idea behind the trade was to give the team extra depth in DiVincenzo and financial flexibility as Towns had an average salary of $55 million while Randle's average salary was just $33 million.
Randle was coming off an All-Star season with the Knicks and provided a bully ball mentality that the team thought they needed after losing to the Dallas Mavericks in five games in the Conference Finals.
Things weren't all bad in the first season as the Timberwolves returned to the Conference Finals before losing to the Thunder in five games. The Knicks also made the Conference Finals in 2025, making it look like a win-win trade for both sides.
One season later, Towns is an NBA Champion while Randle is the subject of many trade rumors.
