Karl Towns Sr. is the proud papa of NBA champion Karl-Anthony Towns, who was a key component in the team’s playoff run — which snapped a 53-year championship drought.
Papa Towns take a shot at some Father’s Day Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby.
Q: Why do you think New York City fell in love with your son Karl-Anthony?
A: Because he’s humble, caring, loving. And he wanted to bring something to New York that they’ve been thirsting for 53 years. When he puts on that jersey, he knew every time he put it on he was representing his mother, the city, and he wanted to give them a chance to be where they were yesterday.
Q: What is the most memorable Father’s Day you’ve had with KAT?
A: Ready for this? It’s gonna be this Sunday, being a part of my son winning an NBA championship.
Q: What are your plans?
A: I don’t need any plans. You know what my plans were? The parade yesterday, sitting there crying, emotional, seeing my son hold that trophy — something I dreamed it would happen one day, and to see it fulfilled, he don’t have to do anything for me Father’s Day. He just did it. Seeing him fulfill his mother’s dream and me being a part of his dream … I’m good.
Q: What was the highlight of the parade for you?
A: The highlight of the parade was watching my son finally hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy. It was emotional for me because it was always a dream of his mother for him to play for the Knicks in a season. It was not only his dream of being an NBA champion, but his mother’s dream. The whole thing was beautiful, but watching him walk out of City Hall with the trophy up high, that’s when it hit me that he was a champion. It was a day I’ll never forget. When he walked down the steps, it really hit me that my son had reached the pinnacle of the basketball world.
Q: What was it like on the float?
A: The float was a beautiful thing, because over the years, you watch all these other teams go down the Canyon of Heroes, but to know that this was a parade for the New York Knicks basketball program that never had a parade, and knowing that the whole city was honoring us, it was so emotional. And to see all these old players that played for the Knicks, it was so emotional that they could finally be part of a parade. And it was a parade for the entire Knick unit over the years, it wasn’t just for us. And to see all of them come back, it was a great moment to be on that float and look behind me and see all of those former players who made the program what it was be a part of the biggest Knick celebration for basketball. … You could see the joy in their face, as in our players … a family reunion.
Q: What were your emotions on the float with your son?
A: I was crying and hugging him, saying, “Thank you for being yourself, and giving me a chance to be here, experiencing this moment with you. You made this possible for all of us, and I say, thank you, son. I love you, and you earned this day.”
Q: He looked like he was having quite a fun time.
A: Best day of his life. Besides getting engaged to Jordyn [Woods].
Q: You were doing a lot of crying during the parade.
A: You don’t know emotional it is seeing confetti coming down on your kid, and people showing your kid the love, the respect, saying thank you for giving us the championship we’ve been waiting for for 53 years. I’m getting emotional now even talking about it. As a father, you only want the best for your child [daughters Malaika and Lachelle, and son Brandon]. When you’re on that float, and you look up, and you see that confetti coming down, it’s very emotional … Because they only do that for heroes. Imagine them seeing your son as a hero to the city.
Q: You lost your wife Jacqueline “Jackie” Cruz-Towns, and Karl-Anthony his mother, to COVID in 2020. Tell me about the two of you that day.
A: She was his mom and I lost my partner. I was more worried about his emotional state because that was his everything. Just know that he had to make a decision to let her go [from life support]. It was very hard. I hugged him and I told him, “Don’t worry, I will ride with you until the day I die. You’re never gonna be alone, I’ll be there for you all the time. I know how hard it is for you, but she always told you no matter what to be strong.” … This championship healed him a lot. He was able to release a lot of the stuff that he couldn’t see emotionally, but he released it to everybody, let them know that his mother is there, he could feel her presence. You don’t forget it, the feeling never leaves you, but you have to be strong and move on, and I think that this championship and her being there healed him in a way that he really needed this to move forward.
Q: Describe her for me.
A: His mother was a ray of sunshine in his world … a very hard-nosed, driven, outspoken, straightforward, straight shooter. Out of any Spanish mom, don’t mess with her kids. You better come correct, because she will defend her kids to the end. She fought for every right for all her kids. She was a great woman.
Q: What was it like when the Knicks traded for your son right before the 2024-25 season?
A: Knowing that we had been somewhere [Minnesota] for nine years, it was like we were moving, so I was emotional, but at the same time it’s part of the business. I was more worried about how he felt. As a dad, you always want to support your son. As long as he was OK, I was OK. But we really weren’t going to a new area, we were just going home [Piscataway, N.J.], because we were going back to the East Coast and we were from here anyway.
Q: You were in Minneapolis for the whole nine years with him?
A: Every basketball season I spent with him, yes.
Q: What were those nine years?
A: Cold! You know what, I call it probably the best years with me and my son because we were always there and we bonded. Every basketball season I was out there for all the games, just like the Knicks this year. I went to every game for the last two years. It was a chance for us to just do father-son time. When his mom passed away I just wanted to spend more time with him just for his emotional and mental state, make sure he had somebody there he could always talk to if he ever felt like he needed someone there.
Q: What kind of child was he?
A: I call him a perfectionist. Everything had to be right. He always was reading, he always was knowledgeable and stuff, and he was very, very on point, so when you talk to him you have to have all your facts because he already knew what the right answer would be. To this day he’s the same way.
Q: How else would you describe your son?
A: Extremely humble. He takes everything to heart. He wants the best for everyone. He just wants to be a friend to you. He’s not arrogant, none of that. He’s down to earth. He’s relatable to anybody, it don’t matter who you are.
Q: Best piece of advice you ever gave him?
A: Be yourself. Make all your own decisions. Don’t let anybody make answers and decisions on your life for you, Be your own man.
Q: Describe the day he won his first state championship in high school.
A: Magical moment. He wanted to leave high school knowing that he had played on the No. 1 team in the state, and that night, I’ll never forget in Trenton, they pulled it off.
Q: His decision to go to Kentucky.
A: He had settled down to Rutgers, Duke, Seton Hall, North Carolina State and another one. I think that the decision to go to Kentucky was a little bit better being that he played on the national team for Cal [John Calipari]. He wanted the challenge of having a chance to get to the next level. My wife loved Kentucky. Duke was in it, but she didn’t like the fact that he had to walk across campus.
Q: He played for the Dominican National team when he was 16.
A: He will not play for another team but the Dominican team because the Dominican team is his bond with his mother.
Q: What was draft day like in 2015?
A: Magical moment. Knowing that we were sitting there knowing that Minnesota was gonna have the first pick. He had a great workout in Minnesota. I’ll never forget it. [Kevin] Garnett and everybody watched him, and just to hear his name called first — after all those years of playing in high school, college, all the great players around the country, to know that they felt that you were the No. 1 pick in the draft, you can never take that away from him. He will always be considered a No. 1 pick for the rest of his life.
Q: Your son’s first NBA game.
A: Los Angeles Lakers in L.A. The thing I recall was watching him get his first basket as an NBA player, he made a steal and dunked. It’s the most vivid memory because as a father, you never ever think your son’s gonna make it to the NBA. Once you score one basket in the NBA you’re officially in the record books. I knew when he made that basket, his name was gonna be etched in the books forever.
Q: What were your emotions when you were cut by the Knicks.
A: I wasn’t cut, I got hurt, so I didn’t go to attend the camp. My ankle, unfortunately, I got injured. It hurt, but what was I gonna do? It wasn’t meant to be. God has different plans for everybody. And the plan came out to be my son was supposed to play for the Knicks and win a championship.
Q: His first game as a Knick.
A: Magical moment. Because to me it was the moment — it was a full circle thing. It didn’t happen to me, it happened to him. But to know that when he walked out there in that uniform that night he represented … and this was his mother always wanted him to be — represent the New York Knicks and play in New York. To me it was an emotional night because he fulfilled her dream. She wasn’t here … but she was here. Because she’s part of him. It was a moment I’ll always remember. And she told him, “One day you’re gonna play for New York and win a championship.” It was a magical moment for everybody to see him come out in his first game in a Knick uniform.
Q: Near the end of Game 5 in San Antonio, your emotions.
A: I was right across from him, I looked at him, and the first thing he did was look up to the sky to his mom and said, “We did it!”
Q: And when you first saw him when the game ended?
A: We hugged, and I said, “She would be so proud of you right now.” … He said, “She’s here.”And you know what I told him? “I know.”
Q: As a 6-foot-5 power forward, what kind of a player were you at what was then Monmouth College in the mid-1980s?
A: I was a double-double — I [regularly] had 10 points, 13 rebounds. … He mastered it in a way I didn’t. He definitely gets a lot of rebounds because he’s always reading the ball. I had to go get it, he maneuvers his way to get it. He’s a way better scorer than I was. I was a brute. He’s a gifted scorer. I was an opportunity scorer.
Q: You were a Knicks fan growing up. Did you go to the Garden?
A: Never had an opportunity to go to the Garden. My parents didn’t have the money to send us back then — they were trying to take care of four kids. I didn’t start going to the Garden until I got in college.
Q: Did you take your son to the Garden?
A: My son ended up taking me to the Garden, how ’bout that?
Q: Do you remember the 1985 draft lottery when the Knicks got Patrick [Ewing]?
A: Yes I do. The year he got drafted to the pros, I played him [in college[. They [Georgetown] beat us by 50 points [actually 85-53]. We were just happy to be on the floor with these guys.
Q: What was it like trying to guard him?
A: We lost by 50, what does that say? They laughed at me, but I had a 40-inch vertical so we jumped center, he didn’t know that. So I beat him on the tip.
Q: Three dinner guests?
A: My wife, my mother, my brother Kenny.
Q: Favorite movie?
A: “Love and Basketball.”
Q: Favorite actors.”
A: Denzel Washington. Spike Lee.
Q: Favorite actress?
A: Sandra Bullock.
Q: Favorite entertainer?
A: Michael Jackson.
Q: Favorite meal?
A: Spaghetti and sausage.
Q: What stands out to you about KAT’s on-court mentality?
A: Pinpoint. Magic [Johnson] was always his idol. You could see out there he’s always navigating like a GPS system, he’s trying to make the right decision, right pass. I’m awed by some of the passes that he can get through to his players.
Q: Jalen Brunson.
A: Great player, great teammate. Call ’em Batman and Robin. I love the kid. The kid plays the game the way it’s supposed to be played. Plays hard, plays to win, he’s a great leader and a great person.
Q: What did you like best about these Knicks?
A: That nobody cared who starred, they just wanted to win.
Q: As a longtime high school coach, why do you appreciate Mike Brown?
A: Because he came in with a plan and it was fulfilled. And he’s a coach’s coach. Respected the players, listened. Great dude.
Q: What do you know about KAT’s fiancé Jordyn’s designer bag?
A: That it was a lucky charm. Her collection is one of the best collections that I’ve seen because everything is about today’s woman. When the bag started winning games, she had to have it. But I think the bag is going into retirement now. The bag did its job. You don’t want to overdo it. I’m happy for her because the bag was something that became inspirational to a lot of people.
Q: They’re engaged now. Do you think she reminds your son of his mother?
A: Absolutely — loving, caring, humble, dedicated, she’s by his side, she’s there for him just like his mother was. She’s been his rock.
Q: Do you think these guys can win it again next year?
A: Absolutely. Because you know what they built a lot of teams don’t have? A bond. Once you taste it, it’s hard to let it go.
