The great state of New Jersey is a breeding ground of elite talent in athletics. alent.

And in basketball, the state has produced legendary players such as Shaquille O’Neal, Kyrie Irving, and Rick Barry.

Today, another New Jersey native has put together a terrific career and is the force who will attempt to lead the New York Knicks to an NBA championship this season.

His name is Karl-Anthony Towns,  a 29-year-old and 10-year NBA veteran.

Youth & High School

Growing up in Piscataway, Towns attended private elementary and intermediate schools like Our Lady of Fatima School. After classes, he would go up to the Piscataway Technical High School with his father, who coached the team. As a fifth grader, he would dribble circles around their Junior Varsity team, practicing six years above his age level.

At the high school level, Towns attended Saint Joseph High School in Metuchen, the alma mater of other National Basketball Association players, Jay Williams and Andrew Bynum.

Veteran sports writer for NJ.com, Mike Kinney had things to say about the hype circling Towns as an incoming freshman at St. Joe’s.

“There was already a buzz revolving around Karl, as his father was an exceptional high school player,” he said.

As a true freshman, Towns led Saint Joseph to a state championship in 2012, totaling 361 points, 299 rebounds, and 117 blocks over the season.

After earning the respect of the nation, entering the top 25 of high school players in the country after only his freshman year, he led his team to back-to-back state titles in 2013 and 2014.

As a junior, Towns was selected as the Gatorade Player of the Year to celebrate him as the nation’s best student-athlete.

Over his sophomore and junior years, he culminated over 1300 points, 850 rebounds, 240 assists, and 365 blocks. He recorded two impressive quadruple double performances over those two seasons, dominating the high school competition.

Kinney had high praise for Towns when asked about his dominance in high school.

“From the very beginning, he was already talented as a freshman. He was very tall as a freshman, about 6’10, and could handle, pass and shoot from the perimeter. As a sophomore and junior, he was very sharp, and could really break a game down, his finesse level was just so high,” he said.

Not only did Towns help his Saint Joseph team to a 86-8, he also committed to succeeding in the classroom, graduating with a 3.96 GPA. Towns went the extra mile, taking extra classes to be eligible to graduate in just three years at the Metuchen high schoool. He completed his high school career as a five-star recruit in the class of 2014, the fourth best player in the nation overall.

Kentucky

After Coach John Calipari coached Towns and the Dominican Republic National team for two summers in a row, Towns committed to  the University of Kentucky.

As a freshman, Towns helped guide Kentuckey to a 38-1 record, first in the SEC conference.

In 2015, Towns was SEC Freshman of the Year, First-team All-SEC and consensus second-team All-American.

Due to his elite play all season, and an incredibly strong March Madness campaign, Towns was selected first overall in the 2015 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Timberwolves

The “Big KAT” averaged over 18 points, hauled in over 10 rebounds, dished out 2 assists and blocked about 2 shots a game, playing all 82 games in his rookie campaign.

His monster presence in the paint on offense and defense earned him the title of NBA Rookie of the Year.

In his sophomore season in the NBA, Towns emerged as one of the elite big men in the NBA at only 21 years old, averaging over 25 points per game, bringing in 12 boards per game and almost 3 assists per game.

Additionally, all of his percentages went up, becoming much more of an efficient three-level scorer, effectively scoring in the paint, mid-range and behind the three-point line.

Karl-Anthony Towns was an All-Star in four of the next seven seasons, averaging over 20 points in each. In his peak statistical season he averaged 26.5 points per game to go with 11 rebounds and 4.5 assists.

What made him different from the other centers in the league, however, was his three-point prowess. He shot over 40 percent from the three point line five out of those seven seasons on several attempts per game. He reinvented the center position, giving the Timberwolves the ability to go five out on offense, creating space for other offensive players to create for themselves. Often, he is noted as the best three-point shooting big of all time. In 2022, he became the first big man ever to win the three point contest.

Knicks

Preparing for a monster season after making it to the western Conference final round in the NBA playoffs in 2024, and just two weeks before its first game, Minnesota traded Towns to the New York Knicks this past fall.

Just like that, powerhouse center Karl-Anthony Towns set forth back to the Tri-State Area to team up with fellow New Jersey native, Jalen Brunson, sending NBA fans into a frenzy.

However, no one was more excited about the trade than Towns’ father, Karl Towns Senior. In the summer of 2024, Karl Towns Sr. was appointed as the head basketball coach for St. Joseph’s after fifteen successful years at Piscataway Tech. So, knowing he would be within an hour of his son, he was ecstatic.

Not only was Towns able to come back to NJ, and congratulate his father on the coaching job during the summer, but now that he is back in the area, he occasionally comes back to St. Joe’s to help support the team. According to Kinney, Towns Jr. has always been a family man, his mom and sister attending all of his high school games, cheering him on.

One day after the trade, Towns was asked about what it meant to be playing for New York.

He said, “It’s great to be able to, you know, just sit back, to be able to be with my family, be able to see my grandma, see my niece and nephew grow up, watch them play little league baseball cheerleading and all that stuff they are doing now.”

Towns emerged quickly as a fan-favorite amongst Knicks fans, being nicknamed “The Big Bodega.”

He is averaging 24.5 points in early March, 13.5 rebounds, which is second in the NBA, and 3.1 assists.

Immediately after the trade he developed chemistry with the other Knicks superstar, Jalen Brunson. The duo were commemorated, each getting selected as All-Star starters. Through 65 games, the Knicks are ranked third in the Eastern Conference, at a record of 42-23.

Towns also told KnicksFanTv, “I was always a Knicks fan, obviously being a Jersey boy too, I grew up in the Knicks hysteria… Playing in Madison Square Garden was like the greatest honor in the world where I’m from.”

After a successful high school and college career, the Knicks were one of the few NBA teams that gave Karl Towns Sr. a chance to play in the NBA.

He made the training camp team, but unfortunately broke his ankle during one of the practices, effectively ending his career before it even started, becoming the coach he is today.

Towns spoke on what his father’s legacy means to him.

“Just knowing that the Knicks saw my dad as talent-worthy of being in their gym, that was a huge honor to me. I just wanted to, in my mind, finish the steps he had…I could keep the legacy going and finish what he started,” he said.

Karl-Anthony Towns is one of the best stories in sports, playing for the team he grew up idolizing.

Out of all New Jersey-born NBA athletes, he has the third most points per game, fourth most total points, second in total rebounds, fifth in total blocks, and first in three-point percentage for players who played at least four seasons.

He looks to finish the season strong, help bring the Knicks to the 2024-25 NBA Finals and win the franchise’s first championship since 1973.