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Karl-Anthony Towns Makes Impressive Knicks History With Recent Play
Feb 22, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) goes to the basket against the Chicago Bulls during the second half at United Center. Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Karl-Anthony Towns knew that expectations and pressure would be high when the New York Knicks acquired him from the Minnesota Timberwolves.

He was viewed as the missing piece to help put the team over the top as a title contender. In his first season with the Knicks, he was fully immersed, looking as comfortable as ever and stuffing the stat sheet on a nightly basis.

Alas, things haven’t always been as smooth for Towns in Year 2, the first under head coach Mike Brown. He has looked out of sorts at points, but something has clicked heading into and coming out of the All-Star break.

As shared by Tommy Beer on X, the All-Star big man has accomplished something no other player has in the history of the franchise over his last five games. Towns has been stuffing the stat sheet in an incredibly efficient manner.

Karl-Anthony Towns makes Knicks history with efficient stretch

New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns warming up. Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Over his last five games, Towns is averaging 21.8 points and 9.4 rebounds while shooting 62.5% from the field, 61.1% from 3-point range and 90% from the foul line. He is the first New York player to reach those thresholds in the history of the franchise.

When you add in knocking down at least two 3-pointers per game, Towns is almost in a league of his own. The only other player to have a five-game stretch of that kind of production and efficiency in NBA history is Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics.

This is actually the fourth time in his career that Towns has averaged 20+ points, 9+ rebounds on a 60/60/90% shooting split. He accomplished the feat three times in 2018, stretching from Jan. 29 through Feb. 24.

One of the most talented offensive big men in NBA history, it comes as no surprise that Towns has been able to put together such efficiently dominant stretches throughout his career.

This level of production is a great sign for the Knicks. Could he finally be turning a corner after a rocky first half that included plenty of peaks and valleys? It would certainly help New York remain among the elite teams in the NBA with their eyes on the NBA Finals.

Brown has to find a way to keep Towns involved in the offense consistently. Too often this season, there have been extended stretches where he isn’t touching the ball too much; for example, their most recent loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he had only five shot attempts and made all of them.

For the Knicks to contend, they need their All-Star big man to play at a high level. He has done a great job doing whatever is asked of him on the court, and now it is up to the coaches and his teammates to ensure he remains involved adequately on offense.

Jose Alvarado has seemingly made a point of this, looking for Towns consistently when the two are on the court together to start second quarters.

This article first appeared on New York Knicks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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