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Karl-Anthony Towns Shares His 'Welcome To New York' Moment: 'Wanted To Keep My Money'

Originally posted on Fadeaway World | By Gautam Varier | Last updated Aug 18, 2025 10:04 AM ET

Karl-Anthony Towns had a productive debut season with the New York Knicks in 2024-25, helping the team get to the Eastern Conference Finals. Towns put in some impressive performances throughout the season and spoke about what his 'Welcome to New York' moment was on the 7PM in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony show.

"I remember telling my pops about it," Towns said. "Was Toronto, hitting the game winner in Toronto, and looking at the crowd. Said some explicit stuff to everyone."

Co-host The Kid Mero used some rather colorful language to describe what Towns might have said in that moment. The five-time All-Star hilariously claimed he didn't go too overboard as he didn't want to get fined.

"I wanted to keep my money, so I ain't say too much," Towns stated. "But I thought that was my moment to be able to like, have that moment with New York and everything. So, I thought that was my real 'I'm here' [moment, my 'Welcome to New York' moment type s***."

Towns was referring to a game between the Knicks and Toronto Raptors on Dec. 9, 2024, at Scotiabank Arena. The 29-year-old didn't hit the game-winner that night, but did make the dagger three-pointer and talked a lot of trash after it. You can check out that sequence below.

Towns scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Knicks to a 113-108 win. He finished with 24 points (7-13 FG), 15 rebounds, six assists, two steals, and two blocks on the night.

That win saw the Knicks improve to 15-9 on the season, and they would take off not long after. They lost their next game against the Atlanta Hawks, but followed it up with nine straight wins.

The Knicks ended the season as the third seed in the East with a 51-31 record. Towns averaged 24.4 points, 12.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game in the campaign, and was named an All-Star for the fifth time in his career.

The Knicks faced off against the Detroit Pistons in the first round, and Towns hit a memorable shot to win Game 4. He made a deep step-back three-pointer with the shot clock expiring to give the Knicks a 94-93 lead with 46.6 seconds remaining.

Neither team would score again, and that ended up becoming Towns' first big playoff moment with the Knicks. Just a few days later, though, Jalen Brunson hit the game-winner in the closeout Game 6, and everyone seemed to forget that Game 4 shot.

Towns revealed he hilariously called out Brunson for overshadowing him and not letting him have that moment. The Knicks would then beat the Boston Celtics, the defending champions, in six games in the Conference Semifinals to set up a clash with the Indiana Pacers.

Towns had another memorable outing in that series against the Pacers, scoring 20 points in the fourth quarter of Game 3 to power the Knicks to a 106-100 win. The Pacers would eventually win the series in six games, though. Towns was criticized for his defense, and you do wonder if he is capable of being better on that end.

The Knicks do have a new head coach for the 2025-26 campaign, as they hired Mike Brown after firing Tom Thibodeau. Will Brown find a way to solve some of those defensive issues? Time will tell.

This article first appeared on Fadeaway World and was syndicated with permission.

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