New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns speaks to the media during a media day press conference. Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Knicks' Karl-Anthony Towns Happy With Role Changes

Originally posted on New York Knicks on SI
By Jeremy Brener | Last updated Sep 29, 2025 11:00 AM ET

New York Knicks All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns won't have quite the same responsibilities he had in his first season with the team.

Towns will get more opportunities to play with center Mitchell Robinson compared to last season when he was only active for 17 games. Towns is comfortable playing alongside Josh Hart, like he did most of last year, and Robinson.

“With Josh, I step into my traditional center role, which is something I’ve been known for early in my career and recent in my career I’ve been playing as four, too," Towns said via New York Daily News reporter Kristian Winfield.

"With Mitch, it allows me to kind of tap into that experience and [at the four], I’ve found ways to be successful. Just different ways of attacking and different ways we could play our game and be playing Knicks basketball. So regardless of if it’s Josh in the game or it is Mitch in the game, I feel very confident with either one of them, that we have a great chance of winning.”

New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns speaks to the media during a media day press conference Brad Penner-Imagn Images

For a majority of his career, Towns has been a center. That's where the Minnesota Timberwolves placed him until they traded for Rudy Gobert from the Utah Jazz, forcing Towns to play more power forward than center.

While it took some time for Towns to transition to the new role, it paid off. The Wolves made it to the Western Conference Finals in Gobert's second season, which was the furthest the franchise had advanced in the playoffs since 2004.

However, Towns was traded by the Wolves that offseason because the Knicks needed a center and were willing to part ways with Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle, who was a better fit for what Minnesota was looking for.

This allowed Towns to play more center again, but the Knicks' interior defense suffered. Things shored up when Robinson returned to the lineup, opening the door for Towns to go back to power forward.

It appears that Towns will be asked to play both forward and center this season, so he has to be ready for whatever the year throws at him.

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

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