The first person Karl-Anthony Towns brought up was when asked about the first home game as a Knick father, and it’s not new.
Towns’ parents, Karl-Anthony Towns Sr. and Jackie Cruz Towns, will always be an inseparable part of the story.
His father is still a high school coach in New Jersey, at the school his son once played for.
His mother, who died of COVID-19 in 2020, has a court at Kean University named after him.
His parents – the way they sacrificed for his basketball career – are always on his mind, and in case he forgets, the number 32 is on Towns’ jersey to remind him, the same number as his father.
That doesn’t change with playing close to home.
What was different was the number of family members in the stands at Madison Square Garden.
“A lot,” Towns said Sunday. “Many. many. Many.”
This is the practical reality of homecoming – family from the front of mind in Minneapolis to the front of their eyes on Broadway.
“It’s special for the family more often,” Towns said. “My nieces and nephews get to play more games and get to see them grow up in my days. It’s really special. It’s definitely special to come home.”
Towns, who had 21 points and 15 rebounds while throwing down a thunderous dunk in his home debut — the Knicks’ win over the Pacers — may be the biggest part of a Knicks team trying to find its identity and establish itself in the East. Conference.
He plays for a coach in Tom Thibodeau who has been with him for more than two years in Minneapolis and who has seen a change from the 23 years he last coached in 2018-19.
“Just maturity,” Thibodeau said. “He’s obviously stronger. I coached him a few years ago – I think all his experience has helped him. The ups and downs, the playoffs, to go from where he was when he was drafted as the No. 1 player. I think the experience has been good for him.
“He keeps getting better, which I think is important. To keep making those steps, you’re never going to be a finished product. Just keep learning and growing.”
There was some concern, after how it ended in Minnesota, that Towns could clash with Thibodeau. At this early point, that has not happened.
“Sometimes, timing is of the essence,” Thibodeau said. “I think you can have players when they’re young in their career, they want to put themselves first. I think as they mature and get older, they realize that it’s hard to do individually. You have to do it together. And I think most of players. They tend to trend that way.
“You look at every good team, you know there’s sacrifices to be made. There’s focus to be had. There’s discipline, there’s selflessness and I think Karl has certainly shown that over the years.
Towns laughed off the question of whether Thibodeau had changed in kind, saying that he now grew a beard.
But for ourselves?
“Of course,” he said. “Life has definitely changed for me. I have grown into a man. I have grown as a person not only walking on this earth, but a person of faith. Especially on the Sunday we talked about, it was a special feeling to feel such a blessing and such a presence in my life.
Being home is a blessing in itself.
“It was a great feeling with so many families there (at The Garden),” Towns said. “Especially my father.”
