The New York Knicks are NBA Champions for the second time in NBA history and for the first time since 1973. Winning the NBA title came with great sacrifice, as a multitude of players were asked to do things for the betterment of the team. No one had to change more than Karl-Anthony Towns.

For years, the knock on Towns was that he was a really good player, but not good enough to get his team to the postseason as a number one and a somewhat underwhelming playoff performer when he did get there. This past postseason, Towns quelled all of those conversations with some of the biggest plays of his NBA career.

Towns did whatever the Knicks asked of him during the run, finishing the postseason averaging 16 points, 10.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game for the Knicks while shooting a scorching 55.1 percent from the field and 45.6 percent from three. The assists, steals, field goal percentage, and three-point percentage were all playoff career-highs for Towns.

Towns even took on the biggest challenge in the NBA yet, facing off against Victor Wembanyama during the 2026 NBA Finals. Towns matched up mostly against Wembanyama, finishing with a plus/minus of +44 in the five game series that was separated by a total of 12 points.

Karl-Anthony Towns is currently eligible to sign a four-year maximum contract extension worth $277 million. As it stands, the Knicks are currently presenting Towns with a four-year, $200 million deal, about $77 million less than his max.

Back in 2022, Towns signed a four-year, $224 million extension with the Minnesota Timberwolves that didn't kick in until the 2024-25 NBA season. That means the Knicks are currently offering Karl-Anthony Towns less money coming off an NBA Championship than the Timberwolves did coming off a first-round exit. To that point, Towns had never been out of the first round of the playoffs.

Since signing that $224 million deal, however, Towns has been to three straight Conference Finals, was named an NBA All-Star three times, named to an All-NBA Team, and most importantly, won an NBA Championship, ending the New York Knicks' 53-year title drought.

Is that one championship enough for James Dolan and the Knicks? Would he really refuse to pay Karl-Anthony Towns closer to his max extension and risk upsetting his hometown star

“Simply put, I want to do something that can keep the team together and work with the Knicks and also values me,” Towns told reporters earlier this week at the team's preseason opener in Philadelphia. And none of those things have come close to happening.”

When asked if he feels like he deserves a deal closer to his max, Towns was blunt.

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“No s**t Sherlock. I just won a championship,” Towns said. “You’d think it was pretty easy. Unless you guys think I have something else to prove.”

Towns will turn 31 years of age this November and has one more year left on his current deal with a player option for the 2027-28 season worth a little over $61 million.

The Knicks are facing some serious second apron restrictions, and have already seen the loss of backup center Mitchell Robinson to the Boston Celtics because of it. Alongside Towns, Josh Hart is also awaiting a contract extension, and there appears to be no timetable as to when or if those two players will get their new deals done.

At this point, it feels like the Knicks simply need to do right by Towns and pay him a lot closer to the $277 million number that he's eligible for. This is simply the cost of winning an NBA Championship and retaining the title-winning core. Towns appears willing to take a discount, which is a great sign out of your star, but asking the six-time NBA All-Star to accept a contract extension worth $24 million less than the last one he signed for coming off an NBA Championship for one of the greatest sports franchises in the world is asinine.