The New York Knicks took on the Philadelphia 76ers at XFinity Mobile Arena, giving frustrated big man Karl-Anthony Towns a chance to rep his lifelong favorite NFL team, the Eagles. Towns broke the silence on contract negotiations recently, leading up to him taking the court in Philly.
Towns caused a stir walking into the arena as he rocked a #32 Philadelphia Eagles jersey.
The Knicks' star center logged double-digit minutes in the first half of October 5's close exhibition game, his team's first of the 2026 NBA preseason. His beloved Eagles lost 24-20 to Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams on October 4, a game that did nothing to dissuade Towns from continuing to support his favorite Nick Sirianni-led team.
Towns and the Knicks beat Victor Wembanyama's San Antonio Spurs in five games during the 2025-26 NBA Finals, the franchise's first championship since 1973. Coach Mike Brown's Knicks are ramping up basketball activities in anticipation for the official start of their title defense on October 20 at Madison Square Garden in New York City against the same Philadelphia team, led by superstars LeBron James, Joel Embiid and Jaylen Brown.
Towns, a former Kentucky Wildcats superstar during his college days, scored his sixth All-Star Game appearance in 2025-26 with the Knicks, scoring 20.1 points per game and hauling down 11.9 rebounds per game. He cut down his turnovers per game mark to its lowest level, 2.5, since the 2017-2018 season as he thrived alongside Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and the rest of the NBA championship winning Knicks.
Towns looks like he's still recalibrating himself as the Knicks prepare to launch their title defense campaign. His Eagles are 2-2 on the season a little less than a year and a half since their last Super Bowl championship, showing how fast things can change in professional sports.