Tracy McGrady reveals why he’s mentoring Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns amid turbulent season

On Sunday, NBC’s broadcast showed New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns fielding pregame advice from Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter. The pair of NBA Hall of Famers shared at halftime of the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder that they were “talking to him like basketball players” in an effort to help the center’s production match his potential.

Asked by ClutchPoints about his conversation with Towns, McGrady expanded on the “like basketball players” comment. He made clear at the New York tryouts for his Ones Basketball league that he views shepherding the next generation of athletes as part of the role of former players.

“It’s not just him, I mean, we a fraternity. So if I see that one of our players is going through something, it’s up to us to lean on him and help him get out of that rut that he’s in. Regardless of if it’s KAT, or if it’s Jalen Brunson going through something, if it’s Mikal Bridges, it doesn’t matter. It’s just, KAT is the focal point right now,” McGrady told reporters in midtown Manhattan.

The other Knicks McGrady mentioned have slumped throughout New York’s inconsistent season. The two-time NBA scoring champion, however, was right to highlight Towns as having received the most attention.

Tracy McGrady reveals why NBA legends have been challenging Towns

The six-time All-Star has faced myriad criticism all season, including a postgame challenge from Shaquille O’Neal after the Knicks’ February comeback win over the Houston Rockets. O’Neal said Towns needed to be more dominant offensively, with notably different delivery than one of the four-time champion’s slights of a modern center.

He even cited their shared New Jersey roots and his ownership of Towns’ jersey in what was seemingly an olive branch, with Towns acknowledging O’Neal’s credentials – and intentions – by calling him “legend” to end their discussion.

McGrady said the 30-year-old simply has too much talent not to generate this kind of buzz. He explained to ClutchPoints that if Hall of Famers like himself and Carter didn’t think Towns was capable of taking his game to another level, they wouldn’t spend time trying to help him do it.

“KAT is the one that everyone has eyes on, he’s the big fish. Jalen Brunson is doing his thing, but when you look at KAT, they want more. And for me, it’s just talking about helping him get through that, and what he can do. Just giving him advice, nothing more, nothing less,” the seven-time All-Star said.

Towns’ Knicks have a pivotal playoff run ahead of them, with high expectations looming over them. It would certainly be a fitting stage for Towns to meet the ones a few NBA greats think are right within his reach.

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