NEW YORK – Clutching the signed jersey that Anthony Edwards gave him after the Knicks’ 115-110 preseason victory over the Timberwolves, new Knick Karl-Anthony Towns talked about the “wild” day he had facing his former team just two weeks after a trade ended Towns’ nine-year tenure in Minnesota.
“It was a lot of emotions,” Towns said. “Some amazing moments and times in nine years of my life in Minnesota, a place that I’ve called home. Guys who are not just teammates to me but brothers. We were like brothers. It definitely was a wild day, definitely coming to work.”
Towns spent part of Saturday hanging out with Edwards and Edwards told him he had better get Towns’ jersey after the game. The two also swapped sneakers and posed for a picture, wide smiles across their faces.”
There was always a good relationship between Towns and Edwards, even as Edwards became the organization’s top priority in recent seasons. Towns had spent several years there after the team took him No. 1 overall in 2015. Their relationship never faltered in the face of outside chatter that might have driven other teammates apart.
“It was special. He’s a special person,” Towns said. “I think the feeling’s mutual. It just meant a lot to see him. Since Day 1, I’ve only wanted to see him do well and reach his potential and exceed that in the NBA. To see the trajectory he’s on makes me proud.”
Said Edwards: “I told him I don’t care who you already told you’re giving your jersey to, I gotta have it. He pretty much just moved everybody else out the way and let me get the jersey. I appreciate him.”
Edwards said playing against Towns, even in a preseason game, was one of the “best feelings” he’s had on an NBA court. Towns, who finished with 16 points and 16 rebounds,. enjoyed it too. He pointed at Edwards after hitting a three-pointer over him in the second half.
“I told him yesterday I was gonna do it,” Towns said.
