Karl-Anthony Towns talks Kentucky, Knicks in extensive interview with Shannon Sharpe

Life has been a bit crazy over the last couple of weeks for Karl-Anthony Towns. He was coming off an All-Star season in 2023-24 that saw his Minnesota Timberwolves make it within two games of reaching the NBA Finals. Expectations would be high again going into the 2024-25 campaign. And they still are, just in a completely different city. Towns was officially traded to the New York Knicks last Wednesday.

In the Big Apple, Towns joins a franchise that is desperate to make a deep postseason run. Led by head coach Tom Thibodeau, who previously coached Towns for a few seasons with the Wolves, the Knicks will roll out a talented starting five that consists of Towns, Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, and Mikal Bridges. It’s already been a very quick turnaround for Towns, who was cleared to practice six days ago and played his first preseason game on Sunday (10 points and four rebounds in 14 minutes). He’s already been spotted embracing his new home after making his way to Yankee Stadium on Monday night for the Yankees’ ALDS playoff game.

But in the midst of all that, Towns found some time to talk shop with ESPN’s Shannon Sharpe on his podcast Club Shay Shay. Throughout the nearly two-hour-long interview, Sharpe and Towns covered a wide range of topics, including the latter’s time at Kentucky. KAT unveiled his all-time Kentucky basketball starting five (Devin Booker, John Wall, Willie Cauley-Stein, Antoine Walker, Anthony Davis) and reflected on the 38-1 season in 2014-15.

Beyond his lone college season, Towns went in-depth on criticism he’s received over the years, his nine-year career in Minnesota, his rivalry with Joel Embiid, the Drake-Kendrick Lamar beef, preparing for his first season with the Knicks, business aspirations, and so much more. It’s well worth the listen, especially with the NBA regular season almost here.