Karl-Anthony Towns isn’t buying the idea that rebounding is some old-school, background stat. To him, it’s a big part of winning, and he made that clear after the Knicks’ impressive win on Saturday.
Towns has been one of the league’s top workhorses on the glass for a while, and that showed again during New York’s championship run in 2026. He’s kept that same edge this season, averaging 13.6 rebounds per game along with 20.9 points a night. That puts him second in the league in rebounds, behind Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis, who is averaging 14.6 rebounds per game.
The conversation around rebounding has shifted in recent years, with points, assists, steals and blocks often getting more attention. Towns pushed back on the idea that rebounds don’t carry the same appeal.
“It’s a sexy stat to me that damn sure looks sexy to me. Rebounding to me is about establishing the confidence of this team to shoot the ball with full confidence and allowing them to understand that, regardless of the result,” Towns said after the Knicks’ impressive win on Saturday.
“If you take care of the process and do your best with your jumper or your finishing, your teammate has your back.”
Towns’ point is simple: rebounds create more chances to score, and with so many three-pointers going up around the league, those extra possessions matter. He’s also seen firsthand how much that work can matter when the games get bigger, and he believes more people should start giving rebounding its due.
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Knicks Still Have Kenny Atkinson Explaining Those Cavs Comments
Kenny Atkinsons comments from the 2026 Eastern Conference Finals still have a way of following him whenever the Knicks come up. The Cavaliers coach said advanced analytics suggested Cleveland should have won more games against New York, even though the Knicks swept the series on their way through the postseason, and the remark lingered long enough that Atkinson eventually had to clarify what he meant before a later regular season meeting.
For the Knicks, it has become one of those little postseason footnotes that never quite dies, especially after Karl-Anthony Towns weighed in on it following New Yorks championship run. Atkinsons clarification acknowledged the Knicks as the better team, but the original line still stands as another reminder of how thoroughly New York handled Cleveland when it mattered most. [Read more 🡒]
Karl-Anthony Towns Keeps Giving Knicks Fans Reason To Believe
Dalton Knecht got his first points in a Knicks uniform with a putback slam in his debut, but the bigger early-season storyline has been Karl-Anthony Towns continuing to look like the kind of frontcourt force New York hoped it was getting. He came into the matchup with Cleveland averaging 19.9 points and 13.6 rebounds, and he had posted a double-double in every game before this one, giving the Knicks a steady interior presence as they chase their third straight win over the Cavaliers.
Against a Cleveland team that has been a useful measuring stick, Towns also delivered a notable dunk that fit the tone of his start in New York: productive, physical and impossible to ignore. For a Knicks team trying to build momentum and improve its season record, the encouraging part is not just that Towns is producing, but that he keeps finding ways to make the game feel tilted in New Yorks favor. [Read more 🡒]
Karl-Anthony Towns Is Carrying The Knicks With One Big Question Looming
After stumbling out of the gate at 0-3, the Knicks have steadied themselves with five wins in their last six, and Karl-Anthony Towns has been right at the center of it. He powered the recent victory over the Cavaliers with 29 points and 13 rebounds, continuing a start that has put him in rare company for the franchise and given New York a much-needed interior anchor.
Towns has opened the season with nine straight double-doubles, the longest such run for a Knick since 1989, and his rebounding has climbed to a career-high 13.6 per game. The production has been obvious, but so is the bigger question hanging over the season: with a player option after this year, the Knicks have to keep enjoying the lift while wondering how long this version of Towns will be around. [Read more 🡒]