Karl-Anthony Towns is surging, but more is still needed for Knicks to be a real NBA championship threat

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Karl-Anthony Towns is surging, but more is still needed for Knicks to be a real NBA championship threat

Drew Maresca, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Thu, Feb 26, 2026 ·

4 min read

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The New York Knicks are playing mostly well of late, and Karl-Anthony Towns deserves some of the credit. The team's recent loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers aside, Towns has figured out how to impact the game. Despite shooting the ball less, he's putting forth significant effort on the glass and impacting games where he can. But the Knicks are going to need more from Towns than the 14 points on four shots he put up in their 109-94 loss against the Cavaliers. And frankly, they're going to need more than the 20 points per game he's averaging this season if they hope to win a championship as well.

On the court, it looks as if Towns has lost his understanding of how to score. Towns has spoken about his lack of understanding of his role in Mike Brown's offense a lot this season . And his four-shot attempt performance in the team's loss against Cleveland demonstrates that he still hasn't figured it out.

Towns is far too skilled of a scorer to get only four shot attempts He averaged 24.4 points per game as recently as last season. And the team likely needs even more from him if they hope to win a championship. Instead, they're getting less.

To take next step, Knicks need to feature Karl-Anthony Towns

To put it bluntly, the Knicks need Towns to do what he's become known for, score the basketball. He's a great rebounder. If he somehow develops into an elite passer and defender, that would be great, too. But New York needs Towns' scoring.

The Knicks are ninth in points per game this season (117.1). They were seventh last season (115.8). So, while they score slightly more, they haven't kept up with the broader increase in scoring per game across the league, as they've dropped two spots. Still, that type of relative drop isn't the end of the world. In fact, the Knicks offense is still fairly impressive, when it's working.

The same can be said of Towns. He's had his share of success. But he's scoring the second-fewest points of his career (20.0), which is simply the wrong direction for him. The Knicks hoped that Towns, Brunson , and Brown would complement each other. Instead, Towns has become more inconsistent than ever.

It's important to remember that Towns received less criticism last season. He scored 24.4 points per game with 22 30-point outings—and the Knicks failed to reach the Finals then, too.

Mike Brown must generate more attempts for Karl-Anthony Towns

Unfortunately, Brown's system seems to limit Towns' ability to reach his potential. Towns is rarely a focal point this season. He is averaging about 6.1 dunk or layup attempts per game this season. Comparatively, he averaged 7.85 dunk or layup attempts per game. He's also having one fewer isolation play ran for him per game.

On the whole, Towns is averaging three fewer shot attempts per game (16.9 in 2024-25 to 13.9 in 2025-26). And the shot attempts he's not getting appear to be the ones he'd prefer to take. Towns' lack of understanding of his role means he doesn't know when and where his attempts might come. And that's a problem.

Furthermore, without Towns carrying a bigger scoring load, there is significant—and some might say too much—pressure on Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby , and others. And while Brunson's impact is consistently strong, Anunoby is simply not the caliber scorer that Towns is. And asking him to be the second option on a championship team is probably too much. The same can be said of Mikal Bridges .

Karl-Anthony Towns salary dictates that he must do more

Another problem with Towns scoring fewer points is his salary. Towns is objectively a top-tier offensive talent. And he's being paid like it.

Towns is making $53 million this season, with another $57 million guaranteed next year and a player option for $61 million in 2027-28 (which he'll likely decline). With the Knicks' 2025-26 salary set at $211 million, Towns represents slightly more than 25% of it. That's far too much for a player who isn't being featured or utilized correctly.

Paying Towns like a franchise player restricts the team's ability to maximize potential around him. But Towns is obviously talented enough to dictate star-level salary.

So, the answer for the Knicks is clear; if New York wants to see how far they can go, they must get Towns more involved. Give him the chance to succeed (or fail). But limiting him, limits the team's potential and puts a ceiling on what they might accomplish this season—and beyond.

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