New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns is officially California dreaming.
The second-year Manhattanite is on his way to the 2026 NBA All-Star Game, as Towns was one of 14 men revealed as reserves for the upcoming exhibition at Intuit Dome. Towns will join fellow New Yorker Jalen Brunson, who was previously revealed as an Eastern Conference starter.
Though it has been a bit of a rollercoaster season for Towns, who has had to deal with rumors about his metropolitan future, the Knicks have continued to flourish with his interior antics in tow. Entering February, Towns leads the Association with 11.8 rebounds a game and is also averaging 20 tallies for the 10th consecutive season.
The duel at the dome will be Towns’ fifth All-Star appearance and second with the Knicks, who famously acquired his services in a 2024 trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves that featured fan favorites Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle. he Knicks are one of two Eastern teams with multiple reps, joining the conference-leading Detroit Pistons, who found out that Jalen Duren will accompany starter Cade Cunningham.
This also marks the third consecutive All-Star Game that will feature multiple Knicks reps, the first such instance of that phenomenon since a six-year streak between 1970 and 1975 (which primarily featured some combination of Dave DeBusschere, Walt “Clyde” Frazier, and Willis Reed). It’ll also be the second in a row to feature both Brunson and Towns, as it’s the former’s third straight appearance after going to the 2024 edition with the since-departed Randle in Indianapolis.
Alas for New Yorkers, they’ll have to pick a rooting interesting in the All-Star Game for the second consecutive season: the NBA’s mid-winter classic will adopt a three-team “USA vs. the World” format in an effort to spice up the main event, which will be staged on Feb. 15.
Brunson has previously Team USA in FIBA World Cup play while Towns, though born in New Jersey, has previously worked with the Dominican Republic’s national club. The lineups for each team, which will feature two American clubs and a squad of international standouts, are set to be revealed later this month.
The All-Star reserves were unveiled on NBC’s “Basketball Night in America” pregame show shortly before the Knicks did battle against the Los Angeles Lakers at Madison Square Garden. The Eastern contingent was rounded out by Scottie Barnes (Toronto), Jalen Johnson (Atlanta), Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland), Norman Powell (Miami), and Pascal Siakam (Indiana).
