Despite the New York Knicks crossing the 93 percent mark of the 2025-26 NBA season, Karl-Anthony Towns is still admittedly looking for a set-in-stone role.

Much like his early-season words, Towns yet again isn’t shy about discussing his confusion under first-year head coach Mike Brown.

KAT’s frustrations

During an NBC interview with Zora Stephenson, KAT spoke his mind.

“I’m still trying to figure out where I could impact our team and winning the most,” Towns said before the Knicks’ 111-100 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night.

As previously mentioned, this isn’t the first time Towns has come out about this; he made the same claim back in the first month of the season.

The all-important question is this: Does he have a claim?

In some ways, he sure does.

Statistically, he’s having one of the least productive years of his 11-year career, averaging career lows in minutes, field goal attempts, effective field goal percentage, and blocks. For most of the season, he averaged the fewest 3-point attempts of his career. 

Towns has played much better in the latter half of the season, averaging more points and rebounds while shooting at a higher clip while playing fewer minutes.

KAT’s troubles

The stickiest supposed issue with Towns, wherever he’s been, has always been his defense and his tendency to foul. Fortunately, both categories have improved significantly since the NBA All-Star Break, each glaringly obvious. 

The Knicks’ defense does not statistically change with Towns on or off the floor at any location. Overall, opposing teams have a 0.5% decrease in true shooting percentage when Towns is on the floor.

Of pairings with at least 250 minutes, Mitchell Robinson is Towns’ best defensive duo member. The two hold a 109.5 defensive rating when playing together, with an opponent true shooting percentage of 55.4%.

The main issue — which firmly includes KAT — is the starting lineup as a whole and how well it gels.

Of the 19 five-man lineups the Knicks have put out this season, with at least 30 minutes played, the current starting five is 16th in offensive rating (116.6), 11th in defensive rating (116.7), and 15th in net rating (-0.2). 

This lineup had its issues last year as well, and the team saw more success once Mitch replaced Josh Hart. That lineup ranks seventh in both offensive rating (123.7) and defensive rating (110.9), and eighth in net rating (12.8).

Unlocking KAT

For Towns’ skillsets to be maximized, he needs to shoot more. That’s the simple yet critical rub.

How, though?

In Towns’s first 10 seasons, he’s averaged 16.2 field goal attempts per game, 2.4 more than this season. Towns has shot 16 or more field goals only 25 times this season. In those games, he averages 26.3 points and 12.9 rebounds, shooting 49.6% from the field and 36.1% from 3-point. 

Defensively, pairing him with Robinson is best, as he would not have to focus on at-the-rim shots. Teams take 2.4 fewer shots at the rim when Robinson is on the floor with Towns, feeling his presence down low.

The issue is that Robinson has been on a strict minutes restriction since last season. Over his last 74 games, he’s averaged just 19.0 minutes a game and 293 total with Towns. Plus, the two together put the Knicks in a situation where pushing the pace becomes tougher.

Nonetheless, sporting a +9.0 net rating in that span, Mitchell Robinson’s increased availability is crucial as the NBA playoffs loom — not only for the New York Knicks but also for Karl-Anthony Towns.