Karl-Anthony Towns Shares Honest Jeremy Lin Admission Amid Knicks Run
With the New York Knicks reaching their first NBA Finals in over 25 years, players are experiencing the excitement and sheer insanity of the fans’ support for their postseason run.
Karl-Anthony Towns is among those who have helped this team reach the championship series after arriving in NYC via trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves.
He also knows a thing or two about the insanity of fandom in New York, including “Linsanity,” from the days when former NBA star Jeremy Lin suited up for the Knicks.
According to Towns, he greatly admires Lin because of his run with the Knicks 15 years ago, which had him “going crazy” as a teenager trying to find Lin’s jersey at Modell’s, an iconic sporting goods company with popular retail stores.
“I have so much love for Jeremy Lin. He’s one of my favorite Knicks of all time, one of my favorite players of all time. He made me so passionate about the Knicks. It’s crazy now that I’m in this position, I’m in this chair,” Towns told reporters.
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Towns mentioned seeing a video clip of Lin recently seeking out a specific Knicks jersey, saying that he was a “big supporter” of KAT.
“For him to even mention me was kind of crazy, because the love I have for him and what he’s done for me and my Knicks fandom is second-to-none,” Towns admitted.
Lin, an undrafted college star from Harvard University, auditioned for the Dallas Mavericks before getting offers from several teams and signing with the Golden State Warriors in 2010.
He played there for only one season before the NBA lockout hit and was waived by the Warriors ahead of the 2011-12 NBA season.
In December 2011, the Knicks’ Iman Shumpert suffered an injury, and the team claimed Lin off waivers as a backup to Toney Douglas and Mike Bibby. The rest is history, as Lin eventually got his first game entry under then-head coach Mike D’Antoni because the Knicks were playing so badly.
He ended up playing more minutes and eventually started a game. Lin helped the team reel off wins as he scored big and set new career highs. He also made history as the first player to record 20 points and seven assists in each of his first five starts.
The Knicks would achieve a seven-game winning streak with Lin, taking over news headlines and highlights on sports shows.
Among the players he battled and outdueled for wins during that stretch were the late, great Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and John Wall of the Washington Wizards.
In that lockout-shortened season, the Knicks went 36-30, achieving a spot in the Eastern Conference Playoffs, but lost in the first round to the Miami Heat. Lin, a significant part of helping them reach the postseason, didn’t play after season-ending surgery for a meniscus tear.
His time with the Knicks was brief but impactful, sparking the Linsanity craze throughout New York and across the country. In addition to playing in NYC, he also suited up for the Houston Rockets, Lakers, Charlotte Hornets, Brooklyn Nets, Atlanta Hawks, and Toronto Raptors during his 15-year playing career.
To crown his career, he won a championship ring in Toronto during the season when Kawhi Leonard led the team to the NBA Finals. It would seem fitting for Lin to see Towns win a championship as a member of this impressive Knicks team, which has won 11 straight games in the NBA Playoffs.
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This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 5:58 PM.