Karl-Anthony Towns Still Misses Minnesota; Still Stunned by Trade

The Minnesota Timberwolves were on the road at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night, the old stomping grounds of Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. It also meant the latest rendition of Karl-Anthony Towns vs his old teammates.

A little over one year ago, when Tim Connelly shocked the basketball world by sending his star big man to the Knicks, there was nobody more surprised by the news than KAT, Randle and DiVincenzo.

Not only did the trade shuffle the core of both teams, but it rattled the brains of all players involved. Both Donte and Julius were a shell of themselves for much of their first seasons as Wolves. Karl-Anthony Towns hasn’t been the same since, something that he’s made known publicly numerous times.

KAT can’t get the Minnesota Timberwolves off his mind

But before Wednesday’s game, over a year since the trade was completed, Towns again talked with media about how he’s still shocked over the deal to this day and that he still misses playing with his buddies back in Minnesota.

Some postgame of Karl-Anthony Towns in which he says he still feels “stunned” about the trade more than a year later. pic.twitter.com/VmDROzMP2v

— Chris Hine (@ChristopherHine) November 6, 2025

“I’m still stunned. It’s weird. You feel more like a Knick now after what we went through last year to get to the heights we went to, but it’s weird when you see that Timberwolves jersey. Especially them fire black ones that y’all got. Not being able to see Towns on the back is a weird feeling. I love those guys in the other locker room to death and would do anything for them, even if it wasn’t about basketball.”

Karl-Anthony Towns

It’s now been over a year since the Minnesota Timberwolves sent Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks. He spent nine seasons with Minnesota though, and was drafted first overall in 2015 as a 20-year-old. It’s hardly a shock he still has feelings for his former employer.

It’s rare that an athlete opens up as candidly as Towns did to Star Tribune reporter Christopher Hine above. Obviously, the star big man still has a very special place in his heart for the franchise he grew up with.

Last season during his first year with the Knicks, Towns made his fifth All-Star Game and was named to his third All-NBA team, proving his longing for Minnesota has not affected his play on the court in New York.

“Like I said, we built something special over there. They’re just a really, really, really good team. I was about to say we, but they’re a really good, really good team. Expect nothing less from them to be great out there and you gotta compete against it and just because you may know what they’re going to do doesn’t mean you can stop it. Tonight we did a great job as a team finding a way to win.”

Karl-Anthony Towns

New York bests MN Timberwolves

It was tough sledding for the Timberwolves on Wednesday night. Minnesota hung around for the first half while getting Anthony Edwards back on the court after his hamstring strain. Ultimately, they couldn’t keep up though. Towns talked about the game as well.

There was definitely rust for Edwards who finished with just 15 points and a -25 on the evening. Towns scored 15 against his former team, and was +15 while on the court.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are back in action on Friday against the Utah Jazz. They will debut their 2025-26 NBA Cup court for the first time.