Karl-Anthony Towns Silenced the Boos — Now He's the Knicks' Fantasy Anchor
Towns ranks #28 overall and #5 at center off a 40.6 fantasy points per game season. After a title run and an extension in talks, the floor looks rock-solid.
A healthy 75-game center on a title team is a draft-day lock, not a gamble.
- Towns: 20.1 pts, 11.9 reb, 3 ast in 75 games (2025-26)
- 40.6 fantasy pts/game last season (2025-26)
- Best playoff plus-minus in 20 years of tracking
- Two years, nearly $120M left; extension in talks
- Knicks open Oct. 20 with banner night vs 76ers
Karl-Anthony Towns just finished a season that ended with a championship banner and a plus-minus the NBA hadn't seen in the 20 years it's been tracking the stat. Rewind to January, though, and the picture was ugly: a 2-9 Knicks stretch, boos at Madison Square Garden, and Towns' name floating in trade rumors next to Giannis Antetokounmpo, now in Miami.
The toll was real off the court too. In a joint interview with The Athletic, Towns' wife Jordyn Woods said she stopped attending games for a stretch because the fan vitriol was "turning dark." Towns even joked the couple was browsing Zillow listings in Milwaukee, bracing for a move that never came. Instead, New York flipped the switch, ripped off a 16-3 playoff run and beat the Spurs four times in five games for the 2026 title.
Why the Noise Matters for Fantasy
Here's the part that should calm any manager drafting Towns this fall: all that chaos didn't dent his production. He posted 20.1 points, 11.9 rebounds and 3 assists across 75 games in 2025-26, good for 40.6 fantasy points per game. That's durability plus volume — the two things that keep a center valuable in long leagues.
In our rankings he sits at #28 overall and #5 at the position, and his late-season form trended up, closing +2 fantasy points above his season average over his final five games. The playoff version of Towns leaned heavily into defense, which is a reminder that his real-world role can shift without tanking his box score. He's not a league-winner, but he's the kind of reliable top-30 piece you build around.
The Context Around Him
Two names from this story carry their own fantasy weight. Giannis, who was linked to the Knicks in those rumors, now ranks #5 overall for Miami after a 49.1 fantasy points per game 2025-26, though he's dipped 2.3 points below average over his last five. Victor Wembanyama, the Finals foil Towns guarded, is our #3 overall and #1 forward on the back of a monster 53.4 fantasy points per game — and he's surging, up 14.1 points over his recent five-game sample.
The fantasy verdict on Towns is HOLD. Draft him as your anchor center with confidence: 75 games played, a stable 40-plus fantasy nights, and an extension reportedly in the works that keeps him in a contending, high-usage situation. He won't win you the week by himself, but he'll never be the reason you lose one either. New York tips off its title defense — and banner night — against Philadelphia on Oct. 20.
