Karl-Anthony Towns has become one of the NBA’s premier players and has made consecutive conference finals with the Minnesota Timberwolves and the New York Knicks these past two seasons. Still, the lessons his father, Karl Towns Sr., instilled form the core of his development. Towns has leaned heavily on his father since the tragic loss of his mother, Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, in 2020, and recently, he spoke about the impact his father has had on him growing up.

In a pregame interview before a preseason game in Abu Dhabi against the 76ers, Towns spoke about his father’s influence, saying, “ Shout out to him. He raised me with some mental toughness .” He also shared an interesting anecdote from his early days. Towns Sr. was a player at Monmouth University and a high-school basketball coach,

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