Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns’ wife Jordyn Woods took a break from attending his games after witnessing the New York fan base heckle him in front of her.
In a joint interview with The Athletic, the pair — who were married this offseason after the Knicks secured their first NBA title in 53 years — explained that things got ugly before the team’s playoff run.
“I honestly stopped going to the games for a little while. It was turning dark,” Woods said as they looked back on the Knicks’ 2-9 stretch in January that drew insults and boos at Towns from fans.
At the time, Towns’ name and Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo (now with the Heat) were mentioned in trade rumors. They were were previously linked in trade rumors during the summer of 2025.
“We were on Zillow looking at Milwaukee,” Towns said, smiling and mimicking his conversations with Woods about using the real estate marketplace. “Like, ‘Hey, babe, I went around town, and it’s not that bad. This could be a good spot right here.’”
Towns played a pivotal role defensively in helping New York turn their season around, en route to a 16-3 playoff run — and winning four of five against the Spurs to win the 2026 NBA title.
His plus-minus in the playoffs was the best since the league officially started tracking the stat 20 years ago, according to The Athletic.
“It just proves that you’re in the right place and doing the right thing,” Woods said. “It silences a lot of those haters that we were talking about.
“A lot of these people who didn’t believe now can’t say anything.”
Woods was at the Knicks’ championship ticker-tape parade in New York on June 18.
Towns, who has two years and almost $120 million left on his contract, is in talks for an extension.
Earlier in the interview, Towns explained how playing in a smaller market during his nine seasons with Minnesota from 2015-24 helped prepare him for New York.
“We talk about (playing in a) small market as a bad thing,” Towns said. “It was a great thing for me because it protected me from having to be a perfect form of myself for the big media markets and stuff.
“I was able to really grow and hone myself as a person and fine-tune the things that I needed to so when I got (to New York), which wasn’t part of my plan, I was truly the best version of myself.”
The Knicks open the regular season against the Philadelphia 76ers on Oct. 20, and will host their championship banner ceremony that night at Madison Square Garden.
