EMIRATES NBA CUP

December 16, 2025

Karl-Anthony Towns

New York Knicks

Championship Postgame

New York Knicks 124, San Antonio Spurs 113

Q. Was there something with you physically? Then Mitch coming in for you, what he did?

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: I only care we won the game, got the shirt and the hat. That's what I've been striving for all day. All day. That's all that matters.

Q. On Mitch, what you saw him do in that stretch?

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: What Mitch does. I got here last year. I knew playing against Mitch how he impacts the game. To be his teammate now and to see what he obviously does -- last year he's impacted the game how many times, changed the game?

Shout-out to Mitch, man. Hell of a day at the office for him.

Q. This win obviously means the title, but you are built to win the East. How important is it for you guys to validate that in this stage?

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: I mean, of course you win the Cup, you feel like you have to validate why we got here and got ourselves in this position and won.

It's all about execution. I talked about it I think yesterday. Obviously it's a great team. We had to execute for 48 minutes. Tyler Kolek, Jordan Clarkson, Mitch, just so impactful in our game today. The energy they brought, the impact they brought to the game, really, really helped us win this game.

Shout-out, too, to Ariel. I know it was minimal minutes. The impactful energy he brought to the game showed us what we need to do to impact more as starters.

Q. What is the first thing you plan on buying with that prize money?

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: Nah. I'm going to donate it. I got my thing over in DR with Go Sports, Go Ministries. We're building facilities, educating kids, giving them the resources to chase their dreams.

I'm super excited that with this God-given talent, the work I've put to be successful at my craft, I'm able to help a lot of kids out and families, give their families a chance to hopefully realize their dreams.

I'm super excited to do that in Tamboril and Santiago.

Q. You won playoff series, sometimes unexpectedly.

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: Not to me (smiling).

Q. What's the celebration like, the exuberance? How long does that last?

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: Tonight?

Q. Yeah.

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: That's it. We got to get back to work tomorrow (smiling).

We got to get back to working. But tonight definitely enjoy these moments. You never know when you get another chance to do something like this and be in this environment. Life is very unpredictable. We all in this room, including myself, don't know what tomorrow has.

I know that today, in the present, the Knicks are the Cup champions. I got a bunch of amazing brothers in that locker room that made this possible, an amazing coaching staff. We got to celebrate this because like I said, we all in this room, everyone watching, myself included, we don't know what tomorrow has.

I know right now in the present is something to cheer for and something to celebrate. We'll celebrate tonight, have a great night as a team, as a family, and tomorrow we'll get ready for the next challenge.

Q. Mike Brown on his way out said something about a banner. Are you interested in a banner for this? Some teams feel different ways about it.

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: The Cup is special. I think you saw tonight, here in Vegas, semifinals, finals, it brought out the best of all the teams.

For us to be in a position to say that we won, we're the champions, have that dope-ass shirt on with the Knicks saying 'champions' is humbling and an honor.

I'll leave that to them. I know right now in our careers and our lives, we're going to celebrate this one tonight. We're going to hold this Cup championship dear to our heart. But now it's time to work on the second one.