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Jay Shetty

you've been putting off.

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Karl-Anthony Towns

This espresso is extremely hot and we're going to fight.

Jay Shetty

Don't burn your tongue. Don't burn your tongue. Take a bit. Yeah. Do not burn your tongue.

Karl-Anthony Towns

If the alcohol ain't do it, it's not going to do it this way, I can tell you that.

Jay Shetty

Hey, it's Jay. I don't know what your day's been like, but I was just thinking about you for a minute and I hope

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you're being a little patient with yourself

Jay Shetty

because you deserve it.

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And yeah, I'll talk to you soon.

Jay Shetty

Carl Anthony Towns. Welcome to On Purpose.

Karl-Anthony Towns

What's up, man?

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What's up?

Jay Shetty

Huge congratulations. Everyone in the world is talking about this moment. I feel like even my friends back in England, people are messaging me. Oh my God, New York looks crazy. I was at game four.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Oh, okay.

Jay Shetty

MSG.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Yes.

Jay Shetty

29 points down.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Yes.

Jay Shetty

How do you remember that night?

Karl-Anthony Towns

Well, I appreciate you staying in your seat because it was a tough game, but I remember that night just. I remember looking at Jordan, my fiance, and just telling her before the game, I feel really good about tonight. And I had really good energy about it. I felt really good about our team. You know, we lost game three in a heartbreaking fashion. I felt really good about us responding, saw the shoot around. We looked very focused, prepared. You know, I felt really good going into game four. Obviously, it did not look good until halftime. I remember looking at Jordan, I was like, maybe I was wrong in the game. And, you know, at halftime, just rallying the troops, telling them, you know, we've done this before. Experience teaches you a lot in life. And, you know, a lot of times when you're young, you always see people who are older than you, your elders, and who have had experiences, and you say, well, that was yours, that's not mine. You know, you realize we're all a lot, a lot alike. And I was just leaning on that experience of last year against Boston, coming back multiple times by 20 at their house. I was telling our guys, like, think about it. We've been in this situation before at an opponent's house. We got our fans behind us, and we have a chance to still swing for the fences and trust our experience. And we found a way to get, to get the job done. I'll never forget OG Tipping the ball back in. Cause the right hand of God, man,

Jay Shetty

was it a relief seeing him do that or was that like. No, it sounds like.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Well, if you watch the game, he tipped it in. I was ready to dunk it. So we had two offensive rebounds ready to happen. And OG man, he's just special. He's always been special. And I always tell him, even games not going his way, OG Anunobio always in the fourth quarter, finds a way to make his presence known. And he did exactly that.

Jay Shetty

But when you were saying that at halftime, were you saying that to each player, looking them in the eye?

Karl-Anthony Towns

More like, you know, when you're in the huddle, you get in the, in the locker room and just speaking out loud, and everyone's just looking at me and just talking, you know, just understanding the situation is we're down 29 plus point, you know, down 25 plus points, 29 points. It can't get any worse. And at the end of the day, we had the experience of being down 24. I believe in Boston and coming all the way back and getting the game. So it's going to Take that one special play at the end to win the game. Because once you fight back, you still gotta make that one play. Last year, both games was Mikhail Bridges getting a stop getting a steal. And this year it was an offensive play with og.

Jay Shetty

You said this, this idea that this is such a life changing moment, it's an unbelievable accomplishment. What's the most surprising thing about being a champion now? Like, what is the most surprising thing about this moment that you wouldn't have known until now when you're living it?

Karl-Anthony Towns

When I said earlier, hearing that champion, that champion, like I don't even know how you want to say it, Moniker, you want to say whatever like that. Like to hear that next to your name is something you don't ever think you're not Me as a competitor I felt my championship was always on the way, but I thought it was going to be on my timing. It was on God's timing when I got my championship. When I say that when I was younger, you never think you're going to make the NBA. You never know if you have a chance. I was just hoping to get a college scholarship. That was always the goal, just get a college scholarship and find a way to save my parents all that money in college. And I found myself here. And the thing that's so surprising with winning a championship is something life has taught you and I think you'll understand. This is your whole life. You see something and you see this goal and you set this goal and you run towards this goal with all your might, all your will, all your strength. And then you finally get to it and the moment goes by so quick and next thing you know you're like, what's next? We won the championship on Saturday, we flew back, we were back home Sunday morning, we flew right after the game. And by Sunday afternoon I'm like, what's next? You know, what are we doing here? Like there's no more basketball to be played. I still worked out after winning the championship. I was like, I can't stop. Like there's no way you could tell me after being so locked in and turnt up about playing basketball that I could just turn down and unlock myself back to the real world. It was something I can't comprehend. And any NBA player, basketball player, football player, professional athlete, I think they understand what I'm gonna say. Which is it's that first week out of competition that is so tough. Cause you gotta in essence find yourself again. You know, it's not as easy as it sounds to just, oh well, just go on Vacation and stuff. The vacation, first two days, it feels awkward to be there. Cause maybe it's like for us, it's an all star break. It's a two day break. You know, sometimes in a regular season, you'll get three days between a game and maybe you're like in Orlando. You're in, you know, you get to go to Disney World with your family and stuff, or you're in Houston and you get to go golfing and you get to go, you know, enjoy some sun or something like that. But like, the first couple days is. It's very. It's very weird. And I haven't even really started my off season. Cause yesterday was the parade.

Jay Shetty

Yeah, exactly.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Like, you know what I'm trying to say. So I feel for me on Monday, I'm gonna really have a tough time. Not waking up to go to the court to play basketball, not waking up to go lift heavy in the weight room. Not used to seeing my teammates, my brothers. You know, we have accomplished the highest goal possible, but now we all have to separately to go live our lives, you know, and take care of our kids, our family.

Jay Shetty

You're so aware of that, though. I feel like some people win or go through that. And athletes I've spoken to, they think about it years later. Yeah, but you're so aware now. How are you trying to slow it down, experience it, celebrate, be still for this moment right now?

Karl-Anthony Towns

Well, I mean, anyone who watched the parade, you see, I was definitely in the moment and I was living in it. But I do think even with the parade, like, there's a difference between living in the moment and getting lost in the moment. And I found myself living to the point I lost myself in the moment. I was having so much fun. I was enjoying the moment, seeing the crowd, seeing the jubilation of the fans, seeing a lot of people too, like, finally give me the greatest currency in New York, which is respect. And just seeing them being able to give me that respect at the pinnacle of the mountain. I was losing myself in the moment. Just watching these people and just being so happy that, you know, as any person, you at the top of the podcast game, you just want to be respected for what you do, you know, and to finally get that respect, to finally have people appreciate my craft, it was a really cool feeling. I got myself lost in the moment because that respect for my craft hasn't always been there in my career. And these are one of those few moments where I get to really sit back and allow the fans to show me the love and Respect I've worked for so hard for.

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This episode is presented by State Farm. We spend so much energy becoming the best version of ourselves, Building better habits, showing up more, fully embracing mindfulness. But sometimes the most purposeful thing you can do is just handle the thing

Jay Shetty

you've been putting off.

Podcast Host (Ad Read)

If getting your insurance sorted has been living on that list, State Farm is there to help you choose the coverage that's right for you. Go online@statefarm.com or use the easily accessible app to get help from one of their over 19,000 local agents. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

Jay Shetty

Living in the moment, lost in the moment. I'll never forget that. And, and, and yeah, you deserve the respect, man. As we do on this podcast. I love going backwards because I'm fascinated by how people became who they are. Yeah. And I wanted to ask you, what's a childhood memory you have that you think defines who you are today?

Karl-Anthony Towns

I had to go on a walk with my dad. First of all, that is not normal. So I was like telling my dad, like, I'm a young kid, I have the whole world behind me in basketball. This next basketball prodigy been on covers of magazines and everything. And I remember there was a guy he had asked to work me out and drove down. He's one of the top gurus of workout trainers in the world. And he was working me out. He was working me out and he was trying to mold my game more into the traditional sense of a big man back in the day, back to the basket, get to these elbows boxes. Really? That's it. Well, me and my dad understand the vision I had for myself. And my dad had the vision and wanted to do that because his whole motto was, I want to make sure you have all the skills that a coach can never sit you. He was the coach. So he was like, I'm going to give you the skills to make sure I can never not play you. You know, working on my guard skills, shooting three ball, you know, dribbling, being able to recognize different defenses at different places on the court, being able to be a three level scorer, that wasn't something at my size people were supposed to be doing. You're supposed to be back to the basket, hook shots fade, you know, maybe a fade away if you're super talented. On kg, Tim Duncan off the backboard, Dirk Nowitzki with the one leg. And I could see his game was trying to model me more after that. And I had a vision for myself that I would be the first of my kind.

Jay Shetty

Wow.

Karl-Anthony Towns

And I'M a young kid. I think I was seventh grade, sixth grade. And I remember telling my dad one time, like, let's take a walk. It's the same house my sister lives in now. And then we took a walk around the block. And I know how. My dad's a very prideful man. Takes, you know, he's. He's the head of the household, and everyone's intimidated by him except my mom. My mom didn't give a damn. And I just took a walk with him, and I was like, dad, listen, I appreciate you wanting to do the best for me. I know this guy has the accolades and the credentials to say he would be better than you training me, but he wants to work out with me. He wants to work me out as a player because of the time we put in together, because he sees something special in what we've done. I don't think he's the man for the job, because no one understands the vision I have for myself more than you. And I think that we've gotten here and been highly successful doing it to the world together. And I don't see why we should stop doing that when you're the one who got me to this place, and you're the one that understands and believes in the vision that I have. And I remember walking with my dad, and I didn't know how he was going to react. You know, he could be very like, no, like, this guy is the one. He's this and this and this and this and that. But my dad looked at me, and I felt like, you know, I'm older now, and obviously the vision we had was the right vision. I think he just looked at me and was so proud because, one, I was willing to have a tough conversation with him of all people who everyone runs away from, having that convo from Coach Towns. But I think he could see that I was very serious, that I believed in him more than I believed in anyone else. And I think when he saw that, he was like, you don't have to say anymore. I'll take it from here. Call the guys like, hey, I appreciate you working my son out, giving him a chance to see what you do and stuff, but I think we're gonna go a different direction.

Jay Shetty

How old were you?

Karl-Anthony Towns

I think I was seventh grade.

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Wow.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Yeah, I was like, seventh grade, and I was just like, I seen it and look at it now. If I would have done that, I don't know if I would have been the player I am today. I've done something in the NBA that Hasn't been done before. Shooting wise and with the guard skills and those skills and that vision has led me finally to a NBA championship. So that was big. And the small moment I always I think of, and I've never said this before, but my mom was big into birds. She was big into parakeets. It's a small story, but it means a lot. I remember one day, she was cleaning the bird cage and everything like that, and the birdcage was open, and she said, hey, don't close the door. I'm young. I always listen. But you know how it is. You know, like, no, I can see the bird. The bird's never going to be that much quicker than me. I'm cat. Cat like reflexes. I never thought of that. And I remember I opened the door to go outside, just to run around, and I let the door open and the bird flies out. I said, oh, my God. I let down the one person in the world I never want to let down, which is my mom. Love my dad to death, but my mom is everything. And my mom looked and she goes. She didn't show not one sense of anger and was like, the bird had better places to be anyway. Wow.

Jay Shetty

And that's beautiful.

Karl-Anthony Towns

And I felt upset because I didn't want to let her down. And that's how, even today, I never want to let my brothers down. I want to let my teammates down. My mom approached that situation with such calm and relaxed and forgiveness that that one moment showed me a lot about, especially doing this job, this craft. It's okay to forgive people. It's not okay to forget, but it's okay to forgive people so they do not own any capacity of your life. And in doing that, when she had that story, I learned how important it is to not hold the grudge and that you truly control how much the situation dictates your life. And as something small and something so it seems so insignificant. But that led to the conversation about losing material items. Like, she was telling me how my grandfather gave her a watch, and it was a gold watch. Didn't care about the brand. It was just nice. She was just like, I one day went to the beach. I put the gold watch down on the thing. I went to the water, I came back, the towel and everything was there, but the gold watch was in the sand, and I couldn't find it. And she said that my grandfather had told her, like, if you have ever lost something, it's not meant to be yours. And she was like, I've always believe that instead of Me crying and getting upset about losing something and everything like that. It just wasn't meant to be mine anymore, or it wasn't meant to be what it is anymore. And I just saved myself a lot of anguish and pain and things like that by just simply letting it go. Yeah, you got the Hmong background. You know how it is. So.

Jay Shetty

No, but it's powerful. I didn't realize you were a philosopher, too. Yeah, no, no, no, it's powerful.

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I love it.

Karl-Anthony Towns

I mean, I'm a man. I'm just. Man, walking the path. I'm just walking the path, man.

Jay Shetty

No, but you're walking it, noticing. Yeah, I've been thinking a lot about that recently. We talk a lot about presence, or we talk a lot about being in the moment, but really it's people who notice things, like these small moments, these small things people say. The little thing that your mom just said to you on the side, but it becomes something that you carry in your heart. What do you do now when you feel like you're letting people down? Like, whether it's your teammates, people that you love, do you even go through that or do you feel free from that?

Karl-Anthony Towns

I just do everything in my power to capitalize on the present. You know, I think when you let people down is because, you know, one, it just wasn't your day, and, you know, every one of your brothers and everything will notice that. But two, it's more the fact of sometimes people get caught up in the future, and the future never happens without the present, and the past is already done, so there ain't nothing to get back from it. So I always just stay in the present. I'm big about staying in the present. Coach Calipari always told us when we was there at college, we're one of the greatest college teams ever assembled. You will never have a room of talent like the way I have the talent in this room right now. You will never have another room when you guys go to the NBA. You'll never be have this amount of talent in one room ever again. So enjoy this moment. Capitalize on this moment. Don't let it slip by without being thankful for this. And I've always thought of that. I've always thought of that. And it goes back to what you said, just noticing things and actually listening. You know, I really listen to what people say and the way they act, the way the energy they present to us, to me, my wife. And it's so powerful when you stay in the present. You have a very hard time of letting people down because you really were there and you were giving everything you had to make sure that present was taken care of and then the future would be taken care of. So I just always stay in the present. Regardless of this conversation. It's me at brunch with my fiance. Wife. I like saying wife. Beyonce just sounds. We gotta get past that part with my wife just having brunch or being with my dad, being with my sister, her niece, my niece and nephew being at a baseball game with his baseball games and stuff. Like, I'm real present about putting the phone away and everything and really, truly enjoying family time. I still grew up on appointment TV time with my family and my sister. So I appreciate those moments of pure silence because my life is full of noise. So I appreciate those moments when I get to really just disconnect from the world and truly have that one on one time.

Jay Shetty

Yeah, I love that. I can tell. I mean, you can see it just in your presence from the moment you walked in the room. You can feel that when someone comes in and everything slows down around them, they're really where they are.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Yeah, it's.

Jay Shetty

I feel like athletes have to have it to be as successful as you are.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Yeah. Everyone's so wired differently, you know, And I think a lot of times when people misunderstand people, they keep saying they have to believe in exactly what they believe in. Like, and if they don't believe in that, they're wrong. They're not wrong. They're just wired differently. Like, I'm a man of people. I'm a man on a mission to just spread love to everybody. Not because people believe in New York Knicks basketball or because they believe in how I feel about politics and stuff. I actually have had some of the best conversations with people who don't agree with what I think. And just being able to sit like this, no mics, no cameras, no lights, and just really just. I just want to hear them out. I think it's fascinating to hear why people think the way they do. And you'll find a lot of times we're a lot alike and they just haven't had a person who has a different mindset or a different approach to the situation to just calmly speak to them in a loving manner of just having a simple conversation. And you find a lot of things or miscommunications in the world that just are being refused to be talked out.

Jay Shetty

I fully agree with you. I. I think that the challenge we've created in the world is we judge before we ask.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Yes.

Jay Shetty

We assume before we Reflect. We choose to make a conclusion on someone before we even have the context of walking a mile in their shoes. And it's so easy to live that way, but actually, it creates so many complexities. Moving forward for you, did you ever doubt yourself on the way to the NBA? Was there a moment of insecurity? A moment of I might not make it?

Karl-Anthony Towns

To be honest, my confidence was always driven by my support system and my family. I never thought I wasn't gonna make it. I always believed that anything that the success I would have while making it would be determined by how much I wanted to work. So I wasn't gonna allow anyone to outwork me. Cause I seen how my parents struggled. I seen how they worked nine to fives and was able to put food on the table. I always. You know, I'm blessed that maybe I didn't have millions of dollars growing up at a Silver Spoon, but what I did have was a ton of love. And that's more currency than anything you could get in a family. You know, I had so much love in my family that that's. That's all I ever needed. I felt to be wealthy was just. Just love. And I never doubted myself at all. Not one bit. Yeah, even to this day, I never doubted the championship wasn't coming my way. But like I said, I thought the championship would come on my time, and it was gonna come on God's time.

Jay Shetty

What was your time?

Karl-Anthony Towns

And this was God's time for the first five years. I would have loved it. I thought I could get one in Minnesota right away. And I thought on my time, I would be getting this championship. And God had other plans, and I had to slow down and trust his timing. And once I slowed down and said, I'm on your timing, I'm not gonna push what I want to happen. I'm sitting here now with the championship moniker, and it's pretty cool.

Jay Shetty

Talking about family. You've spoken about how important it is to you. I also know, and I'm so sorry for your loss. But you lost eight family members during COVID and you were even hospitalized yourself.

Karl-Anthony Towns

And my dad. My dad actually survived with my mom.

Jay Shetty

So how did you even begin to process that? What was going through your heart and mind when you were going through it?

Karl-Anthony Towns

I mean, I think the whole world was going through an epidemic. We've never been through. I've never seen New York have nobody in the streets. You know, nobody was. You know, the pictures were insane. It looked like I am legend, truthfully.

Jay Shetty

Yeah.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Yeah. I just feel like My life has built me up to be so mentally tough, and it was never about rah, rah and screaming and yelling at people. I've always felt my leadership style was servant leadership. I'm here to serve others. That's literally when I'm at my best. That's when I get to serve others, whether that's with kindness, love, or in basketball, being able to give them an assist, be able to pick them up, be able to score the basket, so whatever mistake they made is covered up. Like, I've always felt my style was serving leadership. I was just built up mentally to be able to withstand these kind of punishments, and nothing could have prepared me for that. And watching my mother lead the household and watching my father demand respect and gain respect, and being able to be tenacious with his competitive attitude, competitively, I knew I could go at this challenge of stepping into the head of the household, stepping into taking care of my father, stepping into her shoes as a competitor. I wanted to do the best job I could do to match hers, because I never thought I could win, but I never thought I was going to lose. So I was just more of, like, I could do this. And I knew from watching her so up close for all these years, I knew how she approached different situations, how she took care of people. My grandmother, her mom, my father, my sister in certain situations. And being able to understand the meaning of love from her, I was able to appropriately show that love to people, show that love to our family and. And step into her shoes of taking care of the household, being the head of it. And I feel like I'm doing a great job. I feel like I'm making her proud, and I just continue to stay in the present. It's a challenge every day. It's a challenge every single day to make sure everyone is feeling at their best.

Jay Shetty

You tragically lost your mom at that time, and I wanted to ask, like, did you. Because it was Covid. I lost people during COVID I couldn't even go back to see them. Did you get any last moments with her? Were you able to be there with her?

Karl-Anthony Towns

I got to talk to her on FaceTime before I had to make that decision of pulling the plug. I definitely. I went and saw her personally with the Hazmat suit and all. I walked in the room, I fixed her hair. I made sure her toenails looked good. She looked fabulous from her eyebrows right before everything. And, yeah, just washed her face and just made sure she was comfortable as possible and had my final conversations with her and talking to her and everything like that. And it was a crazy feeling. It was crazy because it was. You know, I felt we had real conversation, but she didn't say a word back to me. But I felt like energy always travels, you know, And I just remember being there, and right before there, I remember being on the phone with my fiance, now wife, and Jordan, and asking her what to do in these situations, like when she was with her father. And she gave me kind of like some tips and just kind of like letting me know it's going to be okay. And that's when I went upstairs in the hospital and saw her for the last time. It was one of those things that, like, I didn't get lost in the moment. I was living in the moment, but the moment was very. It was heavy. It was a very heavy moment. Especially it was Covid. So they didn't allow my father to go up there. They didn't allow my sister to go up there. It was only one person. They all picked me to go. It was one of those moments. It was tough conversations had, and it was conversations that I appreciated, that I was always talking about staying in the present, that I got to tell her a bunch of things alive when she was cognitive about a lot. So we talked about everything. There was only one thing we really never got to talk about. And I used that moment kind of to talk to her about it, and I'm glad I did. It worked out.

Jay Shetty

Can you share what that was?

Karl-Anthony Towns

I actually told her, I said, you know, I have this friend of mine. She's been helping me with all of this stuff. I've never introduced you properly to her. I know we're friends. I don't know what life has for us, but, you know, let me know if this is supposed to be something that is gonna happen or will happen. But I know when you step into that next life and that next realm, you'll. You'll look out for me and you'll let me know if this is the right situation to come into my life. Possibly.

Jay Shetty

Wow.

Karl-Anthony Towns

What is this, seven years later? We're getting married this summer, and you

Jay Shetty

felt like an inner.

Karl-Anthony Towns

I don't know. I just. My gut has been so good at telling me about life, and I feel because I've lived the right way. I'm not saying I'm perfect in any sort of fashion, but I've tried, and that's more than enough than what God asks for. All of us is to try. And I try. I don't know. I just felt like I didn't want to leave any stone unturned. So that was the only thing I feel like we never got to talk about. And even like, her opinion, just like, you know, friends, like, you know, just to meet her, say hi. Cause me and Jordan had never been in that level ever. And it was like, weird for us to hug even for like two and a half years. So like I said, I didn't want to leave anything unturned. You live in the present, don't think about the future. I was just. I'd rather let you know and you'll let me know if this situation is something. And I guess you was pushing it to happen because everything aligned up perfectly. And now we're getting married, so obviously it's the right one.

Jay Shetty

I can't imagine how hard it is also to make the decision. I think when we're losing people we love, we want to hold onto them.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Yeah.

Jay Shetty

And so as you said, to pull the plug and let go of the person you love, that must be like a terrifying decision. How did you even make sense of it?

Karl-Anthony Towns

I didn't. I don't know if I did. I tried everything. I tried every other route than that. I would have taken her in any condition. It didn't matter if we needed to change our lives around for her, whatever the case may be. I would have done anything. But I don't think there was a. A way she was gonna have a meaningful recovery. You know, I don't think that she was actually going to make it regardless. So. It's tough when you have to make those really tough decisions. And we're not talking about either going to vacation here or there or do you eat this or that for dinner? I'm talking about, like the true life and death decision. You know, either you have to be willing to have death of your ego or, you know, you gotta have a death of opportunity. And I picked the death of my ego for the best of her hardest decision. Yeah. Yeah.

Jay Shetty

You said that your mom always knew how to make the celebration special.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Yeah.

Jay Shetty

The big moment. She was special. Yeah.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Yeah, she did.

Jay Shetty

What kind of things would she do?

Karl-Anthony Towns

Like, my birthdays was one of them. And she made them feel so grand. And it was so simple, but it was just so much because of the energy she brought to it. Yeah, she. She did an amazing job of just making all those moments feel so special. And, you know, now with, you know, Jordan, we try to kind of mimic that energy for a lot of things especially. And that's how we approach people's birthdays. Or like she has a nephew in lake that we love to celebrate. My niece and nephew, I love to celebrate their birthdays and special moments and stuff like that. I'm just fortunate now, especially winning a championship in New York, that I get to be closer to my family in Jersey. My niece, my nephew, my sister. So it gets a little easier to do something, you know, when they're growing up and stuff. It's easy to show up at the Little League baseball game. It's easy to show up at a dance recital. It's easy to do that. So I'm just trying. Like I said, I'm just stepping into her shoes, trying to do as much as I can that she would done for us.

Jay Shetty

I can relate to what you're saying. So my mom used to. I remember we didn't have a lot growing up, but on my birthday, I'd get the, like, one thing I wanted as a surprise, or at Christmas, the one thing I wanted to. And it's probably one of my favorite memories with my mom of just, like, how she'd know exactly what I wanted. She'd figure it out. She'd find a way to surprise me. And I wanted to ask you, what do you think your mom would say to you if she was here right now and seeing you become the champion that you are?

Karl-Anthony Towns

Well, I think first she would say, you didn't drink more. She would be so happy. She would just be definitely hugging me up, kissing me a ton, just saying how proud she is of me and how awesome this is. And. I don't know, I just feel like it would have been really cool to see how she would have reacted at the parade. I feel like she would have ran off the float and just started running with the people. So I feel like she would just be super proud. I feel like she would be emotional. So I feel like a lot of it would just be her crying and being super excited and just enjoying these moments of. I laugh when I say it, but it is funny. And my sister, hearing this, will laugh when she'll be like, you didn't drink more, like, it's a celebration. We gotta go even harder. You gotta go. You gotta find a way to do more. And I found more happiness with this championship. In game one, before the game started, I found more happiness than I found in the rest of the series.

Jay Shetty

Really? Why?

Karl-Anthony Towns

Because I felt her presence so strongly and I yearned for it so bad. That was probably the best moment. And you would think it would be the moment right after winning, celebrating, screaming and stuff. You would think it would be the right Hand tip in by OG I think it was before game one started, in the 20 minutes on that court before we had to go back to our to do the national anthem, I felt such a presence that it was just so obvious that it had to be her. And I've yearned for that moment ever since she passed more than the championship. And when I got that moment, I felt so at peace. And I felt. I just kept smiling. Cause it was something. I feel like we were having our own, like dance, but we weren't saying it. No words. And I just felt the presence. And it was when I said that at the end of game one, it was real. Like I just was having fun. I know it got competitive. You may not see me smiling a lot, but I felt very comfortable. I felt very at peace. And that was one of those moments. And I don't want to diminish the value of winning a championship. I mean, it's one of the best feelings ever. But like, that's supernatural. That's something that I can't explain the value behind that, like when you say it's one of the best feelings in the world, there's a value associated. There's no. That's priceless. Like, that's so rare. You get one of those moments. It's like her appearing in a dream. I'd wake up and cry after that. And to have that moment of feeling of that presence, like that was special.

Jay Shetty

How did you notice and feel her presence?

Karl-Anthony Towns

It was so calming. It just felt like the music felt like the best music ever. Dribbling the basketball felt just so youthful. Like it felt like I had just played basketball for the first time. I fell in love with it again. And her presence was felt. I just. It was. It was cool. The music felt like the best music I ever hear. I felt like tame Impala and black coffee came.

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Karl-Anthony Towns

And then it was. It was amazing.

Jay Shetty

You've talked before about this idea of survivor's guilt from that time. How is that changed over time?

Karl-Anthony Towns

It's just different. I mean, I feel like there's always survivor's guilt. You know, it's one of those things that if my mom didn't get in, I got it early on, maybe I would have done better, you know, younger athlete, maybe I would have done, you know, had a better chance. And all the family I haven't been able to see. I think more of my survivor's guilt comes from more of the family and my mom not being able to see these moments. The championship, getting engaged, married. Yeah. Like, kids, you know, not having kids now, but, like, you know, in the future having kids, like, being there for that process and everything. Like, you know, I feel that's more of, like, the guilt I have. Cause I know these are moments she would really want to experience. And it wasn't God's timing. It wasn't my time for her to see that. She got to see my sister have the kids, live her life. Ups and downs. She got to see that. And for me, she got to see me reach the pinnacle of basketball, which is make the NBA, make all Star Game, make another one. It was one of those things she's seen me, but that never really defined me as it always defined me as my whole entire life. Like I said, since I was young, I was told to be a basketball prodigy. And as life goes on and experience and experience and experience goes by, I realize it never defines me about who I am. And I'll leave you with this quote. What I do gets more attention than who I am, even though who I am is more important than what I do.

Jay Shetty

I fully agree.

Karl-Anthony Towns

And I just. I believe that. And over years of years of being told, you're this basketball prodigy, you're really good at basketball. It was like, is that it? Is that all you get from doing this is being told you're good at basketball? What about, like, how many communities have I helped? How many people have I served? That's your leadership style. You gotta live by that, too. So it was something that I realized. Basketball didn't define me. Once I went through experience and experience, got into mba, did some of the things I've dreamed of, seen the hardships that come with it. Then when I lost her, I then come close to defining me anymore. I realized it didn't mean as much as I thought it did.

Jay Shetty

Yeah. What you just said is the exact reason I started this podcast. I wanted a space that people could come and talk about their purpose, talk about who they were more than what they did, and talk about the human behind the high performance and talk about the heart behind the championships and the wins. And I actually saw an interview. I was about to go on stage. This is eight years ago, before I launched the show. Tom Brady was speaking before me, and he was being interviewed. And I was backstage waiting to go on stage. And the interviewer just kept. He kept trying to talk about meaningful things. And the interviewer just kept saying, talk about the rings, Tom. Talk about the rings. And you could tell that Tom was trying to talk about meaningful things and he just wasn't allowed.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Yeah.

Jay Shetty

And I was like, oh, got it. Like, we just want people to be this. What we think, and this 2D version of who they are and not letting them be this. So I appreciate you opening up so much because as I'm listening to you, I'm like, this is why we started. This is for you to be able to say that.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Yeah, yeah.

Jay Shetty

And it's gonna help.

Karl-Anthony Towns

It help a lot of people, too. Because a lot of times, you know, mental health is real. And I also think a lot of times people just wanna be heard, and they never really feel heard. Cause people are never willing to actually say the real things. They wanna come out on podcasts and stuff like that and be cool. What is quote unqu. Cool. You know, don't care. Relax, chill. Oh, yeah. You know, I've. Come on, Jay. You know what I'm trying to say? I do this, I do that. That's it, man. Like, nah. Like, we really people and we really have different ways we got to this point, to this story. And all these seats have stories, and all these seats have a reason why the person is the person. And just takes a little bit of time just to be able to, like, let them open up and explain why they are the way they are.

Jay Shetty

You've talked before about this idea of how you didn't want to go to therapy because you weren't ready to talk. And then you just be sitting there. Has your view on that changed. Does that help?

Karl-Anthony Towns

I think therapy's great. I just think that, for me, therapy wasn't what I needed in the conventional sense.

Jay Shetty

Yeah, your therapy looks different.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Yeah. I got therapy in a different way. I got therapy in someone I really trust. Someone I call, like, a sensei Arnie Kander he's the head of Magic of the Orlando Magic Health sports and their pt. You know the health and strength and conditioning. He's the head of there and he's always been like a sensei to me. He was best friends with my mom as well my dad, they talked all the time. He's always been like a second father to me. I just kind of leaned on him for those really hard hitting questions because I'm able to be open with him. I'm able to tell him any little thing in my life and feel it's safe. And I didn't think I needed the conventional of getting a therapist in the city, in Minnesota, sitting down, doing that when I could just go in my office, call Arnie and allow him to hear my thoughts and give me honest feedback and maybe things. And we've had really deep conversations, some really dark, some just saying how I'm doing like think really good. And he's been vital for me just in my life because he was doing this before anything even when she was here. I didn't think therapy the conventional way. I didn't think it would be as beneficial as having already someone I trusted that I was willing to really spill my heart out to and understood that my heart was not going to be the cup wasn't going to be given to someone else for their benefit. It was a true. I'm going to hear you out like a son and I'm going to give you an unbiased opinion and I'm going to give you a monk opinion as well. So I'm always appreciative for him. I talk to him a lot. He's like a second dad to me and it was one of those things. So I think therapist he's great and I think a lot of people miss the opportunity to really step outside with with less baggage.

Jay Shetty

I had the opportunity to speak to Kobe Bryant, Kobe would talk about Phil Jackson and it's like that kind of mentorship. It's actually quite special to sports.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Yes.

Jay Shetty

I find like athletes when you find like the right coach.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Yeah.

Jay Shetty

Even the way you're speaking about your coaches and PTs like what you've learned over time, it's like it's a special relationship and I think the majority of the world who don't have have coaches or people in their life that they look to for guidance like in other careers you don't have that.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Yes. And that's why I think it becomes a therapist is a great option because like you said, there's certain People you run into in life that are just wired differently and able to do some special things, they have special talents. That's why we're all the top of our game. And they have special talents that utilized in the right way, can take you to another level. I feel like Arnie's special talent was relationships and his ability to listen and come back at a different mindset. And he's very, you know, he spent time with the monks. He's been, you know, has the Catholic background, Christian background, Buddhistic background, very, like, natural based. Everything, like the ground is that the soil. Like, everything's like alive. You gotta be very respectful of everything. When I leave, he's the reason, when I leave hotel rooms, I thank the hotel room for allowing me to live in the hotel room. Like little things like that, like that mindset. And I just. I'm forever grateful for him.

Jay Shetty

What I love about that is you just wouldn't expect it.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Yeah, yeah.

Jay Shetty

That's surprising. Like you're being grateful to a hotel room.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Yeah, literally. And that's. And Jordan, when she was like. She was like, who you. When we first, like, went to a hotel room, she was like, who are you talking to? And I was like, no.

Jay Shetty

Oh, you're saying it out loud, too.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Yeah, yeah, I say it out loud. So, you know, thank the room. I thank you for allowing me to live in here. Thank you for blessing this energy and this time. And I walk out and close the door.

Jay Shetty

Let's talk about Jordan, because you've been mentioning the whole time.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Yeah, yeah.

Jay Shetty

Let's talk about how you met. How did you actually.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Over Uno?

Podcast Host (Ad Read)

No way.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Literally in la, just you two? Yes, it was me. Me, her, and my friend Chucky.

Jay Shetty

Okay.

Karl-Anthony Towns

I beat both of them.

Jay Shetty

You did?

Karl-Anthony Towns

I didn't let her win one time.

Jay Shetty

Has she beat you since?

Karl-Anthony Towns

No comment.

Jay Shetty

Who made the first move? Who was like.

Karl-Anthony Towns

She's gonna say, in a way it was me. And I was. And she knows damn sure it was her. She made the first move. So obviously it was. I guess in a way it was mutual.

Jay Shetty

You were talking about earlier, before, when we started this idea of, like, how, you know, you don't see relationships last that long always.

Karl-Anthony Towns

And you guys especially, like, yeah, NBA player with a woman that's heavily involved in Hollywood and everything like, that doesn't ever seem like a recipe that works.

Jay Shetty

What makes it work for you guys? How have you found it?

Karl-Anthony Towns

Because we wanted to work. And our whole relationship was based off of friendship of two and a half years of no romantic, no anything. It was Just strictly platonic. Like how we're just great friends. We vibe with each other. We know that we're here for each other. I think just for us, it's always fun that we truly do enjoy each other's presence and we do love hanging out with each other, with doing nothing simple. And I think that's what makes a special relationship, when you truly enjoy each other's presence. But it's more of a friendship. I enjoy just hanging out, doing nothing. We don't even have to say a word to each other. But she could be watching tv, I could be on my phone playing a game, or she could be on her phone playing a game and I'm watching YouTube. And none of us complain about anything. We're just happy to be next to each other. So it's pretty cool.

Jay Shetty

What's one thing she's taught you and one thing you've taught her?

Karl-Anthony Towns

She's taught me a lot. And I think one of the greatest things she taught me was how good sushi is. But I would say from a real aspect of emotional, everyday living, she's really taught me how boundaries can be safe. They don't have to be so aggressive. When you hear the word boundaries, you think of it, it's an aggressive block. But she makes it seem that you can have healthy boundaries that work for everybody and make you feel good as well. I think I'm a patient person. I feel like she's helped me understand patience is a good thing as well, because sometimes I am very patient and she's very patient. So we both could kind of like it. So it allows me to, like, take that competitive edge when she gets unpatient and be like, it's okay, just relax. I think for me, to her, I believe she would say, just through all the bad that the life throws at you and all the obstacles and the trials and tribulations. She always talks about how I bring that youth into an energy, into a room where it doesn't seem like things are so bad and just kind of keeping it very cheerful and positive and youthful. I think that's really what she loves, is that, you know, I kind of make her bring that inner child back out. Even at the age that we are now, where it doesn't have to be so serious. Like, we're in Target. Let's go have a lightsaber fight around Target. Like, you've done that before.

Jay Shetty

How do you get away with that?

Karl-Anthony Towns

Minnesota, it's not New York. We doing stuff like that. Or putting her in the shopping cart in Target. And Just doing laps around Target. Just stupid kid stuff you would do. And, you know, now that we finally found each other in this world and we found each other at this time, we don't have to act older because we met older. You know, we can still bring that youth back into our lives and just little things like that.

Jay Shetty

I love hearing that, by the way. I mean, it sounds beautiful, and I'm so happy that you guys get married. It's huge. I feel like her orange bag became its own all star.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Oh, yeah. That's the greatest. That may be the greatest clothing article ever. That may be one of the greatest things in New York history. For sure. Has to be the greatest bag ever made. Greatest piece of article of clothing ever. I mean, it must be up there with, like, George Washington coming to. Coming to America, establishing United States. It's something special. It needs to be in a museum here.

Jay Shetty

In a museum. Is she willing to give it up for a museum?

Karl-Anthony Towns

I mean, that's. That's, like, one of the greatest pieces of ever. So, I mean, what. Guggenheim has to do it.

Jay Shetty

I would feel.

Karl-Anthony Towns

I feel like Guggenheim has to be the best place. I mean, Smithsonian is, like, up there with, like, dinosaurs and stuff.

Jay Shetty

So how did you feel when she couldn't get it in to the game? Well, obviously, Trump came.

Karl-Anthony Towns

You know, I knew it was real when my teammates said, is she going to still bring the bag?

Podcast Host (Ad Read)

No way.

Karl-Anthony Towns

My teammates were still asking about the bag.

Jay Shetty

So did it feel hard that day when she couldn't bring it in?

Karl-Anthony Towns

Like, it was just off. The day was off. You don't see the bag. You know, you can't really drive into msg. You got to go to a hotel and then drive in with a bus. And you're used to just driving yourself into msg. So it was just a weird day. It was different.

Jay Shetty

It's crazy that the bag had that much power, right?

Karl-Anthony Towns

The bag. The bag has all the power. I'm. I'm giving all credit to the bag. Where's my Jordan bag? Got it done. I'm not gonna lie to you. Tell me another piece of clothing, right? Article of clothing that you ever seen have that consistent of a result? Like, I don't know.

Jay Shetty

It's true. I can't think of anything.

Karl-Anthony Towns

I don't. That's what I'm saying. Like, think about it. Woods by Jordan bag went through the greatest comeback in finals history. It went through in the Eastern Conference finals, came back again from 20 plus, which is the largest comeback, I think. Yeah, it went 13. What? 13? Well, if you count the game we didn't. The game we lost. She didn't bring the bag. So what? That's 15 games in a row. One still counting with the bag there. Because next year we go and do it again.

Jay Shetty

I'm glad your teammates agree too.

Karl-Anthony Towns

That's the part that was funny. You know how crazy it is to get men to agree on, on a woman's bag being that lucky? Like, that never happens. Like jb, jc, og, Josh Hart. Everybody was like, yo, is the bag gonna make it? Like, we gotta find a way to do this.

Jay Shetty

So where's the bag now? Is it safe?

Karl-Anthony Towns

That bag is resting.

Jay Shetty

Okay.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Jordan says it to see she's resting. She, she, she's right now gonna enjoy her off season. I, I, I think she's gonna retire. I think she's gonna retire on top. She's gonna hand a memo in like Michael Jordan and just be like, I'm done. It's over.

Jay Shetty

We have to find a new one for next year.

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Jay Shetty

How did it feel when you were actually being traded from Minnesota?

Karl-Anthony Towns

Oh, that was a wild moment. That was a wild moment. Especially when I seen everybody that morning. So it was a wild thing, I would say the honest feeling at the moment was I was shocked that my career in Minnesota ended like that. Like, no warnings, no signs. No one in NBA knew. It was not a murmur, a whisper or nothing just in the dark happened. And usually, you know, you think you'll see the ending, you'll see the end of the book, you know, and I didn't know the book was ending on me, and I was the one that was part of it. I thought I was the author and I became the character in the book. So I was kind of shocked that my career was ending. I remember being told in my house that I go to my office, I see my achievements in Minnesota, and I was like, that's just how it ends. Just snap of the finger, you're done. Bye. Gotta go. And that's why it was a weird feeling. I look Back at it now. And of course, I wanted to win a title there. I wanted to be there the rest of my career. I made it clearly known that I wanted to do that. But maybe I had to go and get traded somewhere else. Maybe I had to go somewhere else so I could show my true value and true worth to the world. And I'm just honored that New York gave me a chance to do that. And I'm glad I was able to repay that belief with a championship.

Jay Shetty

Yeah, we always hear that phrase, like, rejection's just redirection. And I'm like, you're living it right now. To go through that moment of feeling like, I love what you just said, from going from being the author to being the character. But then the character gets to go and write a new story.

Karl-Anthony Towns

The character found the. He got a sequel to the book. And if I wasn't gonna be the author, I wanted to make sure I was the main character. And the character was actually driving the. And I thought it was. It's a humbling thing. It's a humbling thing to be able to look back at it now and smile about what happened. Got the championship. I was able to be back home. I was able to be with my mom's mom and stuff like that. But I would be lying if there's not a bittersweet feeling that it wasn't, you know, at Target center, holding that trophy, having the parade down First Ave over there, and seeing the Minnesota fans that raised me since I was a kid, you know, and to see me now as a man, not be able to bring that to them, that. That does bring me some pain inside.

Jay Shetty

Maybe one day.

Karl-Anthony Towns

I don't know. Nah, I don't think so. I don't know what life got for me. I always say it's on God's timing. We all know. I'll see what he has planned for me.

Jay Shetty

Tell me about who was. Who made you feel most welcome at the Knicks.

Karl-Anthony Towns

JB and everyone really welcomed me a lot. OG Was very welcoming. I remember he was the first person I got to like. He invited me over to his house, and I was able to, like, talk to him. So I was not aware OG didn't talk. Because my first day with OG we had great conversations. We're laughing and talking, and I only realized when we got to training camp, I was actually to be like, wow, he does not talk, but he talks to me a bunch. So they were really welcoming me of me in. And I think what was also great was, you know, earning the respect of Them as a man and as a player. From afar, I was able to walk in and be myself right away and not feel like I had to be like, like, like I was stepping on toes or anything like that. But obviously it's an adjustment. You know, I didn't know everybody there. I hadn't. I only knew Matt Ryan was the only teammate I had in Minnesota. So we had familiarity with each other, but everyone else was new to me. You know, TJ Warren, I've known a while, so I kind of felt familiar with. But I never really got to know Josh Hart. For Josh Hart. I never knew, got to know OG and ever. Jalen and me have a lot ton of respect from far away, not actually as teammates, as hanging out. So it was great. It was great to, like, feel that welcome energy and it was great to be able to be allowed to affect change right away, especially with the way my season started last year.

Jay Shetty

We have a fun game we made for you.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Okay.

Jay Shetty

This is called the courtside stress test.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Okay.

Jay Shetty

But you're not a stressed out guy, so it might be called the courtside excitement test. So what you have to do is on a scale of 1 to 10, 10. You have to tell me how stressed or excited you were to have this person courtsided.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Oh, this is a good one.

Jay Shetty

Okay, good. Mariska Hargitay.

Karl-Anthony Towns

I see her and start smiling. So I probably would say like a seven or six because right when you see her you go dun, dun. But it was cool to understand how close everyone is too.

Jay Shetty

Okay, so Adam Sandler.

Karl-Anthony Towns

I would say 8.

Jay Shetty

Spike Lee.

Karl-Anthony Towns

8. Yeah, 8.

Advertiser/Announcer

9.

Jay Shetty

Fat Joe.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Come on. That's Mr. Fat Joe. But he not Fat Joe anymore. He more like Skinny Joe.

Jay Shetty

Okay. I would say more like Timothee Chalamet and Kylie Jenner.

Karl-Anthony Towns

It was great to see Timmy. I love seeing Timmy. I get more, like laughy with Timmy and I see Timmy and Kylie's awesome. So 7.

Jay Shetty

Sydney Sweeney.

Karl-Anthony Towns

7.

Jay Shetty

Tina Fey.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Tina Fey is funny. I love Tina Fey.

Jay Shetty

We were at game four together. Yeah. Eight, eight. Okay, very cool. Ben Stiller.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Nine.

Jay Shetty

Tracy Morgan.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Nine.

Jay Shetty

Taylor Swift.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Eight, seven. And I'm saying eight, seven because, I mean, you're genuinely excited just to see anyone who comes new to the game.

Jay Shetty

Yeah. Larry David.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Oh, yeah.

Advertiser/Announcer

8.

Karl-Anthony Towns

He was awesome.

Jay Shetty

Jerry Seinfeld.

Karl-Anthony Towns

8.

Jay Shetty

Donald Trump.

Karl-Anthony Towns

He wasn't courtside, so that was a trick question.

Jay Shetty

Jimmy Fallon.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Oh, eight.

Jay Shetty

That's awesome. You did great.

Karl-Anthony Towns

All these people are great. I just feel like those nines is like Ben. Ben is such a iconic Knicks fan and also he's just such an amazing guy. So I feel like he's a nine. I feel like Spike Lee's a nine. I'm gonna give him a shout out. Al Pelagonia is a nine.

Jay Shetty

Okay.

Karl-Anthony Towns

And he knows exactly why. The only person that would be a 10 I get excited is Jordan. I only get a. I get a 10 for. Jordan's the only one who gets a 10.

Jay Shetty

That's beautiful, man. I love that.

Karl-Anthony Towns

I'm just happy my dad's there, so I'm super happy. I would say he's a 10 to my dad, but in Jordan, I'm blessed to say this. And I had a guy who told a friend of mine who told me this. He's a pastor, and he said, I love how normal it is for you to see your dad. That's something I never got to live.

Jay Shetty

Wow.

Karl-Anthony Towns

So I think for me, it's a. I would say I'm more grateful as at a 10 to see my dad at the games. I'm always excited to see him at the games, but I love and I'm blessed that it's a normal thing and to see Jordan at my games, it gets me really excited. I mean, that's my best friend. So that's the only one that gets a 10.

Jay Shetty

What a great answer. I'm glad I asked you all of that. Only you would take it to that level.

Podcast Host (Ad Read)

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Jay Shetty

Now I'm getting to know you a little bit today. I'm like, only you would take it that level. I want to focus the last few questions on mindset. When you're in the playoffs, when you're down and out, it felt like every game you guys were the underdogs. Yeah.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Every series.

Jay Shetty

Every series.

Podcast Host (Ad Read)

Like, you guys are behind.

Jay Shetty

You're coming back. How do you, like, from a pure mental performance perspective or even. I mean, you're a philosopher. So go there if you want to go there. But how do you find that gear when you're down and you're the underdog? What are you doing? Where are you. Where are you finding that extra gear?

Karl-Anthony Towns

Just competitive nature, just not wanting to lose, not wanting to let down the city, these fans. I mean it when I said it before, after the game, too, like, they're putting their nine to fives life savings. They think it's a joke. They're kids. Tuition on the line to watch us play at msg. You don't want them to go away and not feel like they got a show or at least had something to cheer for. It's our duty as Players. It's our job as players to make sure that we continue to give them something to cheer for. And as men, as competitors, you know, you know, every day in New York, your respect is on the line, and you have to continue to earn it every single day. They don't care about what happened last game. They care about what's happening today. And every day, you gotta go and earn your respect. Yeah, they're tough fans, and they're the best fans. And look what those fans did for us now. Every day, that kind of, I would say, positive fear. It makes you get on that court and do everything you can to earn their respect. And in doing that, you get one percent better. You get one percent better. You get 1% better. And now you're sitting at a parade yesterday, you know, and our fans always show up. If they see the work and effort you're putting in, every single day, they're gonna make sure that you feel welcomed and you feel. You feel special.

Jay Shetty

Everything I've learned from you today, I'm like, you're so present, so intentional. What does your prep look like for a big playoff game? What is your morning routine, evening routine? Walk me through how you're.

Karl-Anthony Towns

I'm not gonna lie. The routine's the same regardless, even in a playoff.

Jay Shetty

What is it? What is it?

Karl-Anthony Towns

Be the first one at the gym. If we have shoot around at 11, I'll be there at 7, work on my body four hours earlier. Yeah, work on my body and stuff like that. Turn the lights on in the practice facility, maybe get a lift, go and shoot on the court before, shoot around, do the shoot around, shoot a little bit after, go back home, have some pasta, have a smoothie, get sleep, wake up an hour before I have to leave, shower, get relaxed, play some music, get dressed, head out to the game. And the game's what, at 7:30? I'll usually get there around like 4:30, 4:15. I'll be the first one there and just work on my body again. Get treatment, get warmed up, feel good mentally, be engaged before the game. Honestly, I could be doing anything other than basketball. It's always like everything but basketball. Like, you know, when I'm there in that time, I'll watch the tape, make sure I understand my opponents a little better. Maybe like little things that I could pick up on the court to help lead us on defense and offensively made me see little things that change up. So kind of coaching on the court as well. Relaying back to the coaches, hey, they're about to be in zone. They're about to be a man. They're about to trap. They're about to do this. And how do we want to adjust to that? Helping JB out as much as possible and doing all the logistical work out there. Yeah. And after that, it's really such different things in basketball. Could be looking at sports cards. Could be looking at trading cards. Could be talking to Jordan about something completely different than basketball. It could be watching YouTube. I could be watching highlights, YouTube, golf. I could be watching the podcast, you know, so I could be doing a lot. So I do everything other than the basketball part and just kind of get my mind away. Cause I'm gonna have enough time to be in the present. Cause once I'm locked in, I'm locked in. And Jordan says, this is the first year of all my years. And I've actually acknowledged her in the game. Cause I'm so locked in that you're talking about, you know, what was the game about? The celebrity row? I don't see anybody.

Podcast Host (Ad Read)

Yeah, yeah.

Karl-Anthony Towns

I don't see anybod. I don't see the fans. I don't see none of that. It's all just shadows to me. And all I see is this court that's lit with 10 people on it are playing basketball, and that's all I see. So there's people. You were saying there. I was like, I don't think they come. Like, great story is we are playing in San Antonio, and Timmy, Timmy is my guy. Timmy's like my white brother that I didn't know I had. So I'm talking to Timothee Chalamet, and he. He was like, carl, you are so locked in all the time. I know you don't be seeing me. And I said, yeah, so, Timmy, I didn't know you were in San Antonio. Timmy goes, carl, I was one. One seat away from you in chrome heart jeans, and you didn't even notice me. And I was looking at you and screaming, and you were so zoned out. I said, timmy, I swear to God, I didn't even know you were at the game. Timmy was like, at the end of our bench, there's a seat right here. He's literally right next to me in every photo, he's right next to me. I have no idea Timmy's there. And Timmy told me, after the game, Jordan calls me. She was like, hey, did you and Timmy talk after the game? He was at the game. I said, what game? Like, what are you talking about? And we have a group chat, and Timmy's like, yo, I was Right next to you, bro. I promise you, I was right next to you. He shows me a whole Getty image, and we're next to each other, and I'm like, oh, my God, I'm so sorry. I didn't want you to be like. I'm just. He's like, bro, no, I know that we see each other all the time. We're having dinners and stuff, and he always brings up. He goes, I've never realized how locked in someone can be until I've been with you. And you're like, literally, when you say you don't see anybody, you see nobody.

Jay Shetty

That's awesome, man.

Karl-Anthony Towns

You see nobody. And the only person I ever see on the court, on the sidelines is Jordan. Other than Jordan, I see nobody. And Jordan will look at me, and I'll look at her, and she'll be like, you're doing great. And I'm like, maybe I'm not doing great.

Jay Shetty

She's like, you're doing great.

Karl-Anthony Towns

I'm like, no, I'm not. I'm not doing that good right now, but I'm gonna pick it up right now. So she's always a sense of encouragement for me, or also saying that I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to do. Stay in this mindset.

Jay Shetty

I love that visual you just painted of how you see nothing else apart from 10 guys.

Karl-Anthony Towns

I see nothing but the corpse.

Jay Shetty

That's it.

Karl-Anthony Towns

A light on the court and 10 people. And then the court feels like. So, you know, it feels like a massive court to start the game. And then as the game goes, it gets. It gets shorter and shorter. And then all of a sudden, I feel like, you know, it's not that much of runs that we're doing as the game goes along, as you get more accustomed. You know, we say we get comfortable until you ease into the game.

Jay Shetty

We love seeing you in a Knicks jersey, but I know the Dominican jersey means a lot to you. Yes. Yes, it does.

Karl-Anthony Towns

It does.

Jay Shetty

How much would it feel to put on that jersey and take it to the Olympics?

Karl-Anthony Towns

I would love it. That's one of my. That's one of my dreams, man. I just was able to accomplish my dream here in America. I won an NBA championship. But to be able to take the Dominican team to the Olympics would be one of my greatest honors.

Jay Shetty

Yeah, it'd be amazing to see you do that, man.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Like I said, it's on God's timing, but I feel our time is coming. I feel that the island deserves to see themselves on that Olympic. Yeah.

Jay Shetty

I wanted to ask you also about someone that you knew well. People loved him for his music. You knew him as a person. Mac Miller.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Miller, yeah. My brother.

Jay Shetty

Yes.

Karl-Anthony Towns

I love him.

Jay Shetty

Was there anything he said to you? Anything? A lesson, a message, a conversation you had with him that stayed with you because you noticed so much about these people and carry them in your heart?

Karl-Anthony Towns

He was really my favorite artist of all time.

Jay Shetty

Wow.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Of all time. And before I even knew him, he was my favorite artist. I bought the merch. I went to Spencer's. I went to Hot Topic. I had pictures of my mom wearing his merch. You know, maybe it was something he said. If you're asked, there's a bunch of things he just taught me. How to just live life, be yourself. People always will appreciate that from you. Cause he always. You see, when he passed, everyone had good things to say about him. He was just so genuine in his approach to people. And I remember he would show me, you know, music he had been working on and unreleased songs. I still haven't seen the light of day. And he would show me. I'm like, man, this is great, man. This is so good. It could be taken as a way of thinking about life, but he was only looking at the music. He goes, man, everything sounds good loud. But when there's no noise, how does it sound? And I think, in a way, in life, I think for me, it's like when you're in front of the cameras and there's a bunch of noise and cameras and reporters seeing you do these amazing things, of course everyone wants to say it's awesome, it looks great. But when there's no cameras there, when the noise is low, low, are you willing to still be that person? Are you willing to still do those things for people that people say you do? Even when there's not reported and you get none of the shine or none of the marketing from it or anything, Are you really this person that they say or not? Maybe he was onto something. I'm just thinking about it now, sitting with you. I'm sitting down thinking about you. It could be taken as a life lesson.

Jay Shetty

I think that's a great life lesson. I think that's the most important one. I just got a message. Message from someone that when I first started my career, they had a big radio show and they invited me on in London, and I was, like, just starting out, and he just messaged me, and I was. I was helping him out with something now. And he goes, dude, the reason why I love you is because you still remember how I Helped you out back then. And I was like, yeah, man, how can I forget? Like, you know, for me, that was like, one of the biggest moments of my career.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Yes.

Jay Shetty

And so to me, that's what life is made of. It's like those memories and moments of. Of what you built with people and they stayed with you when you had nothing, and they'll be with you when you have everything.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Oh, man. Had nothing again for sure. When I was coming up, I remember being on the newspaper where I'm from, and Mr. Haley, I'll never forget, he texted me the other day, and he was telling me about how it was awesome to see your journey when you were growing up. Covering my dad in his high school when he was playing, and then covering my dad again as a coach and now got to cover me as a player and coming up under as his son. John was just talking about it, and he was just saying, like, after the thing, he, you know, he would never expect me to reach back out to him. And I was like, no, just text me. And I appreciate you, and I just thank him for giving me those chances. Because at that time, like you said, it was the biggest moment in my career to be in your city's newspaper, to be in that newspaper in Central Jersey is. I was. I was like, man, I'm on top of the world, man. You know, So I never forget that.

Jay Shetty

Carl, I could talk to you for hours, honestly, like that. You're. You're. You're my type of human.

Karl-Anthony Towns

I appreciate you.

Jay Shetty

The thoughtfulness, the reflection, the amount you've learned from every single person in your life is. It's really unbelievable. I can't wait for you to write a book one day. Go into all of this. I'm being serious.

Karl-Anthony Towns

How many. A few words from you to.

Jay Shetty

I'm right there to help you. Honestly, I feel like you have so much to offer, so much to give. I'm so excited for all the young people that look up to you and admire you and can learn from you in all facets of life. But we end every episode of On Purpose with a final or five. These questions have to be answered in one sentence maximum, and we ask it to every guest on the show. Okay.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Okay. So five questions in one sentence.

Jay Shetty

Yeah. Carl Anthony Townsends, these are your final five. The first question is, what is the best advice you've ever heard or received

Karl-Anthony Towns

live in the present because the future is not guaranteed.

Jay Shetty

Second question, what is the worst advice you've ever heard or received?

Karl-Anthony Towns

You can't do this without me.

Jay Shetty

That's a great one. Who said that? Can you tell us?

Karl-Anthony Towns

A lot of people. Name one.

Jay Shetty

That's a great answer. Question number three. What's something that you used to value that you don't value anymore?

Karl-Anthony Towns

I thought money would solve all problems and it would make me the happiest version of myself. I got the money, didn't save my mom, didn't save my family members, so what good was it? The money never brought the happiness. It was the fact that the money bought the vacation to bring the people. So if you think about the people was bringing the happiness, never the money. Money realized it didn't mean that much and it really never did. It's always been about people. Humans have always came from interaction and we've always found wealth in that. And somewhere in the line we thought currency was going to change the value of human interaction. And it's always going to be the number one thing you could do in your life is listening, talking, interacting.

Jay Shetty

Question number four. This is about overthinking, thinking. Repeat after me and complete the sentence. I think I think too much about.

Karl-Anthony Towns

I think I think too much about the things that I can't handle or can't control.

Jay Shetty

Fifth and final question. We ask this to every guest who's ever been on the show. If you could create one law that everyone in the world had to follow, what would it be?

Karl-Anthony Towns

Treat people the way you want to be treated. Simple. If you do that simply, we should be just fine.

Jay Shetty

Yeah.

Karl-Anthony Towns

I don't know where along the way way we started adding all these stipulations and stuff, but it was just a simple rule. Simple law. Treat people how you would like to be treated. We'll all be in a better spot.

Jay Shetty

Amazing. I have something I want to gift to you, actually. Is it.

Podcast Host (Ad Read)

Oh, it's there.

Jay Shetty

You want to bring it in? Throw it.

Podcast Host (Ad Read)

Throw it. Well, yeah.

Jay Shetty

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Podcast Host (Ad Read)

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Jay Shetty

And I don't think you've seen this yet.

Karl-Anthony Towns

No, I have not. So guava lemonade. That is my favorites, actually.

Jay Shetty

You were telling me guava earlier. Yes. Who is it that got you on a guava?

Karl-Anthony Towns

Jada Picket Smith.

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Karl-Anthony Towns

Auntie Smith. Auntie Jada.

Jay Shetty

Yeah.

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Karl-Anthony Towns

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Karl-Anthony Towns

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Karl-Anthony Towns

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Jay Shetty

Carl. Anti Times Champion.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Appreciate congratulations. Thank you. Man.