Karl-Anthony Towns returns to Knicks after death of family friend
Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns is grateful the organization allowed him time to mourn the death of family friend Sarah Holtzman on Wednesday night. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
LOS ANGELES —It sadly has become a too normal part of Karl-Anthony Towns’ NBA life and his real life outside of the lines, dealing with loss and navigating his focus between his play on the floor and family and friends off of it.
“Yeah, for sure,” Towns said after the Knicks’ morning shootaround at UCLA. “They always question how your knees feel and all that, but they never question how you’re doing. So this is one of those moments where I had to be there for my family and be there for the kids that lost somebody really special to them.
“I don’t really want to talk about it, but I do appreciate the organization. My teammates giving me so much grace and support through the time when I really needed [it]. So I really appreciate that a lot to allow me to go through what I got to go through . . . The job isn’t forgiving, but it’s what we signed up for.”
Towns was on the court with the Knicks on Thursday morning after being with family and friends to mourn the loss of a friend, Sarah Holtzman, who passed away this week. Towns missed the Knicks’ loss to Golden State on Tuesday night.
Towns has gone through this before, having lost his mother and other family members and friends to COVID, but going through it before doesn’t make it easier.
“I mean, I want to say that all the losses I’ve had have taught me how to appreciate life and find joy in the work,” he said. “Not many people have a chance to have this job and be able to play basketball for a living. And the problems have arisen in my life and stuff, I know that if people were in my shoes, they’d be extremely joyful to have the problems that I have, so . . . just stay focused and it’s made me a better man. And with my mom, I utilized that experience when it came to this one, because losing a mom is tough.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
