Karl-Anthony Towns and his father, Karl Towns Sr., were motivated by heartbreak and determination to get the job done.
It’s important to note that the championship journey of the New York Knicks didn’t start on Opening Night, or the first game of the postseason, or Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
It began many years ago with a basketball, a father and a son. Because that’s how basketball success stories are usually launched, when the son is introduced to the game once the father brings home a ball and points to the hoop in the driveway or the playground.
These innocent rituals happen hundreds of thousands of times daily around the country and across economic statuses, races and regions, and they whet an appetite that becomes insatiable. Suddenly, a pair of bonds take root — the relationship between the father and son grow stronger, and the link with the game grows fonder.
If the father and son manage to beat the incredible odds, they will celebrate an NBA championship together, much like Rick Brunson did with Jalen, and Karl Towns Sr. did with Karl-Anthony, and so on when the Knicks took the title last week.
And that’s the foundation of the Knicks’ championship. In the 53 years between their last title in 1973 and now, a half-dozen father-son dynamics were quietly developing to one day pave the way for a ticker-tape parade on June 18, 2026.
Therefore, this must be stressed: While the sons made this Knicks championship happen, the fathers made their championship possible.
A quality investment
Listen in as broadcasters from around the world call OG’s Game 4 putback!
Suppose that a father, shortly after immigrating to the United States, ignored his son’s pleas for a basketball? This particular father, a single parent, and his seven children were from London, where basketball isn’t very popular. Plus, the father was a college professor and in those situations, parents often may prefer their children concentrate on education, not hoops.
If he ignored the son, then who else would’ve tipped in that winning basket to cap a thrilling and historic 29-point comeback in Game 4 against the San Antonio Spurs? Because it wouldn’t have been OG Anunoby.
OG was eight when he begged Dr. Ogugua Anunoby Sr. for a driveway hoop that was a luxury for such a large family on a budget. The father eventually caved and bought it, but with a stipulation.
“I said to him, ‘You have to promise to actually use it. You will make sure that we have value for money.’ It turns out, it was a very good investment,” the father said.
Was it ever. The family came from England by way of Nigeria. OG’s mother died when he was a toddler. Her husband needed their children to find an escape once they relocated to the States, if only to give him a break.
OG developed quickly in basketball, became a collegiate star at Indiana, a promising player with the Toronto Raptors, and now, a champ with the Knicks.
His tip-in is one of the iconic plays in New York sports history. Perhaps he practiced it on that driveway hoop, undoubtedly the greatest gift from his father.
Hoops and heartbreak
Fathers and sons, sharing success … and sometimes setbacks. Four years ago, Mitchell Robinson’s father went missing, and the son panicked. He asked the public for help. He even pleaded directly to his father through social media: “Don’t know a place the devil will hide you … come home pops.”
Mitchell Sr. was found safely and shortly after, strangely enough, a routine traffic stop.
Then Robinson rushed to the aid of his father-like figure — his high school coach, Butch Stockton. He had discovered a young Robinson walking around the neighborhood one day, a tall teenager who, at that time, had never touched a basketball.
Stockton went to Robinson’s mother and sold her on changing high schools for her son and being coached by him. It was life-changing as well. Robinson was understandably raw and late to skill development. But he was a seven-footer with an instinct for defense.
Years later, Robinson became a second-round draft pick and overcame the odds to make the Knicks. And not long after that, Stockton’s wife died from cancer.
Almost immediately, Robinson dialed his coach and said: “Come to New York with me.” Stockton lived with Robinson in the Knicks center’s condo for the entire next year.
Stockton said: “He definitely gave me strength at that time. My relationship with Mitch wasn’t just a coach and player relationship. I felt like he was one of my own.”
Robinson explained: “He helped me get to where I’m at, so I helped him.”
Robinson helped the Knicks as a layer of defense against Victor Wembanyama, sealing the championship with a handful of crucial defensive plays and rebounds in Game 5.
Bonding through hoops … and tragedy
Jalen Brunson (20 points), Mikal Bridges (20 points) and Karl-Anthony Towns (21 points, 13 rebounds) combine for 61 in Game 2 win.
Sometimes fathers and sons go on the journey alone, or in the case of Towns, after his mom, Jacqueline, died in 2020 due to complications from Covid-19. The father and son hugged it out after the Knicks won Game 2, after Karl-Anthony fared well in that NBA Finals game, and dedicated the performance to her.
When Karl-Anthony was a young boy, his father coached basketball in New Jersey and did so for almost two decades. Often, Karl-Anthony tagged along to games. That story of a basketball, a father and son helped Karl-Anthony make it to the Knicks … and it helped that he grew to seven feet and developed a shooting touch (thanks to the father’s instruction).
“It’s surreal to see my son hold the Larry O’Brien Trophy after all the things he went through,” said Karl Sr. “I can’t express how I feel as a dad. As a parent you want to see good things happen for your kid. To see him where he is now, on top of the world, this is one of the biggest moments of my life.”
The fact his son thrived while playing against Wembanyama made the title even more satisfying.
“I didn’t have any doubt my son could hold his own,” the father said.
Timely fatherly advice
Fathers and sons and basketball aren’t just restricted to the court. One son wanted to coach high school basketball, but his father urged him to study law as well because, as he said, “law school helps you think clearly, concisely.”
Zev Rose added: “At least get a law degree and you have something to fall back on.”
Therefore, Leon Rose took Zev’s advice and, upon graduating, worked as a prosecutor in South Jersey. He then became a litigator in his father’s law firm before getting into sports law.
Ultimately, Leon Rose became one of the NBA’s power brokers at CAA Sports — he was LeBron James’ first agent — and years later received an offer that changed his life. It was from James Dolan, chairman of the Knicks, asking if Rose wanted to pivot and move into an NBA front office.
It was understandable, then, that Knicks president Leon Rose — who built this championship team mostly through shrewd trades — had his father along for the championship run. The two had a moment, a uniquely different one, when that championship was officially clinched.
As he did when he celebrated his son’s games in high school, Zev Rose held a victory cigar, always unlit, since he doesn’t smoke.
The Brunsons’ bond
Finals MVP Jalen Brunson talks about winning an NBA title with his father, Rick, serving as an assistant coach.
When Rose was an agent, his first client was Rick Brunson, who also went to Temple, like Leon. Strange how that relationship turned out in the end. Brunson was a journeyman guard during his NBA playing days. But his son, Jalen, is a New York City sports legend after earning NBA Finals MVP honors.
The Brunson father-son story is well worn by now, like a bald tire. Theirs was the most photographed embrace in the aftermath of the Knicks’ win. It was the most meaningful as well since it involved a Knicks assistant coach and the star who closed out the series with a 45-point performance.
Rick Brunson joined the Knicks’ staff one month before his son arrived from the Dallas Mavericks in free agency. Had he not played the main role in getting Jalen to New York three years ago — another example of great advice from a father to his son — where would the Knicks be right now? Here’s the very likely answer: Watching their championship drought stretch to a 54th season.
As they celebrated together, their thoughts went back to the playgrounds when the two of them, alone on a court, went through drills, not knowing how those hours then would pay off today.
“Everyone sees the videos of me and him in the park, and him yelling at me, getting on me, but no one saw the conversations after the fact or before, saying, ‘Is this what you want to do for a living?’” Jalen Brunson said.
“And the answer was always yes. Everyone thinks he kind of forced basketball upon me, but it was something that I chose to do, and he had the study guide, he had the blueprint.”
Dolan’s vision realized
Knicks owner James Dolan (center) celebrates as the team wins the 2026 NBA title.
There’s another father whose role in the Knicks’ victory must be documented: the father who made it all possible.
This father dropped out of college and began producing films in his home in Cleveland and sold them to television stations. From there he moved to New York City and wired buildings for cable TV, a novelty in the 1960s.
Ultimately, he created HBO (known then as “The Green Channel”), the first premium cable channel. He later formed Cablevision, a titan in the industry. In 1994, realizing the far-reaching value of sports franchises and properties, he purchased the Knicks and Madison Square Garden.
Charles Dolan was a visionary and an entertainment legend. His son, James, assumed the family business and grew it into a colossus. The only missing piece to the conglomerate was an NBA championship.
But no more. The story of the 2026 New York Knicks is about the Game 4 tip in, Brunson’s Finals MVP run, Rose’s trades that created a championship roster, Towns stretching the floor with his shooting and more … all of which made possible by fathers.
That’s worth mentioning on this, of all days. Father’s Day.
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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA since 1985. You can e-mail him at spowell@nba.com, find his archive here and follow him on X.
