Timberwolves and Karl-Anthony Towns meet again, this time in his new place of work

NEW YORK – Clutching the signed jersey that Anthony Edwards gave him after the Knicks’ 115-110 preseason victory over the Timberwolves, new Knick Karl-Anthony Towns talked about the “wild” day he had facing his former team only two weeks after a trade ended Towns’ nine-year tenure in Minnesota.

“It was a lot of emotions,” Towns said. “Some amazing moments and times in nine years of my life in Minnesota, a place that I’ve called home. Guys who are not just teammates to me but brothers. We were like brothers. It definitely was a wild day, definitely coming to work.”

Towns spent part of Saturday hanging out with Edwards, and Edwards told him he had better get Towns’ jersey after the game. The two also swapped sneakers and posed for a picture, wide smiles across their faces.

There was always a good relationship between Towns and Edwards, even as Edwards became the organization’s top priority in recent seasons, taking a spot Towns had held since the team took him No. 1 overall in 2015. Their relationship never faltered in the face of outside chatter that might have driven other teammates apart.

“It was special. He’s a special person,” Towns said. “I think the feeling’s mutual. It just meant a lot to see him. Since Day 1, I’ve only wanted to see him do well and reach his potential and exceed that in the NBA. To see the trajectory he’s on makes me proud.”

Said Edwards: “I told him I don’t care who you already told you’re giving your jersey to, I gotta have it. He pretty much just moved everybody else out the way and let me get the jersey. I appreciate him.”

Edwards said playing against Towns, even in a preseason game, was one of the “best feelings” he’s had on an NBA court. Towns, who finished with 16 points and 16 rebounds, enjoyed it, too. He pointed at Edwards after hitting a three-pointer over him in the second half.

“I told him yesterday I was gonna do it,” Towns said.

Then he added a playful jab to Edwards, who had 31 points in 27 minutes.

“Ant hit a floater from the free-throw line,” Towns said. “Shoutout to him.”

As in, he was stunned to see Edwards make that type of shot.

There were plenty of hugs pregame for Towns, who embraced a lot of teammates and coach Chris Finch before tipoff. There was a bear hug for Naz Reid, a few hugs for Rudy Gobert, whom Towns beat for the opening tip. For old time’s sake, the Wolves even challenged a foul call involving Towns and lost it.

Before the game, Finch said what he appreciated most about Towns’ Wolves tenure was the very beginning and the end. Towns welcomed Finch with open arms to the organization when Finch took the job in February 2021.

“A joy to coach,” Finch said. “He had been through four or five coaches, seven general managers at that point. He didn’t have to listen to anybody. But that’s not who he is. That’s not how he is. All along the way, [he did] just whatever we asked him to do.”

Like moving to the four, or power forward, when the Wolves made the trade for Gobert. Finch said Towns’ best and most selfless basketball came last season in the playoffs, when the team asked him to guard Kevin Durant and Nikola Jokic in the first two rounds.

He also appreciated Towns’ attitude in making room for the growth of Edwards and Reid.

“I thought KAT was super magnanimous in watching Anthony’s growth and allowing for it,” Finch said. “… KAT never viewed any of that as a threat. He was always happy and positive for those guys, too.”

Finch said seeing Towns in a different uniform was “a little weird” before saying it “looked good on him.” Sunday was part of a longer acclimation process to Towns not being in Minnesota anymore. The teams will meet twice during the regular season, with Towns returning to Minnesota on Dec. 19.

“It’s like a death in the family in some ways,” Finch said. “You got to make it through that first year, and everything is going to be a little odd.”

Said Towns: “The game of basketball, the business of basketball is going to just keep going. It doesn’t matter how you feel. It doesn’t matter how life is treating you. You got to come here ready every day. Put your city on the map and do the best you can for your teammates and your organization.”

That city has a new ZIP code. Sunday’s game drove that home for good.