Karl Anthony-Towns Reps Philadelphia Eagles on Bench for 76ers-Knicks

Knicks All-Star Karl Anthony-Towns repped the Philadelphia Eagles on Wednesday.
Jan 12, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) reacts during the first quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Jan 12, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) reacts during the first quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Karl Anthony-Towns had a chance to suit up and play for the New York Knicks against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday.

Instead, Towns took the night off as he deals with a thumb injury.

When Towns joined his teammates on the visiting team’s bench at the Wells Fargo Center, he stood out like a sore thumb. Rocking Kelly green colors, it was easy to see Towns was representing the Philadelphia Eagles.

Despite being a member of the Knicks, who play in a city filled with Giants and Jets fans, Towns’ Eagles fandom is well-known. He’s been repping the Eagles since his earliest NBA days with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

As a New Jersey-born big man, Towns chose to root for the Eagles over the New York/New Jersey-based franchises. He might be a member of the Sixers’ rival, but Towns typically gets applauded by the City of Brotherly Love for showing support for the Eagles, just like his All-Star teammate, Jalen Brunson.

Towns switched out of the Eagles gear by the second half, favoring his hoops team, but the message was clear: He’ll be supporting his NFL squad ahead of the Divisional Round of the 2025 NFL Playoffs.

Last week, the Eagles opened up their playoff run with a matchup against the Green Bay Packers at home. The two teams found similar results to their outing from Week 1. The Eagles might’ve started the season with a matchup against Green Bay, but it didn’t end that way. The same can’t be said about the Packers.

A 22-10 Philadelphia win allowed the Eagles to advance to round two. On Sunday, the Eagles will host the Los Angeles Rams. The two teams are slated for a 3 PM ET kickoff.

As for the Knicks, they looked to bounce back against the Sixers two nights after falling short against the Detroit Pistons at home. Neither side had their star bigs, as Joel Embiid and Towns missed the matchup.

Perhaps they'll battle it out again later this year. The next meeting between the two division rivals will take place on February 26 in New York.

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Title: Credentialed writer/reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation Email: JustinGrasso32@Gmail.com Location: Philadelphia, PA Expertise: Reporting, insight, and analysis on the Sixers and the NBA  Justin Grasso is a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation.  Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association.  Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoNBA