Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns land All-NBA selections for Knicks
The Knicks won their most regular-season games in 12 years, and they were rewarded for that accomplishment.
For the first time since the 2011-12 season, two of their players were selected as All-NBA selections. Jalen Brunson made the second team and Karl-Anthony Towns the third team. For Brunson, it was his second consecutive second-team selection, while Towns has been on the third team three times now.
The two have led the Knicks to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2000.
Advertisement
An offseason acquisition from the Timberwolves, Towns has been a strong addition, putting up averages of 24.4 points and a career-high 12.8 rebounds while shooting 42 percent from 3-point range during the regular season.
Jalen Brunson (left) and Karl-Anthony Towns both qualified for All NBA teams.
Jason Szenes for the New York Post
'Any time you can do something special here in the city in New York, obviously it's magnified by five,' Towns said prior to the start of the series against the Pacers. 'To find success here in New York is something that is not for everyone, and it's something that is very difficult to do.'
Advertisement
Brunson, the NBA's Clutch Player of the Year, received two first-team votes, 62 second-team votes and 36 third-team votes. The first team was made up of MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Thunder, Nikola Jokic of the Nuggets, Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks, Jayson Tatum of the Celtics and Donovan Mitchell of the Cavaliers.
Brunson was joined on the second team by Anthony Edwards of the Timberwolves, LeBron James of the Lakers, Stephen Curry of the Warriors and Evan Mobley of the Cavaliers. Towns, who received 40 second-team votes and 52 third-team votes, was on the third team alongside Cade Cunningham of the Pistons, Tyrese Haliburton of the Pacers, Jalen Williams of the Thunder and James Harden of the Clippers.
Jalen Brunson talks to reporters before Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals.
Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
In what has been an up-and-down postseason for Towns, he helped lead the Knicks past the Celtics, coming up big in the clinching Game 6. He started off the Pacers series with a 35-point effort.
Advertisement
Follow The Post's coverage of the Knicks in the 2025 NBA Playoffs
Sports+ subscribers: Sign up for Inside the Knicks to get daily newsletter coverage and join Expert Take for insider texts about the series.
It was, meanwhile, another stellar season for Brunson, who has changed so much about these Knicks upon his arrival. They have won at least one round of the playoffs in each of his three seasons, and he has developed into one of the sport's premier guards. Not bad for a second-round pick who most thought was a career backup after a terrific run at Villanova.
He's been critical to the Knicks advancing this far and coming from behind in seven of their playoff victories. His clutch 3-pointer eliminated the Pistons in the final seconds of Game 6 and he was the best player on the floor in the upset of the Celtics in the second round.
Advertisement
'It's a focus that I need to have in that element,' Brunson said earlier this postseason. 'Can't really worry about what happened previously in the game. It's all about focusing and having a clear mind, just trying to win the game. That's just my mindset. I wouldn't be able to without my teammates.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
10 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Game 2: Thunder will try to tie up the NBA Finals, while Pacers will seek complete control of series
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will almost certainly reach a milestone on Sunday night. The reigning NBA MVP from the Thunder enters Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers just two points away from 3,000 for the season, including the regular season and playoffs. That's a total that has been reached 24 other times in league history — 10 by Michael Jordan, five by Wilt Chamberlain and once by nine other players. Gilgeous-Alexander would be the 12th to reach the milestone. But there's a bigger milestone that Gilgeous-Alexander would like to get Sunday as well: His first finals win. That'll be his only priority in Game 2. 'I said this so many times, I don't play for the individual stuff,' Gilgeous-Alexander said. 'I don't play for anything else besides winning. I never have in my whole life.' The Thunder, the NBA's top overall seed entering the playoffs after going 68-14 in the regular season, lost Game 1 to the Pacers on Thursday night 111-110 — and with it, lost the home-court advantage in this series as well. If the Pacers win Game 2, they'll likely become overwhelming favorites. Only two teams — the 1993 Chicago Bulls and 1995 Houston Rockets — won the first two games of a finals on the road, and both went on to win the NBA title in those seasons. And teams that open the finals with a 2-0 lead go on to win the series 86.5% of the time (32 times in 37 chances). 'The journey to get here all year has not been about getting to the finals,' Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton said. 'It's a day at a time, especially after the start of the year. And it's hard — we have social media and friends and family that tell us all the numbers of if you can win the two games at home, whatever it will look like, or on the road or whatever the case.' ___
Hamilton Spectator
13 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Game 2: Thunder will try to tie up the NBA Finals, while Pacers will seek complete control of series
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will almost certainly reach a milestone on Sunday night. The reigning NBA MVP from the Thunder enters Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers just two points away from 3,000 for the season, including the regular season and playoffs. That's a total that has been reached 24 other times in league history — 10 by Michael Jordan, five by Wilt Chamberlain and once by nine other players. Gilgeous-Alexander would be the 12th to reach the milestone. But there's a bigger milestone that Gilgeous-Alexander would like to get Sunday as well: His first finals win. That'll be his only priority in Game 2. 'I said this so many times, I don't play for the individual stuff,' Gilgeous-Alexander said. 'I don't play for anything else besides winning. I never have in my whole life.' The Thunder, the NBA's top overall seed entering the playoffs after going 68-14 in the regular season, lost Game 1 to the Pacers on Thursday night 111-110 — and with it, lost the home-court advantage in this series as well. If the Pacers win Game 2, they'll likely become overwhelming favorites. Only two teams — the 1993 Chicago Bulls and 1995 Houston Rockets — won the first two games of a finals on the road, and both went on to win the NBA title in those seasons. And teams that open the finals with a 2-0 lead go on to win the series 86.5% of the time (32 times in 37 chances). 'The journey to get here all year has not been about getting to the finals,' Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton said. 'It's a day at a time, especially after the start of the year. And it's hard — we have social media and friends and family that tell us all the numbers of if you can win the two games at home, whatever it will look like, or on the road or whatever the case.' The series will shift to Indianapolis for Games 3 and 4 on Wednesday and Friday. ___ AP NBA:
Newsweek
20 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Best NBA Finals Game 2 Player Props: Pacers F Obi Toppin To Stay Hot?
Amid a recent spike in playing time and after scoring 35 points in his last two games, Obi Toppin's points are a tempting NBA Finals Game 2 player prop option. Amid a recent spike in playing time and after scoring 35 points in his last two games, Obi Toppin's points are a tempting NBA Finals Game 2 player prop option. Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Even if you agree with the oddsmakers, who expect the Thunder to comfortably beat the Pacers at home in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, the player prop markets for tonight's game offer plenty of intriguing options. Stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyrese Haliburton will (understanably) be popular options, but it's Pacers backup Obi Toppin who strikes me as one of the highest-upside plays in this game. In addition to Toppin, I also like Jalen Williams to bounce back after a tough Game 1 Obi Toppin o10.5 Points (+100 at bet365) -- 1 unit Toppin has had an up-and-down playoffs for the Pacers, and he was quiet in Games 1-4 vs. the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals, with just 25 total points in those games. But including his hot night from outside in Game 1 of the NBA Finals last week, Toppin has now scored 11, 18 and 17 points in his last three games, and he's played 25-plus minutes in back-to-back huge games for the Pacers. While his hot shooting from 3-point land in Game 1 vs. the Thunder was almost certainly an outlier (he shot 5-for-8 from deep in that game after making 12-of-42 3-pointers in his first 16 playoff games this year), his substantial role vs. the deep, athletic Thunder makes him a tempting bet to have another solid scoring night. At 6-foot-9 and 220 pounds, Toppin has the athleticism to thrive in this series, and he should continue to play a key role (whether he continues to knock down 3-pointers or not) vs. OKC thanks to what he gives the Pacers as a rebounder and in transition. Obviously, a decent scoring night for Toppin will be well within reach if he's able to hit a few more shots from outside. But he should also be able to attack closeouts and get enough looks in transition tonight to cash this prop, even if OKC prevents him from having another big shooting night. Jalen Williams o21.5 Points (-108 at FD) -- 1 unit Whether Williams bounces back tonight will be huge for the Thunder as they look to take control of this series. He finished Game 1 with a solid 17 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists. But his 6-for-19 night from the floor (5-for-15 on 2-pointers, 1-for-4 from 3) was a big reason OKC came up just short. Outside of a few ugly offensive games vs. the Nuggets in the Western Conference Semifinals, Williams has had a good postseason, with 20.2 points per game on 44.8 FG shooting. Those averages alone are good reason to expect a strong Game 2 from Williams. There's also an encouraging trend in how Williams has played after his worst shooting performances this postseason. Against Denver, he followed up a 5-for-20 dud in Game 1 with 17 points on 6-for-11 shooting in just 26 minutes in Game 2. And with his team's season on the line vs. Denver following a disastrous 3-for-16 night in Game 6, Williams responded with 24 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists on 10-for-17 FG shooting in Game 7. Williams also went off for 34 points in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals vs. the Timberwolves (including 14 in the fourth quarter) after a 13-point dud in OKC's blowout loss two nights earlier. Expect Williams' shot volume and usage rate (19 FGA, 23.7 usage rate in Game 1) to remain substantial tonight. He should -- at minium -- also shoot much better on 2-pointers in Game 2 than 33 percent. He's made over 50 percent of his 2-point attempts this postseason after shooting 53 percent from inside the arc during the regular season. Newsweek may earn an affiliate commission if you sign up through the links in this article. See the sportsbook operator's terms and conditions for important details. Sports betting operators have no influence over newsroom coverage.
