Kyrie Irving wants fans to stop mocking Karl-Anthony Towns: 'It's a [expletive] wrap'

USA Today

a day ago

Kyrie Irving wants fans to stop mocking Karl-Anthony Towns: 'It's a [expletive] wrap'
Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving recently shared an important message for fans about New York Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns.
Irving grew up in West Orange, New Jersey and attended Montclair Kimberley Academy and The Patrick School before enrolling at Duke in 2011. Towns grew up in Piscataway, New Jersey and eventually attended St. Joseph in Metuchen, New Jersey before starting college at Kentucky in 2014.
Both players were eventually the No. 1 pick in their respective NBA drafts as two of the most highly-touted prospects at their position of the past two decades. There is clearly a mutual respect between the individuals.
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Over the past few years, several (including Kendrick Perkins) have made fun of the way that Towns speaks.
Far too many people have used the word "zesty" to describe Towns and it has become oddly common for fans to exaggerate his voice while doing impressions of him.
Some, like Jeff Teague and Nick Young, have even said that he used a accent to talk about Rucker Park during the 2025 NBA postseason.
Here is what Irving said about everyone doing that:
"Before I forget, ya'll gotta stop making fun of my brother KAT. I'm done with ya'll. Stop making fun of my brother KAT. It's over for that. It's a [expletive] wrap. I'm letting ya'll know, if you repost that [expletive] again or if you meme him up, I'm attacking you. Not like that, physically. But I'm attacking you. Ya'll gotta leave KAT alone. OK? 'Cause ya'll don't know what it's like to grow up in Jersey and have all of these cultures that you're a part of. Trust me on that ... Leave him alone ... He's Dominican. He's Black. He grew up in a certain area of Jersey just like me and you gotta survive out here. And you have many different demographics of people and you gotta survive out here."
Irving said that he wants to "protect" Towns from the constant scrutiny he receives from fans.
He also helped teach Towns a move that he used on the court during the playoffs.