New York Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns dismissed an ESPN report that he underwent procedures to resolve injuries suffered during last year’s playoffs.
Speaking at Media Day, a reporter asked Towns if he had a knee procedure based on a report by ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne when the Knicks were eliminated by the Indiana Pacers.
“No I did not have a knee [procedure], where are you hearing this?!” Towns said. “You came on Media Day to put that out there?”
The reporter quickly defended himself saying he was asking based off an ESPN report.
“Who?? Centel?” Towns chirped.
Later, Towns met with the reporter individually, who tried to show him the report and specifically where it said procedures.
“It don’t even say procedures,” Towns quickly retorted and headed to his next destination.
During the playoffs, Towns is believed to have suffered a bruised left knee and ligament damage to his left finger. The finger injury is believed to have occurred in Game 3 of the second round against the Boston Celtics. The knee injury happened in the conference finals.
Towns had a tremendous first season in New York, averaging 24.4 points, 12.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and a steal. He shot 52.6 percent from the field including 42 percent from deep.
“Who did that, Centel?” 🤣
According to Karl-Anthony Town, don’t believe any offseason procedure rumors. pic.twitter.com/HbGwge0GkC
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) September 23, 2025
Did ESPN Misreport Towns’ Injury?
Going back to the initial report, Shelburne stated that “Towns had the injuries reexamined and chose to immediately have procedures so he would have the most time possible to recover before next season.”
The previous report also stated that Towns had “undergone treatment” for the injuries which doesn’t necessarily equate to surgery.
It’s plausible that Towns instead received physiotherapy or perhaps even some injections to aid his healing process. Surgery is generally viewed as a last resort and so it’s understandable that Towns was shocked by the question.
In defense of the reporter at Media Day, the ESPN report is certainly too vague. He was right to ask about a procedure because the word was definitely in the report. He must have forgotten where the word was when trying to show it to Towns.
There was certainly an opportunity to dig a little deeper and understand what indeed transpired then that led to this report.
Most significantly, it appears Towns is healthy and whatever issues he had in the postseason are behind him.
