The New York Knicks’ season came to an end on Saturday with a loss to the Indiana Pacers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals. It didn’t take long after the team’s season to end for reports to leak about things that may have gone wrong with the team. That includes some complaints about Karl-Anthony Towns’ defense.
The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III and Fred Katz [produced a lengthy piece](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6395011/2025/05/31/knicks-loss-pacers-nba-playoffs-brunson-towns) breaking down the Knicks’ season. In that piece, they mentioned that the Knicks had some issues with Towns. They noted that while some public comments blamed some bad defense on communication issues, they privately thought Towns may have been dismissive about correct defensive coverages.
From [the piece](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6395011/2025/05/31/knicks-loss-pacers-nba-playoffs-brunson-towns):
“_Behind the scenes, they and coaches expressed frustration with Towns’ defensive habits — less concerned with his talent level and more with his process on that end. Too often, Towns executed incorrect coverages without communicating why he did it. After it became a theme, players worried Towns didn’t grasp the importance of the matter._“
Towns has always been a strong offensive player, but his defense has been in question plenty of times. The Knicks apparently have issues with it.
KAT averaged 24.4 points and 12.8 rebounds per game on 52.6 percent shooting this season, which was his first with the Knicks. The team went 51-31 in the regular season and lost to the Pacers in six games in the conference finals. It was the Knicks’ first time in the conference finals since 2000.