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Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the New York Knicks during Game Two of the 2026 NBA Finals on June 5, 2026 in San Antonio, Texas; Karl-Anthony Towns and his parents in May 2022
Credit: Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty; Karl-Anthony Towns/Instagram
NEED TO KNOW
- Karl-Anthony Towns was raised in New Jersey by his mother, Jackie, and his father, Karl Sr.
- His dad coached high school basketball and returned to coach at Karl-Anthony’s alma mater in 2025
- Jackie was a Rutgers University employee for over 20 years and died from COVID-19 complications in 2020
Karl-Anthony Towns has had the support of his parents, Jacqueline "Jackie" Cruz-Towns and Karl Towns Sr., both on and off the court.
The New York Knicks player was raised in Piscataway, N.J., alongside his sister, Lachelle Towns, per The Athletic. Karl Sr. spent his career as a local high school basketball coach, eventually returning to lead the team for his son's alma mater, Saint Joseph High School, in January 2025, The Catholic Spiritreported.
Karl-Anthony told ESPN in November 2017 that his mom had worked for Rutgers University's medical department for over 20 years. Nearly three years later, she died of complications from COVID-19.
"Jackie was many things to many people — a wife, mother, daughter, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend," a Towns family spokesperson said in a statement, per ESPN. "The matriarch of the Towns family, she was an incredible source of strength; fiery, caring, and extremely loving person, who touched everyone she met. Her passion was palpable and her energy will never be replaced."
Today, Karl-Anthony continues to remember his mom, including during the 2026 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. He revealed that he still feel connected to her while playing.
“I felt like I was seeing her in the stands,” he told ESPN’sInside the NBA. "It felt like a certain presence that was ... very comforting and very loving and I felt like I could have fun out here in Game 1 of the NBA Finals which is the weirdest thing because you would expect to have the pressure at the highest.”
Here's everything to know about Karl-Anthony Towns' parents, Jackie and Karl Towns Sr.
Jackie was born in the Dominican Republic
Because his mother was born in the Dominican Republic, Karl-Anthony was eligible to join the country's national team when he was only 16 years old.
His dad told ESPN in July 2012 that it was "so surreal" to watch him play that he and his wife "were almost in tears in the stands."
The eventual Knicks star later decided to give back to his mother's native country in September 2024. He announced plans to fund a youth basketball facility, according to the Associated Press.
“I’ve been very fortunate to live the American dream,” he said at the time. “But for me, having a different set of eyes, seeing it through my mother’s eyes and what she had to do to really even feel like an American, I wanted to bring the resources that we have here to there and give kids the opportunity to have the best equipment and the best chances possible to not only make money for their family but also pursue their dreams.”
Speaking to TIME in September 2025, Karl-Anthony added, “Simply put, they gave my mother life. It’s only right I give them mine.”
They shared two children
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Karl-Anthony Towns and his sister in April 2018.
Credit: Karl-Anthony Towns/Facebook
Karl Sr. and Jackie welcomed two kids during their marriage: Karl-Anthony and his older sister, Lachelle.
After he got drafted as the No. 1 pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2015, Lachelle told GoErie.com that she planned to be a source of stability for her brother.
"It's me who can say, 'How to see the problem? How to come up with a solution?' " she, who was described as a mom of two at the time, explained. "My brother is 19 and just like any other 19-year-old boy would be. He's a teenager. He's loving life."
Karl Sr. has worked as a basketball coach
Karl Sr. has spent his career working as a high school and college basketball coach.
According to The Catholic Spirit, he won a state title for Piscataway Vo-Tech during his 15-year tenure and worked for the University of Kentucky and Kean University, where he served under his son's high school coach, Dave Turco.
He returned to Saint Joseph High School's basketball program in 2025, where Karl-Anthony had graduated years earlier.
Karl-Anthony told the NBA in an October 2025 Facebook video that his dad had coached him before and that he was a bench player for his team.
"I don't know how that works out," he said. "I kind of grew into myself being a starter, so shout-out to him. He raised me with some mental toughness."
Karl-Anthony had a pre-game ritual with his mom
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Karl-Anthony Towns with his parents Karl Sr. and Jackie at the end of a game.
Credit: Carlos Gonzalez/Star Tribune via Getty
In a candid interview on Peace of Mind with Taraji, Karl-Anthony told actress Taraji P. Henson that he and his mother had a ritual before every game: She would always make sure to wave to him.
"She made sure that all the security guards in the whole place knew, when she was at the game, you let her through to the court," he said during the October 2021 appearance. "She’d [wave] and just do that, then go back into the stands. ... She always wanted me to know, since I was young, ‘I’m here for you.’ ”
Jackie died of COVID-19 complications in 2020
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Karl-Anthony announced on Instagram that both of his parents had tested positive for coronavirus.
ESPN reported that Karl Sr.'s condition improved, but Jackie was placed in a medically induced coma and put on a ventilator.
In an emotional YouTube video, Karl-Anthony shared that his mom's health took a turn for the worse after she suffered a stroke.
"It just got to a point where it was harming her," the NBA star said, revealing that he was the one who "pulled the plug. "I gave her all the time, and I made the hardest decision you can make."
Jackie died on April 13, 2020. She was 58.
“That day changed me as a man,” Karl-Anthony said during his appearance on Peace of Mind with Taraji. “I don’t miss anything else. I don’t miss the awards, the accolades, that all don’t mean s--t. I only care about [my mom]. She is what made all those memories great."
Read the original article on People
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