Karl-Anthony Towns says Jeremy Lin’s ‘Linsanity’ made him a Knicks fan

Jeremy Lin owned a few months of the NBA season in 2012 and gave New York Knicks fans a feeling they hadn’t experienced in quite a while – hope.

Even though Lin, Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire never produced a championship or NBA Finals appearance, it was still a pivotal moment for the team to get back to relevance after being out of the spotlight since 1999. This year’s iteration of the Knicks is doing the same.

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New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns shoots against Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen during the second half of Game 4 in the Eastern Conference finals in Cleveland on May 25, 2026. (Sue Ogrocki/AP)

Karl-Anthony Towns, Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and others have led New York back to its first NBA Finals appearance since the 1998-99 season with hopes of winning their first title since 1973.

Towns, who grew up in New Jersey, said Friday that Lin was the one who made him a Knicks fan. He was in high school as “Linsanity” took over basketball.

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New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin plays against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center in Minneapolis on Feb. 11, 2012. The Knicks defeated the Timberwolves 100-98. (Brace Hemmelgarn/USA TODAY Sports)

“I truly want to give a shoutout to Jeremy Lin because he really made me a Knicks fan and had me at Modell’s,” Towns said, via the New York Post. “It was crazy trying to find his jersey. I have so much love for Jeremy Lin, he’s one of my favorite Knicks of all time, one of my favorite players of all time.

“He made me so passionate about the Knicks. It’s crazy now that I’m in this position, in this chair, talking to you guys as a Knicks player. (They) showed me the other day Jeremy Lin on social [media], for him to even mention me was kind of crazy because the love I have for him and what he’s done for me and my Knicks fandom is second to none.”

Towns added that his parents helped him gravitate toward Knicks fandom over the Brooklyn Nets.

New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns and teammates celebrate after winning Game 4 in the Eastern Conference finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Cleveland on May 25, 2026. (Tim Phillis/AP)

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Now, Towns will be four wins away from New York infamy.