Karl-Anthony Towns accomplished a lot in his first season in New York, being named an All-Star and making an All-NBA team. If you wanted to point to a fault in his first season with the Knicks, it was that he didn't get up enough 3-pointers, an issue that has carried over into the 2025 preseason.
Towns is arguably the best shooting big man to ever play the sport. The only other player who has a claim for that title is the great Dirk Nowitzki. Last season, Towns buried 42 percent of his shots from behind the arc, which was the ninth-highest percentage among players who took at least 300 total threes last season.
The Knicks need Towns to take more threes
The issue was the volume. Towns averaged 4.7 3-point attempts per game last season, the fewest he had taken per game in the previous seven seasons.
The value of having a stretch big, specifically one who is as accurate as Towns, is that it bends the shape of the defense. In an ideal world, it drags the opposing center away from the hoop, putting him in vulnerable positions to be attacked while weakening the rim protection the team has.
It also opens up driving lanes for the rest of the Knicks to make opportunistic cuts into the paint, where things open up even more for their offense. Mike Brown wants the Knicks to take more threes this season, lots more. They need Towns to be a big part of that.
Early returns bring some concern
The Knicks have been getting up lots of threes through their first three preseason games. In fact, they are averaging 44 per game, which is good for eighth-more in the preseason.
The slightly concerning part is that Towns hasn't contributed many of those attempts. Out of the 145 3-pointers that the Knicks have taken over the first three games, Towns has only accounted for five attempts. Brown was asked about his low total of 3-pointers, which he said was "a product of KAT still getting adjusted and playing a role that forces him and Yabusele to learn every spot."
It is a valid point from Brown. The Knicks are planning on moving Towns around the floor and using him in new ways this season, so he should be given a grace period to adjust. In the same breath, last season wasn't always Towns' fault either. He often played in inopportune spacing and was guarded by smaller players who gave him trouble.
At the end of the day, the Knicks and Towns need to find a way for him to get more threes up. It is a key to their offense reaching its full potential.