Knicks' Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns named All-Star starters

Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News on Jan 23, 2025

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NEW YORK — Pack your bags. It’s time to head out West.

The New York Knicks will have not one, but two players named to the starting lineup for the 2025 NBA All-Star Game in San Francisco, Calif., on Feb 16.

Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns were named Eastern Conference starters, the NBA announced on Thursday night.

The All-Star vote is made up of 50% fans, 25% media and 25% player votes.

Which is telling, because Brunson lost the 2024 All-Star starter spot to Damian Lillard last season due to an insurmountable discrepancy in fan votes.

This time around, Brunson closed the gap — then made up ground among the media and his peers.

Brunson finished second in the player vote (106), third in the fan vote (1.69 million) and second among the media (75 votes). He beat Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball, who ranked No. 1 among East guards with close to 2.5 fan million, by 38 player votes and 72 media votes.

Meanwhile, Towns, who joined the Knicks in the blockbuster trade that sent Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to the Minnesota Timberwolves during training camp, finished third each in player (123), fan (3.2 million) and media (91) votes.

The pair of Knicks join Boston’s Jayson Tatum, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell as Eastern Conference All-Star starters. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Phoenix’s Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Denver’s Nikola Jokic represent the Western Conference as All-Star starters.

Brunson will be making his second career All-Star appearance and his first start since leaving the Dallas Mavericks for New York in 2023 free agency. The Knicks named him the 36th team captain in franchise history during the summer, and he is averaging 26 points, 7.3 assists and 3 rebounds per game this season.

Towns, in his first season as a Knick, was named to his fifth-career All-Star game during arguably the best season of his career. He is averaging 25.1 points, 13.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game on 54% from the field and 43% from 3, and his arrival in New York drastically reshaped the Knicks’ offense under head coach Tom Thibodeau.

The Knicks ranked second in offensive rating (118.9 points per 100 possessions) behind the league-best Cleveland Cavaliers entering Saturday’s matchup against the Sacramento Kings.

Since joining the Knicks last season, Brunson has tallied 17 40-point games, tying longtime Knick Carmelo Anthony for third-most 40-point games in franchise history. Brunson trails Knicks legends Bernard King (23) and Patrick Ewing (30) in his path to No. 1.

The All-Star starter designation comes days after Brunson turned in a clutch performance, going on a personal 6-2 run to secure a 99-95 victory over the Nets on Tuesday.

“He did exactly what the cap [captain] does — put the cape on,” Towns said of Brunson’s crunch-time play. “We know how special he is. He lives for those moments. You’re always in shock. As a fan you love the basketball he plays, especially when the game is on the line. We could sit here and talk about cap all day, how special he is, but he consistently shows the world why he’s one of the best in the world.”

Towns, who has been playing through a sprained right thumb, finished with 25 points, 16 rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks in the victory.

“It shows toughness. It shows a lot of toughness,” Brunson said of Towns. “And regardless of what’s going on, mentally and physically, to come out here and play the way he does, we’re just happy to have him.”