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Exclusive | Karl-Anthony Towns’ Dominican heritage has a Knicks’ stage: ‘He’s home’
It hit Karl-Anthony Towns at the cookout.
The Dominican side of the family, his mother’s side, was hosting the gathering in Perth Amboy, N.J. — a weekend tradition of Towns’ youth that the Knicks center missed while embarking on an NBA All-Star career.
In that moment — which was after his trade to the Knicks — nostalgia met appreciation for the opportunities back home.
“We’re all looking at the next generation and enjoying the cookouts in the same backyard with the same basketball hoop I was playing with when I was dreaming of being an NBA player,” Towns told The Post. “And for my Dominican culture and my family, it hit me in a way that it’s like, these cookouts that I haven’t been around for, for a decade-plus, I have a chance to make them now.”
Towns, a product of Piscataway, never lived in the Dominican Republic. His Spanish is spotty, at best.
But the center’s link to the community is powerful and mutual, solidified by a decision to represent the Dominican national team despite overtures from powerhouse Team USA.
“To me, he’s home,” said Mike Jones, coach of streetball squad Dominican Power, a fixture at the Dyckman court in Inwood.
“Home” is now the Knicks and NYC, the Dominican capital of the U.S.
His arena is just five subway stops from Washington Heights, a neighborhood dubbed, “Little D.R.”
There have been plenty of Dominican baseball players in NYC — most notably Alex Rodriguez and Pedro Martinez — but Towns is the first Knick or Net to represent the Caribbean island.
“We have Al Horford, but that’s Boston,” Jones said. “We have Chris Duarte, but he’s in Chicago. We have Lester [Quinones] in Philly. But to have KAT home? In the No. 1 population for Dominicans here, ‘Little D.R.’ I know all of us in Washington Heights, we all was celebrating when the trade happened. I couldn’t sleep that night.”
There’s also a poignant connection for Towns.
His mother, Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, died from COVID-19 at just 60 years old in April 2020.
She was responsible for not only the Dominican bloodline, but also exposing Towns to the culture that was important to his decision to represent the nation at the 2023 World Cup.
Just last month, Towns announced plans to build a basketball facility in his mother’s hometown of Santiago.
He called it a tribute to Jacqueline.
“She was such an amazing lady. She was wonderful. She is what you would call a true Dominican mom, with all the whistles,” said Felipe Lopez, the former St. John’s star who met the Towns family over a decade ago. “She’s from Santiago, the same part that I’m from, and you just felt the vibe of Santiago coming out of her so strongly. And I think that’s a great value she was able to give the family.
“Just an aura. Like you feel safe [around her]. And happy. I remember we actually bumped into each other at an All-Star weekend festivity. And we understand how much dancing means to Dominicans. So we got to dance a little bit, merengue and stuff like that, and that’s the kind of way we like to live.”
The next step is an appropriate nickname for Towns, who would probably prefer to drop his “Big Pur” moniker from Minnesota.
Josh Hart threw out “The Big Bodega” on Twitter, but Jones wasn’t a fan.
“The Big Grocery Store ain’t it,” Jones said.
“Bodega K.A.T.” feels more creative and appropriate. It’s a play off his Dominican roots and name initials since cats frequently reside in corner bodegas for pest control. They chill during the day and eliminate bodega intruders at night.
“That’s clever,” Towns said recently. “That’s pretty good.”
No matter the nickname, Towns will have his detractors and enormous pressure to overcome in the biggest market.
As Jones understands, “Everybody is still saying he’s soft, he’s not a dog. He’s got something to prove. Either this is going to make or break you.”
But support from “Little D.R.” can help drown out a lot of things.
“Guaranteed opening night, you’re going to see a lot of flags. I just hope and pray they don’t try to take the flags away from us,” Jones said. “I know we can’t go inside the arena with drums. Because if we were allowed to go inside the arena with drums, we’ll be in there with drums. And we’ll be there with a trumpet.”
Neither waving flags nor drums nor trumpets are technically allowed at the Garden.
But Towns indicated it’s worth asking for the home opener Oct. 25 against the Pacers.
“I can’t wait,” Towns smiled. “Tell them to call Leon Rose.”
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