Imago
Credit: IMAGN IMAGES
Imago
Credit: IMAGN IMAGES
It was Karl-Anthony Towns‘ sixth All-Star selection of his career. However, being listed on the World Team has left many fans confused. The New York Knicks star was born and raised in New Jersey, United States, and yet he has joined the international stars like Victor Wembanyama and Luka Doncic. It can all be traced back to his mother. Towns’ late mother, Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, came from Dominican heritage.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Towns was very close to his mother and very proud of his Dominican heritage. Towns spent his childhood surrounded by relatives from his mother’s side. Unfortunately, he lost her during the COVID-19 pandemic due to COVID complications. He has kept his mother’s memory alive while representing the Dominican Republic internationally. This explains why the Knicks star is sharing a roster with the international stars.
What Is Karl-Anthony Towns’ nationality? Is He American or Dominican?
Towns was born in America to an American father and a Dominican mother. Towns has American citizenship. However, the Knicks star also has dual citizenship, with the other belonging to the Dominican Republic. So it’s not either/or. He is both an American citizen and a citizen of the Dominican Republic.
Towns’ first visit to the Dominican Republic was very early in his life. When he was 15, his mom took him to her motherland. While Towns had set foot in the country, he felt an instant connection. From his youthful energy and bold outlook, it’s a gift that he inherited from his mother. The Knicks star is as much Dominican as he is an American.
Towns is American-born, but he is far more than that. With Dominican heritage through his mother, he represents the bridge between American and Dominican culture. He is an international star. That’s how Towns would prefer it to be, and that’s how he would want to pay his homage to his late mother.
What Is Karl-Anthony Towns’ Ethnicity and Family Background?
Being born to parents with different cultures and nationalities makes Town’s ethnicity mixed. However, since his childhood, Towns has always been more lenient towards his mother’s side of the culture. He was very close to his mother, and it was one of the reasons when she passed away in 2020, Towns was broken. The Knicks star once admitted that to his mother, his innocence was also gone.
“It’s my culture,” Karl-Anthony Towns told Our Esquina in November 2024. “It’s how I grew up. Being Latino, having my family from the Dominican Republic around me my whole entire childhood, I really just grew in the culture. And it allowed me to experience love firsthand.
“So I’ve been very fortunate that my mother’s family has been very integral in my life and teaching me my Latino roots and the culture and teaching me what it is to truly be Dominican.”
Both his parents were very supportive of Towns’ basketball career. While his mother was his loudest cheerleader in the gym, his father, Towns Sr., was his earliest teacher. His father was a college basketball player who played for Monmouth University. Towns Sr. later took a coaching job at Piscataway Technical High School in New Jersey. When Towns grew up, he attended the same high school as his first step towards his professional journey.
Has Karl-Anthony Towns Represented the Dominican Republic Internationally?
Yes, Towns has represented the Dominican Republic on multiple occasions, and he has done so since he was 15 years old. When he was 15, he played a friendly match against Team USA and represented the international team. He also represented the Dominican Republic in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
Towns is having yet another great year. However, his numbers have reduced this season. He is averaging 19.8 points, which is lower than last season. Towns has been consistent in calling himself the best shooting big man in the league, and to his credit, he has been. However, this year, his 3-point shooting has seen a sharp decline. Compared to last season’s 42 percent, Towns is shooting just over 35 percent this season.