Karl-Anthony Towns Could Feel Late Mom's Presence During Knicks Final

2 NBA Fans Banned for Life After Storming Court During Knicks vs. Spurs Game

Karl-Anthony Towns had a special person with him on the court.

The Knicks center-forward (affectionately known as KAT) said he was visited by the presence of his late mother Jacqueline Cruz during the Game 1 of the NBA finals, which saw the New York team beat the San Antonio Spurs.

“I don't know what it was, but I just felt a calm and a peace that I don't know had to be come from the woman above,” Karl told Shaquille O’Neal after the June 3 game. “So, I felt really confident about today. I felt good, you know, I felt like a kid. It felt like it was just fun out here. This is something that, as a kid, you always dream about. You always hope that you just hope to be an NBA player, let alone to be in the NBA finals. And all day was just a weird feeling.”

In fact, the 30-year-old likened the feeling to when he would prepare for his Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) games back when he was a kid and Jacqueline—who died in 2020 after being diagnosed with COVID-19 in the first months of the pandemic—was there to support him.

“In a way, I felt like I was seeing her in the stands, and it was just.. it was fun,” KAT continued. “It was really fun, and it was really comforting, because you know, Game 1 of the NBA finals, you told how the pressure is going to be, and everything is, and I don't know, it felt like a certain presence was here that was very comforting and very loving.”

Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

But despite expecting to “have the pressure at the highest” during the NBA finals, instead the basketball player just “felt like I could have fun.”

Also helping calm his nerves was the presence of his fiancée Jordyn Woods—to whom Karl popped the question in December after nearly five years of dating—who was sitting courtside during the away game at Frost Bank Center.

After all, the 28-year-old has been KAT’s biggest supporter throughout the 2025-2026 NBA season.

And when the Knicks made it to the Eastern Conference Championship—which they would go on to sweep in four games—Jordyn penned a moving tribute to her future husband.

Matei Horvath/Getty Images

“I’ve watched you make it to the Conference Finals three years in a row,” she captioned her May 27 post. “Through every high and low, you’ve kept your head down, stayed optimistic, and remained the most consistent, genuine teammate, family member, and now fiancé. No matter where life takes us, it’s only up from here. NBA Cup Champions, Eastern Conference Champions… and now just 4 more wins.”

Jordyn continued, “Couldn’t be more honored to be on this journey with such an incredible human being. I love you!!! Let’s go NY.”

For more celebrities always sitting courtside at the Knicks every chance they get, read on.

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