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After playing a huge role in the New York Knicks’ championship in June, Karl-Anthony Towns has reached a new elite status in a major ranking of the best big men in the NBA right now. Even before he was traded to the Knicks before the 2024-25 season, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft was viewed as one of the best bigs in the game. He won the Rookie of the Year Award, was a four-time All-Star, was a yearly lock to post 20 points and 10 rebounds or better, and emerged as the best shooting big man in the league. In New York, he strengthened that case with two more All-Star Game appearances. However, there was always one major issue that blocked Towns from being in the debate as the best big in the game, and that was his defense. His shortcomings on that side of the ball have long been his biggest weakness during his career. However, he changed that narrative in a big way during this year’s playoffs. Many will look back at this spring and feel that Towns adjusting his offensive role during the playoffs from being a primary scorer to a facilitator was the moment the Knicks shifted from being a good team to a serious title contender. It was really his defensive intensity that helped turn New York into an unstoppable force. KAT played strong defense against one-time MVP Joel Embiid in the semifinals, then in the Conference Finals against Jared Allen and Evan Mobley. However, most thought he would have serious trouble against young superstar Victor Wembanyama in the Finals. However, he gave the Frenchman all he could handle and more on both sides of the court. The Athletic ranks Karl Anthony Towns as the 3rd-best big man in the NBA While Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby had legendary moments during the playoffs and NBA Finals, the Knicks don’t end their 53-year championship drought without Towns. And his level of play this spring has earned him a new status in the NBA. On Friday, The Athletic released its ranking of the top 40 big men in the NBA right now, and the six-time All-Star landed at three. Four spots up from last year. While Knicks fans would love him to have landed the No. 1 spot, the two names in front of him are understandable. Down one spot from last year at No. 2 is three-time MVP and one of the best players on the planet, Nikola Jokic. And up one spot from 2025 is the unanimous NBA Defensive Player of the Year and the future face of the NBA, Wembanyama. That means one of the five greatest centers in NBA history, and the heir apparent to LeBron James as the biggest star in the NBA, are the only two big men The Athletic thinks are better than Towns. The Knicks All-Star finished ahead of Embiid (4th), Bam Adebayo (5th), Anthony Davis (6th), Evan Mobley (11th), and Domantas Sabonis (13th).