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Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns Upgraded To Questionable Against Cavaliers
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All posts by James FoglioUpdated21 minutes ago on October 22, 2025
New York Knicks star big man Karl-Anthony Towns is expected to play in the team’s season opener on Wednesday night despite being downgraded to doubtful earlier today.
Karl-Anthony Towns Has Been Dealing With A Right Quad Strain
Per the most recent NBA injury report, Towns has been upgraded to questionable with a right quad strain for New York’s regular-season game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Towns sat out the Knicks’ final preseason game last Friday as a precaution.
Last season, Towns received his fifth All-Star selection and third All-NBA Third-Team nod of his NBA career with the Knicks. He averaged 24.4 points, a career-high 12.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.0 steals, and 35 minutes in 72 games.
It’s a bit odd to see Karl-Anthony Towns’ status change from questionable to doubtful, back to questionable in such a short amount of time. But he is now questionable for the Cavs game tonight. Must have been a tough hour or so for some of the gambling community pic.twitter.com/rUqKuQ9W7D
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) October 22, 2025
For his play in December, Towns was named Eastern Conference Player of the Month for the first time in his career. He led the Knicks to a 12-2 record that month, averaging 23.2 points, 14.6 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game.
Towns, who was acquired from the Minnesota Timberwolves last October, is entering the second season of a four-year, $220 million contract he originally signed with the Wolves. The deal includes a player option for 2027-28.
Josh Hart, Mitchell Robinson Out For Season Opener
An upgrade to Towns’ status is finally some positive news for an injury-riddled Knicks squad who will be without both Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson against the Cavs.
Hart injured his back during a preseason game against the Philadelphia 76ers. He has not played since and was listed as being out with “lumbar spasms.”
“We’re trying to figure out his back, which is a tricky situation,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said this week. “We have to be careful with it, we don’t want to rush him. We’ll be patient and figure it out as we go along. [Knicks head athletic trainer Casey Smith] does a great job, and we believe in them so we’re going to follow their plan.”
Meanwhile, Robinson is being rested for “left ankle injury management,” according to Brown. The 7-footer has been out since playing in the first half of New York’s preseason game against Minnesota on Oct. 9.
“Really, it’s load management,” Brown said Tuesday. “Which means that, obviously, if we deemed it necessary, could he possibly go? Yeah, he could possibly go. He missed a lot of games last year, so we want to be cautious going forward with him. That’s about the extent of it right there.”
Hart, Robinson Remain Consistent Contributors For Knicks
Hart, 30, is entering his ninth season after averaging 13.6 points and career highs of 9.6 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.5 steals, and 37.6 minutes in 77 games (all starts) of 2024-25.
The 27-year-old Robinson, who was limited to just 17 games (three starts) last season after missing the start of the campaign due to offseason ankle surgery, averaged 5.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.1 blocks, and a career-low 17.1 minutes per contest.
Robinson is entering his eighth season.
Hart and Robinson’s absences could open up an opportunity for Guerschon Yabusele, who signed a two-year, $12 million deal with the Knicks over the summer after a breakout year with the Sixers.
