Knicks stars Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns have benefited greatly from being the sons of coaches, Steven Popper of Newsday reports.
Brunson’s father, Rick, a former nine-year NBA point guard, is currently an assistant coach who coaches his son in New York.
“I think when you’re a coach’s kid, no matter what level, I think you’re constantly talking about what you can do to get better,” Brunson said. “For the most part, at least from my experience, I don’t think there’s any trick. It’s just that you’re in this constant learning mode. Since you’ve had that since you’re a kid, you learn more, you understand more. I don’t know. It’s just a more natural feeling.”
Towns’ father, Karl Towns Sr., was a standout player at Monmouth University before becoming the coach at Piscataway Technical High School.
“I think it’s just a credit to my dad,” Towns said. “He was a high school coach, a damn good one, too, in Jersey, Piscataway. Being around him every single day, watching him coach and building up his IQ every single day, learning the right way to play basketball, the ways you can help your team win and the way he taught me. So it’s a shout-out to my dad for being the guy that taught me the game of basketball at this level.”