Karl-Anthony Towns Denies Secret Knee Surgery Rumors—What’s Really Going On Behind the Scenes?

Heading into New York Knicks media day, whispers about Karl-Anthony Towns’ supposed offseason knee procedure stirred quite the buzz — only, Towns himself seemed caught off guard by the whole story. When New York Post’s Stefan Bondy casually tossed the “knee procedure” question his way, Towns’ reaction was a mix of disbelief and a sly jab at where the rumors originated. It quickly became clear this wasn’t just a simple miscommunication; it unveiled the sticky mess of sports reporting, fake news, and the fine line between “treatment” and “procedure” in the athletic world. With Towns stepping into his sophomore season after an impressive debut, these knee injury murmurings not only spark curiosity but also raise eyebrows on what really went down this summer. Dive deeper into the exchange, the nuances of the reports, and what it all could mean for the Knicks’ title hopes this season. LEARN MORE

Karl-Anthony Towns’ offseason knee procedure was a storyline going into the New York Knicks’ media day, which was apparently news to Towns.

As the Knicks center spoke to reporters Tuesday, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post asked him about “a knee procedure” reported by ESPN. That led to the following exchange:

TOWNS: “No I did not have a knee — where are you hearing this? You came on media day to come and put that out there?”

BONDY: “I thought ESPN reported it.”

TOWNS: “Who did that, Centel?”

BONDY: “Alright my bad.”

Towns refers to NBA Centel in there, which is the infamous fake news X account that has tricked more than a few people into believing ridiculous stories.

The full exchange:

The video later shows Bondy providing Towns with the ESPN report on his phone, to which Towns smiles and incorrectly says, “That don’t even say procedures!” then walks away.

The ESPN report in question came from ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne on June 4, with the headline “Sources: Karl-Anthony Towns treated for knee, finger injuries.” While the lede of the article only says Towns underwent “treatment” for a knee injury sustained in the playoffs, it goes on to say:

“After the Knicks’ season ended with Saturday’s Game 6 loss to the Pacers, Towns had the injuries reexamined and chose to immediately have procedures so he would have the most time possible to recover before next season, sources said.”

Shelburne has not publicly commented on the situation as of Tuesday evening.

So what happened here?

For starters, it’s worth noting we’re dealing in semantics. A “procedure” in the context of sports is generally accepted to mean some sort of surgery or medical intervention, from something like a cortisone shot to any of the big surgeries. It is not a synonym with “treatment,” which could be as insignificant as a massage, and ESPN did itself, Towns and Bondy no favors by not being more specific.

Towns clearly did not undergo a knee procedure, or at least doesn’t want anyone to know he underwent a knee procedure. If the ESPN report was indeed incorrect and nothing performed on Towns’ knee could be fairly described as a procedure, it’s unclear why he or the Knicks (whose PR team would absolutely have seen the report) did not correct the record in June.

It was fair for Bondy to bring up the unaddressed report at media day and he got his answer, one way or the other.

Towns is entering his second season with the Knicks after a standout first year, earning third-team All-NBA honors for a 51-win team Knicks team. Entering this year, New York holds +750 odds for the NBA title at BetMGM, tied with three other teams for the second-best odds behind the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder (+275).