Karl-Anthony Towns may be in New York City, but his heart is in Minnesota.
On Wednesday night, Towns had some sweet seats for a Billie Eilish show at Madison Square Garden with his partner, Jordyn Woods, when she caught him watching the Timberwolves play the Chicago Bulls in a preseason game on his phone. Her video, posted to her Instagram story, made rounds on social media Thursday.
In the video, flames are literally spewing out from Eilish's stage, lights are flashing all around and others in the crowd are head bobbing. And there is Towns, holding his phone in both hands and muttering to himself as the Timberwolves are down 88-75 late in the third quarter in a meaningless game.
"I promise he was enjoying the concert," Woods wrote in the video's caption.
The Wolves would go on to lose that game, 125-123. A nail-biter.
Towns' trade to the New York Knicks for Julius Randle and others stunned the NBA world and all of Minnesota, where he was a beloved player for nine seasons and a leader on a team rapidly ascending toward championship contention.
Towns reunited with his former teammates when the Knicks hosted them for a preseason game Sunday. He described it as an emotional experience.
"It was a lot of emotions," Towns said. "Some amazing moments and times in nine years of my life in Minnesota, a place that I've called home. Guys who are not just teammates to me but brothers. We were like brothers. It definitely was a wild day, definitely coming to work."