Not Sure What's Better: Karl-Anthony Towns' Post Game or His Golf Swing

The 2025–26 NBA season is in its final days, and it looks like the New York Knicks have a 3-1 lead over the San Antonio Spurs. I think we can all agree it's refreshing to spend a postseason not watching OKC do... whatever it is they do on the court (apologies to Talor Gooch and the rest of Oklahoma).

With the sports news cycle dedicating a lot of time to the teams and players competing in the Finals, a surprising development came courtesy of a Golf Digest video featuring Knicks star center Karl-Anthony Towns and his effortlessly powerful golf swing.

Every postseason, the joke is that players on eliminated teams should "go make their tee times." While KAT has to wait longer than most before booking his, it's safe to say that once the Finals celebrations are over, he'll find himself standing on the first tee, potentially sporting a bit more jewelry than he was this time last year.

Before we get into the weeds, here's the headline: this is a really good golf swing. Not "good for an NBA player." Just good. KAT moves like someone who's spent a lot of time on a golf course, and there are several positions here that plenty of single-digit handicaps would love to steal.

Let's break down the swing, highlight what he does exceptionally well, and identify a few areas where he could get even better.

Setup:

The first thing that stands out is how athletic everything looks. Nothing appears forced. Nothing looks manufactured. It just looks like a really good athlete holding a golf club and arguably top-three setup of all the swings I've broken down so far. The only thing I can find to nitpick is that his back looks a bit arched, but that could easily be attributed to the length of his driver.

This is by far the tallest golfer we've looked at so far. At 7 feet tall, he likely needs a driver north of 47 inches (standard length is approximately 45.5 inches). If anything, getting him into a longer driver might make the setup look even more natural.

Backswing:

Club head right in front of the hands. Lower body moving in-sync with the upper body. A true chef’s kiss. Put this in the dictionary. All cliches apply. This is so good.

Top of backswing:

I love how stable his lower body is. He maintains the perfect amount of flexion in both legs, while keeping the weight on the inside of his trail foot. This puts him in the perfect spot to transfer his weight to his lead side in the downswing. It's exactly where you'd want to freeze-frame the swing if you were trying to build speed without losing control.

For someone who's 7 feet tall, this is ridiculously stable. There's no swaying, no drifting off the ball, and no sense that he's searching for balance. He gets the club past parallel, which we know isn’t the end all be all. However, it is a sign for things to come in the next frame

Downswing:

Much like Chris Gotterup, KAT gets very steep in transition. That's a common trait among golfers whose backswings extend past parallel. While it isn't ideal, I'd rather see a player be too steep than too shallow.

When you're too shallow, you rely heavily on your hands to square the clubface. If your timing is even slightly off, the ball can go in either direction. A steep player, on the other hand, tends to produce a much more predictable ball flight. The ball will generally start left and curve back to the right. It takes a tremendous amount of hand action to close the face enough to hit a true duck hook. It can happen, but you almost have to force it.

Most of the time, a steep golfer is going to know what the ball is going to do. That's not to say you want to play a slice, but if the rest of your positions are as solid as KAT's, being a little steep isn't going to hurt you nearly as much as people think.

Pre-Impact/Impact:

I love the way he rotates into the golf ball. The hips turn beautifully around his body and don't extend toward the golf ball. He uses his "big muscles" extremely well and doesn't have to rely on hand-eye coordination. That's a hallmark of consistent ball-striking.

Post-Impact:

The club exits left and around his body. That's another sign this swing is going to produce a reliable left-to-right ball flight.

Follow-Through:

This finish is a telltale sign of proper weight transfer through the swing. When a golfer shifts pressure correctly and rotates through impact, the body naturally works toward the target and finishes on the lead side.

One thing I never want to see is a golfer finishing on their back foot. Not only does it indicate poor weight transfer, but it also introduces more timing into the swing. And in golf, our goal is always to eliminate as many variables as possible. The fewer moving parts and compensations required, the more consistent your ball striking will be.

Final thoughts:

This is one of the best celebrity-athlete swings we've looked at. KAT uses the ground efficiently, creates plenty of speed, and consistently puts both his hands and the club in elite positions throughout the motion.

Like many taller athletes, his sequencing is just slightly off. If I were coaching him, I'd probably try to shorten the backswing a touch. Stopping the club a little sooner could help him arrive in an even better position during the transition and early downswing. But golf isn't a game of perfect positions. It's a game of producing consistent, repeatable shots. If this move feels natural to him and produces the ball flights we see in this video, who am I to tell him to change it?

The scary part? I'm not even sure golf is one of KAT's top three sports.

If he ever decides to spend as much time on the range as he does in the paint, the rest of us are in trouble.