While New York Knicks All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns owned up to his performance in a 121-111 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, ESPN's Kendrick Perkins says the concerns extend beyond the Knicks' recent loss. Amid a 2-2 start, Towns finished with eight points, 12 rebounds, one block, and one steal against Giannis Antetokounmpo (37 points) and the Bucks.

After the loss, Perkins blasted Towns for his effort throughout the Knicks' first week of the regular season, per ESPN's NBA Today.

“Karl-Anthony Towns, when is it gonna stop? Seriously, I'm expecting better from you,” Perkins said. “I'm expecting better from you at this time right now. What I'm seeing right now: you got a coaching change, right? Obviously, you didn't want Thibs because you didn't want Thibs in Minnesota. So, they bring in Mike Brown. You're still picking up those dumb, silly fouls. Mike Brown said that he's been talking to you about this — something that you should be trying to work to get better at.

“Those fouls come from a lack of effort in not wanting to move those puppies. I thought that you could have come into the season in better shape, but you didn't. That's a problem. We're talking about with the East being wide open. The Knicks added to their bench. They're pretty much everyone's favorite to represent the Eastern Conference. He has to be better,” Perkins concluded.

Through the first four games of the regular season, Towns is averaging 17.0 points on 35.2% shooting, including 33.3% from deep. While it's still very early, these are very uncharacteristically low offensive numbers we've seen from KAT over the years. With 78 games remaining, even Knicks celebrity superfan Ben Stiller knows there's time to turn things around. Kendrick Perkins wasted no time calling out Towns' first week of the regular season.

While the Knicks and the Cleveland Cavs entered the 2025-26 campaign as favorites, the 3-1 Bucks are tied with the Cleveland Cavs and the Miami Heat for the third-best record in the Eastern Conference.

Article Continues Below

Karl-Anthony Towns owns up to stinker in Knicks' loss

Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) gestures to fans before game against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum
Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

After a 121-111 loss to the Bucks, the Knicks' All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns took responsibility for his underwhelming performance. Towns discussed his shortcomings during his postgame media availability, per SNY's Ian Begley.

“I gotta do whatever is needed to win. I pressed a little bit too much today [in the second half]. I didn't do what we needed to do to win tonight. That's on me, and I take full responsibility for that.”

The Knicks will face the Bulls in an NBA Cup matchup on Friday.