MINNEAPOLIS — Karl-Anthony Cities remembers.
He remembers standing simply inches away from a 39-year-old Kevin Garnett throughout the Timberwolves legend’s farewell tour, witnessing firsthand as Garnett unleashed a thunderous poster dunk on then-Los Angeles Clippers star Blake Griffin. Cities’ visceral response — arms flexed, voice booming as if he have been the one who soared over Griffin — helped the second go viral.
He remembers Halloween 2018, when a 30-year-old Derrick Rose, in opposition to all odds, resurrected his profession with a 50-point masterpiece in a win over the Utah Jazz.
He remembers the ultimate sport of the 2017-18 common season, when the Timberwolves beat the Denver Nuggets in extra time to finish one of many NBA’s longest playoff droughts. And he remembers final season’s Sport 7 thriller in opposition to the identical Nuggets, a victory that punched Minnesota’s ticket to only its second-ever Western Convention Finals.
However what Cities doesn’t bear in mind is that this airport terminal.
And resorts? What are these? That is residence. Not less than it was full-time.
Now, Cities is an opponent, Thursday’s return a stark reminder of his new actuality.
“I didn’t get to go to Signature [Minneapolis’ private airport terminal], so that was kind of a wild experience by itself,” Cities says after Knicks shootaround on the Goal Middle on Thursday. “I’m not used to landing and going to a hotel in Minnesota. That has never happened since the day I got drafted.”
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The microphone gained’t keep nonetheless.
Cities is in a room he is aware of very properly. It’s the Goal Middle’s press convention room, and he’s sitting at a podium he’s seen for almost a decade. The microphone falls. Cities fixes it earlier than it falls once more.
“This is crazy,” he says, laughing as he adjusts it.
Loopy is an understatement. The final three months have been a whirlwind for Cities, who was traded to the Knicks simply days into coaching camp. In change for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, and a first-round decide, the Knicks acquired their man — a perennial All-Star heart and self-proclaimed finest taking pictures huge man in NBA historical past.
Now, greater than 1 / 4 of a season into his Knicks profession, Cities is flourishing. He’s averaging 24.8 factors, a career-best 13.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, one block, and 0.9 steals per sport. His 43.9% taking pictures from three-point vary has helped the Knicks rank among the many NBA’s top-three offenses.
But right here in Minnesota, donning a brand new jersey is the very last thing on his thoughts.
“We’re doing a lot of good things [on the Knicks] and I’m happy,” Cities says. “Obviously, it’s hard to a question like that [about the Knicks] and I’m here in this room that I’ve had a lot of memories in.”
That’s as a result of as we speak is just not about basketball, even when there’s an vital sport on the docket. Immediately is about emotion.
And Cities isn’t afraid to confess it.
He is aware of this isn’t simply some other sport. That is his homecoming. Not all gamers get to expertise this second.
“I’ve never been traded. I’m usually the one in the Timberwolves jersey looking at the tribute videos,” he says. “But it’s kind of weird being on the other side now. I just want to appreciate every second of this experience. It’s gonna be great to see my brothers on the court tonight.”
Cities is comfortable to be a Knick.
For him, it’s the success of a lifelong dream — not only for himself however for his household and the Dominican neighborhood in New York Metropolis.
But, his connection to Minneapolis stays profound. It would at all times be that approach irrespective of the place his journey takes him.
“I wanted to be here,” Cities says. “I just wanted to be the best I could be in whatever NBA jersey I put on, but I especially wanted to be my best here in a Timberwolves jersey. This place has given my family so much, not even from a financial aspect, but just from a life aspect of the experiences, the moments we were able to have because of the organization and the things we were able to accomplish here. Those are things you could never discredit or lose love for. I continue to see Minnesota as a home for me.”
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Cities’ transfer to New York was a transition from one profitable scenario to a different, from a smaller market to the largest stage in basketball.
But, it wasn’t with out its challenges. He gave Minneapolis every little thing he had. Similar to that, the identify on the entrance of the jersey modified.
“You’ve given all of yourself — mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually — to an organization and then have to, in essence, start over,” he says. “It’s a different experience.”
Mikal Bridges is aware of a factor or two about trades.
The Phoenix Suns traded him to Brooklyn as a part of the Kevin Durant deal in 2023, and the Nets traded him to the Knicks for 5 draft picks throughout the offseason.
Bridges has already returned to Phoenix however acknowledges that Cities’ return to Minnesota carries a deeper significance.
“Yeah, I think it’s gonna be a lot of love,” he says. “He’s done way more in Minnesota than what I’ve done in Phoenix, being the No. 1 pick and everything. It’ll be real cool for him.”
However Cities is simply going with the movement. Positive, he’s anxious. He’s overcome with emotion lengthy earlier than tipoff in opposition to his former teammates. But he carries an air of gratitude.
“I’ve been through a lot especially in a T’Wolves jersey. You learn to appreciate these moments that don’t come around ever or often,” he says. “So I’m in a place in life where I don’t look at life as glass half empty. I look at it as half full. So I’m appreciative of this opportunity to be back in a place I’ve called home and have so many great memories at and able to play here against guys I’ve played with.”
For Cities, the chapter in Minnesota won’t ever absolutely shut. He nonetheless watches Timberwolves video games and cheers for his former teammates, gamers he considers household. In some ways, Cities has bridged two generations of Timberwolves basketball — receiving the torch from Garnett and passing it to Anthony Edwards.
Edwards might very properly try to put Cities on a poster as his personal approach of welcoming his former teammate — his brother — again residence.
“Why it gotta be me personally?” Cities laughs. “Why you couldn’t think of maybe I’m gonna try to dunk on him?”
As Cities prepares to assist lead his staff to victory, all he can do is soak within the second. He’s letting the recollections come and go.
Cities is aware of the healthiest approach ahead is to deal with this as simply one other sport — a possibility for the Knicks to proceed constructing chemistry whereas including a mark within the win column — however in actuality, this was a sport circled in invisible ink.
It is a assertion sport. It’s homecoming disguised as Sport 27 of 82.
“My goal, when I [used to] put this Timberwolves jersey on, was to amplify this organization and the players, community, staff, everybody in the building, to make their lives better and amplify everybody so they could reach new heights in their careers and their lives,” he says. “All I’ve ever wanted to do was make other people’s lives better. I’ve said it before here in Minnesota: I’m a serving leadership. Serving leadership I feel is my leadership style. I’m here to serve others.”
