NBA All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns of the New York Knicks arrived in Taiwan yesterday, touching down at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5:09am on a China Airlines flight.
Dozens of fans were waiting at the entrance to greet the three-time All-Star, also known as KAT.
"It has been a while since an NBA player last came to Taiwan. As a Knicks fan, I couldn’t miss this chance," said a university student surnamed Chen (陳), who arrived at the airport at 3:40am.
New York Knicks Karl-Anthony Towns arrives in Taoyuan on Thursday. Photo: CNA
Towns signed memorabilia for fans before exiting the airport.
Drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2015, Towns played his first nine seasons in the Western Conference before being traded to New York during the 2024 offseason.
In the 2024-25 season, he averaged 24.4 points and 12.8 rebounds per game while shooting 42 percent from beyond the arc.
The NBA star is visiting at the invitation of the Taoyuan Taiwan Beer Leopards of the Taiwan Professional Basketball League.
He was scheduled to appear at a 3-on-3 event at The Westin Tashee Resort in Taoyuan yesterday afternoon.
Tomorrow, he is to be a special guest at another basketball event at Taoyuan Arena, where he is to join two-time NBA champion Kawhi Leonard.
Tomorrow's event is jointly organized by the Leopards and the Asian Tournament as part of Leonard’s Asia tour, which includes his first-ever visit to Taiwan.
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, returned to Taiwan last night after being deported from the US. She is to stand trial in Taiwan for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said it took her into custody at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and would first question her before transferring her to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. She was arrested upon disembarking a flight from San Francisco that landed shortly before 7pm. Liou absconded to the US in 2019 after jumping bail
Shih Hsin University President Chen Ching-he (陳清河) yesterday issued a public apology for comments made in his commencement speech last week, stating that he has asked the school to suspend his duties and halt his wages for two months as a show of contrition. At the commencement ceremony on May 30, Chen said, “If you don’t manage your time well, or your own emotions, or your health, then I am telling every one of you — put a quick end to ‘you,’ because the world has no need for ‘you.’” The comments have sparked significant controversy online, and Chen through an open
RSS