Patrick Beverley Clears The Air On Former Teammate Karl-Anthony Towns Allegedly Being “Soft”

For years, Karl-Anthony Towns has carried the label of being soft—arguably unfairly. But where did it start, and who’s responsible for giving the Knicks big man that tag? Many point to Jimmy Butler’s infamous 2018 practice blow-up in Minnesota, where the two were teammates. Butler also made pointed comments aimed at KAT during intense in-game matchups.

The now-Warriors forward was a very different figure toward the end of his Timberwolves stint. Desperate to leave, he began going off on his teammates, taunting them with lines like “They ain’t sh*t” and “They soft.”

Unfortunately, Towns, among others, became a target in the process. A few days ago, Rashad McCants called Towns a ‘cat’, implying that he is indeed soft and carries that tag rightly so.

“My downside of KAT is being a cat, You know what I’m saying? You can be a tiger, You can be a lion, you can be a panther, and all those things. And then you can be a little Siamese (cat),” Bosh said in an episode of Gils Arena.

“KAT is going to be a cat. We’re just going to have to work with the cat. We got the dogs in the backyard and the cat in the front yard. We got to play the field the way we got it. We can’t complain about it. We got what we got,” he added.

While it’s not certain whether Butler was the origin, the narrative, has stuck around longer than it should have—especially for a player who has consistently put up numbers and played through adversity, first in Minnesota and now in New York. Towns’ former teammate Patrick Beverley recently decided to speak up and set the record straight.

On a recent Playback livestream, Beverley explained why the “soft” label doesn’t match the reality of who Karl-Anthony Towns is as a player.

According to Beverley, the perception is all wrong. He said KAT isn’t soft at all—just misunderstood. “He wasn’t soft, he was just different,” Beverley said. He also shared that Towns grew up with a coach for a father, meaning he was immersed in basketball from a young age. That upbringing gave him an edge—not just mentally, but also in terms of skill development.

That’s why Towns can do things most seven-footers can’t—whether it’s stretching the floor, putting the ball on the deck, or facilitating offense. His game is layered, versatile, and built on skill. Beverley emphasized that for a player with that kind of talent, being loud or animated on the court to prove he can play, isn’t necessary.

Just because Towns isn’t outwardly fiery doesn’t mean he lacks grit. His style leans more toward finesse than brute force, but his toughness shows in how he continues to perform amid constant criticism. Most importantly, it’s time to retire the “soft” label—because Karl-Anthony Towns is anything but.

Someone who’s “soft” doesn’t usually go No.1 in the Draft, earn five NBA All-Star selections, and make three All-NBA teams in under a decade.