The acquisition of star center Karl-Anthony Towns has already paid dividends for the New York Knicks, and many around the NBA are starting to take notice.

“Stuff is coming so much easier for them than it did last year,” an Eastern Conference scout told ESPN’s Chris Herring of the Knicks’ 16-10 start to the season. “We knew the spacing would be better with Towns, but I didn’t think they’d be humming like this so quickly.”

After spending the first nine seasons of his career with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Towns was sent to the Knicks this past offseason in a blockbuster trade. The two teams are set to face each other for the first time this season on Thursday night.

The New Jersey native has excelled in his return to the East Coast with averages of 24.8 points, a league-leading and career-high 13.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.0 blocks across 24 appearances. Towns had averaged under 22 points in each of his last two seasons in Minnesota, and he hadn’t averaged a double-double since the 2020-21 campaign.

Behind Towns’ hot start, the Knicks rank sixth in the NBA with a +6.2 point differential. After back-to-back second-round exits from the playoffs in the last two years, New York looks poised to contend for a title this season.

Towns will get the chance to show his old team what it’s missing when the Knicks take on the Timberwolves (14-11) at the Target Center at 9:30 p.m. ET on TNT.