Karl-Anthony Towns has received luxury gifts before, the kind of high-end items that naturally follow an NBA star with an All-NBA résumé and max contract income. But none of those past presents compared to what he opened on his 30th birthday.
It wasn’t a Lamborghini. It wasn’t a custom watch. It was something much, much better.
It was his mother’s car, fully restored, polished, and preserved exactly the way he remembered it as a kid. And that made it priceless.
When longtime partner Jordyn Woods asked Towns what he would choose if he could have any car in the world, he didn’t name a sports car. He said he wanted the same car his late mother, Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, used to drive him in when he was young.
That answer sparked a months-long project that culminated in one of the most emotional basketball-player birthday moments in recent memory.
A gift rooted in grief, love, and nemory
Towns’ mother passed away in 2020 following complications from COVID-19, a loss that devastated him and reshaped his understanding of life, purpose, and mental health. He has spoken openly about the weight of grief and the difficulty in healing from losing his strongest supporter.
“It just got to a point where it was harming her,” Towns said in a previous interview with ESPN. “I made the hardest decision you can make… You’ve got to live with that. I made that decision.” The decision he is referring to was to turn off life support after his mother suffered a stroke.
“I’m still trying to figure out life without my mom,” he shared. “I’m trying to heal myself through my sister, my father, my friends… But I know one day all of this will catch up and I’ll have to face it directly.”
His mother’s car is more than a vehicle, it’s a piece of his childhood, a piece of her, and a reminder of the roots he still protects. Woods knew that, and she made the impossible possible. She secretly tracked down the exact model, worked with restoration experts, and kept the project hidden for months.
When Towns walked outside on his birthday and saw the car wrapped in a large red bow, he froze, then broke into a smile and fought back tears.
“This is so fire. This is the best day ever,” he said in an emotional Instagram video.
In a world where athletes are often gifted things that glimmer, this one resonated because it meant something deeper. It reminded fans that behind the highlights and headlines exists a man still navigating grief with honesty, vulnerability, and strength. And why basketball is only a small portion of life.
Drew Holbrook is an avid Kentucky fan who has been covering the Cats for over 10 years. In his free time he enjoys downtime with his family and Premier League soccer. You can find him on X here. Micah 7:7. #UptheAlbion