Where do LeBron James and Karl-Anthony Towns come from?
LeBron James was born in Akron, Ohio, on December 30, 1984, and attended St. Vincent–St. Mary in Akron. CNN reported on October 24, 2016, that he "actually grew up rooting for the New York Yankees." The report does not come from James himself, so it stands as an outlet's account rather than a statement of his own. He has played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers.
Karl-Anthony Towns was born in Edison, New Jersey, on November 15, 1995, and went to St. Joseph in Metuchen, New Jersey. MLB.com reported on June 20, 2026, that his Yankees attachment goes back to childhood, quoting him as saying "I just wanted to play nothing but baseball, I wanted to be a Yankee". Towns has played for the Minnesota Timberwolves and the New York Knicks, so his NBA home is now the same city as the team he followed as a kid.
Do the Yankees' World Series wins line up with their childhoods?
The Yankees won the World Series in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000, the years James turned 12, 14, 15 and 16. They also won it in 2009, the year Towns turned 14. Those are dates only, and nothing in the reporting ties either player's fandom to a title.
Questions people ask
Which athletes are Yankees fans?
LeBron James and Karl-Anthony Towns are both reported as Yankees fans, each since childhood.
Which athletes grew up Yankees fans?
CNN reported that James grew up rooting for the Yankees, and MLB.com reported that Towns has followed them since childhood.
Which athlete is the most famous Yankees fan?
The reporting doesn't rank fans by fame, but James and Towns are the two athletes with a sourced Yankees tie.