The first name that comes to mind for Mikal Bridges is Aron Baynes. The next are Frank Kaminsky, Jock Landale and Dario Saric. Then, Bridges draws a blank. The Nets didn’t have a floor-spacing center after his arrival in Brooklyn as part of the Kevin Durant trade. Neither did the Knicks, at least not until late Friday night, when they traded Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Karl-Anthony Towns. Randle, a career 33.3% shooter from deep, was set to play sporadic minutes at the five with Mitchell Robinson’s delayed return from ankle surgery. Towns, who shoots 39.8% from three, is in a different stratosphere. Now, so are the Knicks. They are staring down their most potent offensive season yet, courtesy of adding the best shooting big man in NBA history. Towns is certainly that. He shot 40% or better from deep in five of his last seven seasons in Minneapolis. For reference, Dirk Nowitzki — who revolutionized the stretch-big role — achieved this in just five of his 20 years in his Hall of Fame NBA career. Only a handful of 7-footers primarily playing center have attempted as many threes as Towns. Brook Lopez, Nikola Vucevic and Kristaps Porzingis are the only active centers with more than 2,000 career three-point attempts. Former Knicks shooter Channing Frye, an early stretch-five pioneer, also joins the group, though most of his attempts came at power forward. Myles Turner, another aggressive three-point shooter, has taken fewer than 1,700 threes, connecting on just 35.4% over his nine-year career. Towns clears them all, positioning the Knicks to chase their first championship since 1973 — when Willis Reed was considered an outside shooting threat at center six years before the three-point line was introduced in 1979. “[Towns’ shooting] allows the spacing — the court’s going to be wide open,” Josh Hart said during his Media Day at the Knicks’ Tarrytown Training Facility on Monday. “It’s going to free up more opportunities for offensive rebounds. It’s going to be a positive. … It definitely will open up the floor.” * * * Tom Thibodeau is half-right. The Knicks did play some five-out basketball last season. Isaiah Hartenstein operated above the key as a playmaker, and Precious Achiuwa helped space the floor, creating driving lanes for Hart and Jalen Brunson after his arrival in the OG Anunoby trade. However, Hartenstein attempted more threes in a viral workout clip during the offseason than he did all of last season when he shot just one-of-three from deep. Achiuwa, despite his shooting potential, is a 30.7% career three-point shooter who hasn’t cracked 30% since 2022. The Knicks don’t have to worry about that with Towns, the 2022 NBA Three-Point Contest champion. He and Nowitzki are the only 7-footers who have won the event, a contest usually reserved for guards and wings. Towns recorded 13 games with four or more made threes last season alone, including a 62-point explosion against Charlotte where he shot 10-of-15 from beyond the arc. He holds the record for most threes made in a game by a center and has 21 career games with five or more made threes. Which means if the Knicks were playing five-out last season, this time around with Towns, they’ll be playing five-out on rocket fuel. “Whether you have four-out and one-in that converts to five-out, I think it opens up the basket,” Thibodeau said Monday. “The more shooting you have…we need as many easy baskets as we can get with the basket open. We want to get to the line, we want to shoot open threes. Offensively we were pretty good, and I think we can take another step this year.” If the Knicks’ offense does take a step, Towns and his size 20 shoes will be a major reason why. Anunoby shot 39.4% from deep after his trade to New York last season. Brunson shot 40.1%, and Bridges hit 37% in Brooklyn. With Towns in the lineup, their percentages may rise, as he’ll stretch the defense even further. Defenses will have to guard all five players beyond the arc, including Hart, who — despite being the weakest shooter on paper — shot 51% from three after his trade to New York. “It’s a different dynamic for sure. It gives us another weapon,” said Brunson, who played alongside Porzingis as a stretch-five in Dallas. “But you still have to see how the defense reacts to different situations…it’s definitely different out there.” Bridges and Anunoby understand the problems stretch-fives cause, as two of the most active wing defenders in the game. Both have had to chase shooters who also play center, a unique defensive challenge. “I think just probably matchups — fives that usually guard the paint, protect the rim,” said Bridges. “Having perimeter defenders guard stretch fives…it can get confusing because if the big pops, you’re so used to making him score in the paint. Sometimes it’s a mismatch.” “It’s definitely harder [to defend],” added Anunoby. “Covering ground, helping, and being on your man. It’s harder to navigate.” They now go from chasing stretch fives to playing alongside the best to touch an NBA floor. “I like KAT, man. Played against him for years,” said Bridges. “He can stretch the floor. You forget to stand next to him and play because he’s always playing the four, but just how tall he is. He tall as hell.” “Playing five-out, like the floor being spaced, driving lanes being open. That’s the main thing,” added Anunoby. * * * Draymond Green is by no means a lights-out shooter, but he keeps defenses honest. His role as a small-ball center has helped the Golden State Warriors secure four NBA titles, including three in a four-year span. The trend of championship teams using floor-spacing centers is undeniable: Porzingis and Al Horford in Boston, Nikola Jokic in Denver, Lopez and Bobby Portis in Milwaukee, Anthony Davis in Los Angeles, Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka in Toronto, Frye and Kevin Love in Cleveland, and even Baynes and Matt Bonner in San Antonio. Simply put, a stretch-five increases a team’s title chances. Again, the Knicks didn’t just acquire any stretch-five — they landed the best in NBA history. And while Towns will be asked to shoot threes from the corner at times, his bread and butter is above the break. Last season, 297 of his 327 threes came from the wing or top of the key, creating even more space for his teammates to go to work. Towns is unlike any player his new teammates have played with, except perhaps Brunson, who saw similar stretches with Porzingis in Dallas. Towns’ unique skill set gives the Knicks unprecedented offensive firepower. And he defends. Towns can guard multiple positions, and before Minnesota traded for Rudy Gobert, he averaged at least one block per game every season. Now, he joins New York as a legitimate three-and-D threat, but at center. It’s a significant upgrade at the Knicks’ most critical position. Perhaps it’s why Bridges drew blanks after naming a few big men who shot threes, none at the volume or efficiency of his newest teammate. “It’s huge,” Hart said. “When you have a player like that, we talked about the spacing, protecting the rim, competitiveness, and sacrifice. You saw that last year — his willingness to let others shine and develop. He’s high character, willing to sacrifice to win, and fits right in. That’s a winning recipe. “I’m extremely excited about someone like that. Excited.”