It’s been a mostly quiet two seasons for Knicks second-round pick Tyler Kolek, after he appeared in just 41 games last season and scored a total of 81 points in very limited action. He came back this season as a bit more of a polished player, and though he’s gotten more appearance under his belt–22 in all–he has not quite had a breakout-type performance.
Until Tuesday, that is, in the championship final against the Spurs for the NBA Cup. Kolek played 20 minutes to tie a career high but poured in 14 points on 5-for-9 shooting, setting another career high. In fact, Kolek had never scored double digits before Tuesday, but he was a key part of an important bench unit that helped key a 124-113 win for the championship.
This comes as the Knicks are clearly giving Kolek more runway as the backup to star point guard Jalen Brunson, as he’d been averaging 13.4 points over the team’s last 11 games.
Tyler Kolek Instead of Trade for Backup PG?
For the Knicks, backup point guard has been one of the areas the team was expecting to address at the NBA trade deadline in early February. There had been rumors that the Knicks were weighing a potential trade for exiled point guard Chris Paul, and that could still come to be.
James Edwards III of The Athletic reported on Thursday, “(The Knicks are) targeting a ballhandler from what I’ve been hearing. Not every name thrown out there has been accurate, though.”
Kolek has certainly been making a case for that ballhandler’s role, and his performance on Tuesday was a big boost to it. It helps, too, that he appeared to pair well with backup scorer Jordan Clarkson, who scored 15 points in 27 minutes. The Knicks are still awaiting the return of Miles McBride from an ankle injury, and that return is sure to have an impact on how coach Mike Brown uses Kolek.
Knicks Give Good Showing in NBA Cup
Either way, it was a good win for the Knicks in a tournament that has featured several solid, entertaining games. The Knicks-Spurs game on Tuesday put a rather successful bow on the 2025 version of NBA Cup, which is now in its third year and appears to have enough momentum to remain a viable part of the leagueâs early-season schedule. Anything that can draw in fans for pre-Christmas pro basketball is going to be something the league wants to invest in, and thereâs little doubt that the Cup has accomplished that.
Coaches and front offices have bought in. Players have bought in. And fans have followed, giving the tournament some legitimacy. The Cup probably wonât have as much of a presence in Las Vegas going forward, and that will be part of the tinkering with the tournament going forward. But commissioner Adam Silver has been pleased.
âI’ll just say quickly so far this season, the competition has been fantastic,â Silver said in his pre-final press conference. âWe’ve seen record ratings. In fact, the highest viewership in the last 15 years so far this season. In terms of the Cup interest in the month of November, and that was something very important to us, we’ve now had our three highest-attended months of November in the history of the league, and I think a lot of that is due to the increased interest in these Cup games.
âI’m very pleased with where we are.â
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