The New York Knicks Summer League team wrapped up a successful run in Las Vegas on Saturday night. New York’s team showed a good deal of talent and ability, winning three of their five contests, despite playing with only one first-round pick and one star second-rounder.
But records are irrelevant in Summer League. It’s more about what your younger prospects show in terms of their upside and potential. And New York had a few guys play well enough to possibly get themselves invited to the Knicks training camp in October. Let’s explore who stood out the most.
Tyler Kolek looked NBA-ready in Las Vegas over the last week or so. The 34th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft dished out a total of 35 assists and turned the ball over just five times in five games. He also averaged 9.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.2 steals in 27.2 minutes per contest. Oh, and he hit a game winning layup in a contest where he scored 21 points.
But records are irrelevant in Summer League. It’s more about what your younger prospects show in terms of their upside and potential. And New York had a few guys play well enough to possibly get themselves invited to the Knicks training camp in October. Let’s explore who stood out the most.
Tyler Kolek is ready for prime time
Tyler Kolek looked NBA-ready in Las Vegas over the last week or so. The 34th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft dished out a total of 35 assists and turned the ball over just five times in five games. He also averaged 9.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.2 steals in 27.2 minutes per contest. Oh, and he hit a game winning layup in a contest where he scored 21 points.
Specifically, Kolek proved to be an incredibly reliable free throw shooter (90.9 percent), but his three-point shot can definitely use a little work (31.6 percent), as can his defense.
And then there’s his passing. The former Marquette guard is at his best when he’s attacking and finding cutting teammates amidst the chaos of a motion offense. He demonstrated tremendous vision, once finding a teammate at the three-point line while doing a 360-degree jump pass from under the basket. The 23 year-old also proved to be very good at throwing lobs, despite there not really being any huge lob threats on the Summer League squad. That will not be the case in the regular season with Mitchell Robinson on the floor.
But records are irrelevant in Summer League. It’s more about what your younger prospects show in terms of their upside and potential. And New York had a few guys play well enough to possibly get themselves invited to the Knicks training camp in October. Let’s explore who stood out the most.
Tyler Kolek is ready for prime time
Tyler Kolek looked NBA-ready in Las Vegas over the last week or so. The 34th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft dished out a total of 35 assists and turned the ball over just five times in five games. He also averaged 9.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.2 steals in 27.2 minutes per contest. Oh, and he hit a game winning layup in a contest where he scored 21 points.
Specifically, Kolek proved to be an incredibly reliable free throw shooter (90.9 percent), but his three-point shot can definitely use a little work (31.6 percent), as can his defense.
And then there’s his passing. The former Marquette guard is at his best when he’s attacking and finding cutting teammates amidst the chaos of a motion offense. He demonstrated tremendous vision, once finding a teammate at the three-point line while doing a 360-degree jump pass from under the basket. The 23 year-old also proved to be very good at throwing lobs, despite there not really being any huge lob threats on the Summer League squad. That will not be the case in the regular season with Mitchell Robinson on the floor.
Kolek also passes well with both hands and showed the ability to fit the ball into tight spaces from the pocket, with the results often being delicate and subtle dimes.
In reality, Kolek will probably not become an All-Star. But he demonstrated an ability to run an offense, and he showed impressive passing skills in the pick-and-roll. He probably stamped his ticket to be on the regular season roster, and after his performances in Vegas, he may be in contention to be the team’s primary backup point guard.
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