Knicks Summer League Preview

Vegas Baby, Vegas!!

The 2025 Summer League has arrived, with New York tipping off their opener on Friday night.

Here are their first four contests:
Friday, July 11, 6:00 p.m. EST - Knicks vs. Detroit Pistons (NBATV)
Sunday, July 13, 5:30 p.m. EST - Knicks vs. Boston Celtics (NBA TV)
Tuesday, July 15, 6:00 p.m. EST - Knicks vs. Brooklyn Nets (ESPN2)
Thursday, July 17, 4:0 p.m. EST - Knicks vs. Indiana Pacers (ESPN2)

New York will play a fifth game, which will be determined by their record through the first four. If they qualify for the championship, it will be played on Sunday night.

And the Knicks are bringing all their kids. New York's four draft picks from last season (Pacome Dadiet, Kevin McCullar Jr., Tyler Kolek, and Ariel Hukporti) are all heading out west, along with this year's rookies: Dink Pate, James Nnaji, and Mohamed Diawara. Other players who are expected to see playing time include MarJon Beauchamp, the former first-round pick who signed a two-way contract with New York in 2024-25. The Knicks' other two-way contributor, Gonzaga standout Anton Watson, who appeared in five games with the big club last season, is also making the trip.

Here's the full roster (note that Rokas Jokubaitis is NOT with the team for the first time since he was drafted):

The club will be coached by Jordan Brink, who served as an assistant under Tom Thibodeau last season. The fact that he's been tabbed by the club as the team's head coach in Vegas is a good sign that he will join Mike Brown's staff next season as well.

As we look forward to this summer's action, many of us may not remember much about last year's rookies because they saw so few minutes. Thus, allow me to provide a refresher course.

Tyler Kolek:

Kolek grew up in Cumberland, Rhode Island and was born into a basketball family. His father, Kevin, now a retired police officer, was named the Little East Conference Player during his playing days at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Tyler was named the Rhode Island Gatorade Boys Basketball Player of the Year as a high school junior but didn't receive any offers from top-tier D1 colleges. No Big East or Power Five conference program recruited Kolek. He ended up choosing George Mason over other mid-majors, such as Holy Cross, Elon, Northeastern, and Vermont.

Kolek started his freshman season at George Mason coming off the bench but was promoted to the starting lineup by the team's fourth game. He ended his debut campaign by being named the Atlantic 10 Conference Rookie of the Year after averaging 10.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists. However, when Mason's head coach, Dave Paulsen, was fired after the season, Kolek entered the NCAA transfer portal.

Several big-time teams pursued Kolek as his stock was on the rise. He landed at Marquette and immediately made his presence felt. Stepping into the starting lineup right away, Kolek led the Big East with 5.9 assists per game in his first season. The following year, as a junior during the 2022-23 season, Kolek established himself as an NCAA star, and NBA teams took notice.

That season, he averaged 12.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.8 steals and a conference-leading 7.9 assists (which ranked second nationally) while committing just 2.5 turnovers. Kolek ranked first in the Big East in assist/turnover ratio at 3.3. He went on to lead the Golden Eagles to the league's tournament title (their first since 1997 when they were members of Conference USA) and was awarded the tourney's Most Outstanding Player award.

That March, Kolek was named the Big East Player of the Year. Remarkably, before the season, he wasn't among the ten players selected (via a vote among the league's head coaches) for a spot on either the Preseason All-Big East First Team or Second Team. He wasn't even included among the three players to receive an honorable mention. The league's coaches picked the Golden Eagles to finish ninth in the conference. Kolek was asked about the perceived disrespect during the team's media day in October 2022. His response? "F*ck 'em," which became a battle cry for the Golden Eagles throughout their championship run.

As a senior in 2023-24, Kolek averaged 15.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 7.7 assists (which led the entire nation), 1.5 made three-pointers and 1.6 steals. Once again, he was remarkably efficient on the offensive end, shooting 49.6% from the floor, 38.8% from downtown and 85.1% from the charity stripe.

Per Basketball Reference, he became the first NCAA player in over 30 years to average more than 15 points and seven assists per game while also slashing at least 49/38/85%. He's also one of only two players in Big East Conference history to average more than seven dimes and more than 12 points per game in multiple seasons (Syracuse's Sherman Douglas is the other).