The Knicks traded up to get Kolek at 34. The Marquette alum could be a secret weapon for New York later in the season.
It’s not too long ago that a guy like Tyler Kolek would be competing to start for the New York Knicks. Six years ago, the Knicks had Frank Ntilikina starting with Ron Baker and Emmanuel Mudiay backing him up. Five years ago, it was Allonzo Trier, Elfrid Payton, and Dennis Smith Jr. Four years ago, it was Payton, Ntilikina, Smith, and a rookie by the name of Immanuel Quickley.
Since then, the Knicks have enjoyed depth at the lead guard position unseen here for a generation. This year, they not only have a truly elite point guard running the show but also a pair of capable backups in Deuce McBride and Cameron Payne. Lost in the shuffle due to a ton of bodies, however, is the 34th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft: Tyler Kolek.
Kolek has followed an eerily similar path to this moment than a certain Knicks guard. They couldn’t have started more differently. While said guard was a five-star going to a borderline blue blood, Kolek was an unranked kid from Rhode Island with five D-I offers. He winded up enrolling at George Mason University.
In his freshman year, Kolek was a stud in the season partially shortened due to COVID. He started 18 of 22 games, averaging 10.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists on just 39.9% from the field. It was a fairly unremarkable Atlantic 10 team with only one other player who got drafted (Jordan Miller, 48th overall in 2023). GMU’s coach got fired and Kolek entered the transfer portal. His play earned him Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year and had him as a high-major target in the portal.
When he got there, the Marquette Golden Eagles were in a bad spot as a program. They hadn’t been past the first round of the NCAA tournament since 2013. They had just endured their first losing season since 2015. They made a coaching change to Shaka Smart after he was fired by Texas. Kolek was joining a team with Justin Lewis and Olivier-Maxence Prosper. He wasn’t much of a scorer naturally and only took seven shots a game as a sophomore.
Although he led the Big East with 5.9 assists a game, Kolek shot a horrid 32% from the field and 28.1% from three on an improved Marquette team that made the tournament. Kolek only made one shot in a blowout loss against the eventual runner-up North Carolina but had ten assists.
The emergence of rising sophomore Kameron Jones catapulted that Marquette team into one of the nation’s best in 2022-23, but Kolek also took a major step forward in every facet of the game. In 36 games, Kolek averaged 12.9 points, 7.5 assists, and 4.1 rebounds on suddenly elite shooting, 39.8% from deep. Kolek’s emergence won him Big East Player of the Year and Big East Tournament MVP, as well as resulting in Marquette’s best season in 45 years. Although they got bounced in the first weekend, Kolek was becoming one of the more recognizable names in college hoops.
He was arguably better in his senior year, averaging 15.3 points and a Division I-leading 7.7 assists on similar shooting. Kolek was named to another All-Big East First Team and was a Consensus Second-Team All-American. Once again, Marquette came up short in the tournament, losing in the Sweet Sixteen despite Kolek averaging 18.7 points, 8.4 assists, and 7.0 rebounds in three tournament games.
Kolek starred in Summer League and carried it through the preseason. After a few great games as the floor general in July (including a crisp game-winner vs Sacramento), he played a more realistic role in the preseason, averaging 11.5 points and 4.3 assists on 48/35/100 splits in 18 minutes a game.
So, you might be wondering who I was referring to earlier when I said Kolek’s path was similar. The player in question is a guy who has reached heights unrealistic for most guards of his type, but Kolek has what he can be. Jalen Brunson was an undersized guard who was never the fastest or most athletic guy on the team. Brunson was a better recruit, saw significantly more team success, and rose to the heights of the best player in the nation in 2017-18. So why compare him to Kolek?
Both of them had incredible college success that the pros overlooked. In the NBA, potential and traits are valued more than what you did in college. That’s why the best collegiate player in the nation went 32nd overall in 2018. Brunson has spent his whole career proving people wrong, people who tried to mold him into a role that he wasn’t.
Kolek has always shown a ton of fire. His Instagram embodies his personality. Look at this post. The way he plays is a level of pesky annoyance that caused Big East Twitter to spread rumors he was illiterate (Josh Hart may or may not have believed it). When people compared him to Knicks nemesis T.J. McConnell during summer league, he felt insulted by it.
How does he fit in here? He’s not a raw product like the newly minted 19-year-old Pacome Dadiet. Kolek isn’t a finished product, but he’s considerably more NBA-ready than Dadiet. For most of the summer, I thought Kolek was above Cam Payne in the depth chart, but happenings post-KAT trade have clearly shown Kolek doesn’t have a role for the Knicks… yet.
Injuries happen. In fact, we don’t really know what the rotation is gonna look like on Opening Night. I would be shocked if the Knicks used McBride, Payne, and Kolek in the same game, for example. That said, if any of them miss time, Kolek will be the next man up. Landry Shamet’s injury opened the door so that it was indisputable.
What goals should Kolek have in a season he’ll mostly spend riding the pine?
Learn from the master
Hey, he said it. He thinks his skillset is closer to the face of the franchise than we think. Although there’s some rivalry bad blood between their colleges, it would be wise for Kolek to go under the wing of Jalen Brunson, who was voted as the second best leader in the NBA. As I said earlier, he’s who Kolek should be shooting for as an NBA player. He’s already better than JB at something (playmaking) but learning how Brunson uses his herky-jerky style to score as much as he does while taking every bump and bruise on both sides of the court is exactly what Kolek should be doing to refine his game and take a leap.
Take Advantage of Any Opportunity
Newsflash: someone is eventually going to miss time. We don’t have the super soldier serum perfected yet, nor have we figured out how to turn injuries off like it’s 2k. Brunson, Payne, and McBride are all likely to miss at least one game. When that happens, Kolek is going to play. When we drafted him, through summer league, and through preseason, I labeled him as a “Thibs guy”. You don’t have to be an elite defender to be a Thibs guy (see: Brunson). What you have to be is smart, tough, and dependable. Kolek checks the boxes. If he takes advantage of these opportunities, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him on the court come playoff time.