If you asked men between the ages of 18 and 20 what one place they want to go when they turn 21, you would undoubtedly get a lot of the same responses.
Las Vegas.
The gambling capital of the world, Vegas is the quintessential place for debauchery and a place where men come of age, even if it’s through unscrupulous actions.
Tyler Kolek has already turned 21, but the 24-year-old still used Las Vegas to come of age.
Entering the NBA Cup semifinal on Saturday, Kolek’s role had been limited off the bench.
He re-emerged from a several-week benching after injuries to Deuce McBride and Landry Shamet opened up bench minutes, but failed to make an impact right away.
Despite occasional flashes, the Knicks struggled mightily when he was on the court. In the five games prior to NBA Cup knockout play, Kolek had managed to be a minus-43 in a stretch where the Knicks went a dominant 4-1:
On court: -43 (64 min)
Off court: +114 (176 min)
This included a mind-boggling minus-23 in under 15 minutes in a six-point loss in Boston. He also had a negative plus/minus in the team’s 34-point blowout of the Jazz. It’s fair to say it’s not entirely on him, as the lineups that had him sharing the floor with Jalen Brunson and Jordan Clarkson were historically bad, but it spoke to the Knicks’ lack of playable depth.
Enter the knockout round.
While not in Vegas, the tide began to turn here. Kolek only scored two points and had one assist in an extremely brief 7:31 stint, but he was on the court when the Knicks blitzed the Raptors and took firm control of the game in the second quarter.
When the games moved to Las Vegas, you saw an increased confidence from the young player who was having to earn every opportunity that came his way. He registered three consecutive assists in the second quarter and was rewarded with an extended run in the second half.
Even more notable? He was out there alongside Brunson, a pairing that had previously been devastating for the Knicks on both sides of the ball. He provided the secondary playmaking that Leon Rose and company dreamed he could provide when he was drafted No. 38 overall in June 2024.
After two strong games leading into Tuesday’s final against the Spurs, Kolek’s strong play showed up on the statsheet. In a season-high 20 minutes, he scored a career-high 14 points with five assists, five rebounds, and just one turnover*
(*Technically, these stats do not count, but I’m sure it’ll count for him.)
Ultimately, the Marquette graduate completely flipped the script with how the team played with him on the court:
Tyler Kolek in the three NBA Cup knockout games:
On court: +45 (43 min)
Off court: -6 (101 min)
It wasn’t just his playmaking that stood out in these games, but his defensive intensity. It’s abundantly clear that the biggest thing that holds Kolek back from being an established rotation player is his physical limitations, but he plays with a similar Big East undersized guard who’s made it work with effort, and he appears to be learning.
A lot of it was just pure hustle. He hustled to grab a rebound off a missed free throw, he hustled to seal off a larger Spur to allow Mitchell Robinson to gobble up a rebound, he moved around off the ball, and when he did have the ball, he allowed Brunson to move off of it.
Speaking of Brunson, entering the NBA Cup knockout rounds, Kolek and Brunson had shared the floor for 20 total minutes, and the Knicks got obliterated to a minus-65.0 net rating.
In the last three games? They played together for 20 minutes and obliterated their opponents to the tune of a plus-70.7 net rating. It’s a stark reversal, and it has nothing to do with the personnel. The same three-man group of Kolek-Brunson-Clarkson that was getting smacked around was suddenly providing the energy against sturdy opponents.
It’s entirely possible that this is just a young player on a second-round salary being heavily motivated by a massive bonus, but it’s also possible that the Knicks are figuring out how to utilize one of their young players to create further depth.
