Andre Drummond didn’t need to say much to show where he separates himself from Mitchell Robinson.
Since signing with the Knicks in July, Drummond has naturally been linked to the former New York center because the two big men share plenty of the same calling cards. They rebound, they battle, they live in the physical stuff. But when Drummond spoke with the media recently, he pointed to one area that makes him different almost immediately: his willingness to let it fly from deep.
Asked whether his growing perimeter game is something he expects to keep showing now that he’s in New York, Drummond made his stance clear. He said he’s not out there “hunting” shots from beyond the arc, but added, “If the shot is there I'll take it.”
That approach was already part of his game in Philadelphia last season, and the numbers backed it up. Drummond posted career highs in attempts, with 90, and makes, with 32, while shooting 35.6 percent, the second-best mark of his career.
Robinson never attempted a three-pointer across eight seasons with the Knicks, so at the very least, Drummond gives New York something it did not have before: a backup center who can stretch the floor a little.
The more practical upgrade may be at the foul line. Drummond’s career free throw percentage sits at 48.9, which is below Robinson’s 50.8 on the surface.
But the larger picture tells a different story. Since 2018, Drummond has hit 58.2 percent from the stripe, about 10 points better than Robinson over that same eight-year stretch.
He also finished last season with the best free throw percentage of his career at 63.1 percent. Robinson’s worst came in at 40.8 percent.
Drummond isn’t going to be mistaken for a polished shooter, but compared with what the Knicks had before, he does represent a real step up in that area.
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