Tyler Nickel’s Summer League with the Knicks opened like a highlight reel built for a sharpshooter. The second-round pick out of Vanderbilt arrived in Las Vegas with the reputation New York drafted him for, and he wasted no time flashing it.
In his first game against the Brooklyn Nets, Nickel went 6-of-10 from the field and finished with 18 points. He backed that up against the San Antonio Spurs, going 6-for-14 and scoring 16. For a stretch, it looked like the Knicks had found exactly what they wanted: a young shooter letting it fly and making defenses pay.
Then the rhythm changed. Against the Detroit Pistons, Nickel still hit three threes, but that was the whole story offensively.
He played 29:58, shot 3-for-13 overall, and finished with the lowest plus-minus among the five starters. His next outing against the Golden State Warriors wasn’t much better in volume, and maybe even looked a little hesitant.
Over 30 minutes, he went 3-for-6, made all three of his baskets from deep, and ended with nine points.
That kind of dip isn’t unusual in Summer League, but it did raise one small concern: whether Nickel was becoming too cautious after a rough night. Young players need to choose their spots, sure, but the Knicks also don’t want him shrinking from shots. For a player drafted to make buckets, simply passing up attempts can be a bigger issue than missing a few in an exhibition setting.
Still, Summer League is only part of the picture. The hot shooting nights matter just as much as the quiet ones.
What may stand out most from Nickel’s run is how much New York leaned on him. He logged his highest minutes in the final two games, which says plenty about what the Knicks are trying to figure out.
If Nickel sees the floor during the season, nobody is expecting him to be the featured scorer. In a smaller role, with less attention on him than he saw in Vegas, he could find cleaner looks and do what got him drafted in the first place. If he can knock down threes in bench minutes, that will say a lot more about his future than any Summer League stat line ever could.
In Other News...
Knicks Fans Will Love This New Mikal Bridges Jalen Brunson Moment
A little offseason camaraderie can go a long way, and the Knicks got a reminder of that at Donovan Mitchell and Coco Jones wedding, where Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges were caught in a playful moment that made the rounds on social media. For a team trying to turn talent and continuity into something bigger, those kinds of scenes tend to matter almost as much as what happens on the court.
Bridges, who arrived in New York after stops with the Suns and Nets, is expected to be a major piece for the Knicks as they look ahead to the 2026-27 campaign. The on-court fit still has to be proven, but the early read on the locker room is encouraging, and this is the sort of chemistry the Knicks are hoping can carry over once the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks May Already Have An Answer To A Growing Miles McBride Problem
The Knicks cap picture keeps getting tighter, and Mitchell Robinsons departure only sharpened the pressure on the roster around the margins. One of the biggest questions in that squeeze is what happens with Miles McBride, who is entering the final year of his contract and has become the kind of useful backcourt piece teams do not love to lose when finances start dictating the conversation.
There is at least one internal name worth watching if New York has to make a difficult call. Sophomore Mohamed Diawara has shown enough as a shooter and defender to make the front office think about whether his skill set can translate into the same kind of role, especially if he keeps developing. The comparison is not perfect yet, but it gives the Knicks a possible path if they need a cost-controlled answer rather than a costly retention decision. [Read more 🡒]