Andre Drummond made a point of staying in the locker room while the Knicks celebrated their 2026 championship banner at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night, and he said afterward that the decision was about respect and readiness.
“Well, I gotta earn it,” Drummond said, via SNY Knicks. “I don’t want to experience something that I wasn’t there for.
So sitting back here, just got focused and was ready for the game. I want to be able to experience that because I was a part of it.
So, I let those guys have their moment.”
Drummond, who spent the previous two seasons with the 76ers, was not on the court for the pregame ceremony before New York’s season opener against his old team. The 33-year-old had been on the Philadelphia squad that was swept by the Knicks in the 2026 Eastern Conference Semifinals, and he felt that moment belonged to the players who had actually delivered the title.
He also showed up ready to play.
Drummond finished with 12 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, one steal and two blocks in the Knicks’ 106-100 loss. He was one of the few bright spots on a night when New York’s offense never really found its footing.
Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby were both central figures in the championship run, but against Philadelphia they never got in sync. The two combined to go 9-for-31 from the field.
Karl-Anthony Towns was the most productive starter by far, posting 19 points, 12 rebounds, one assist, one steal and two blocks. Even so, he played only 24 minutes after foul trouble took over early.
Towns picked up two fouls in the first four minutes of the opening quarter, which forced Drummond into the game earlier than expected. He then picked up another foul soon after returning in the second quarter.
That left Towns with just six minutes in the first half, and it also pushed Drummond into a heavy workload. At halftime, he had already logged 18 minutes, more than any other Knick, while putting up 10 points and 12 rebounds. The concern from there was obvious: how much more did he have left?
Not much, as it turned out. After the break, Drummond missed four of five shots and grabbed only two rebounds. The Knicks will need to manage his minutes carefully if they want him at his best, and Towns will need to stay out of foul trouble.
Still, for a debut, it was a strong showing from Drummond, who signed a one-year, $3.9 million deal in the summer after Mitchell Robinson left for the Boston Celtics. In his 15th NBA season, the No. 9 pick in the 2012 NBA Draft remains without a championship, and he’s hoping that changes with New York in 2027.
The Knicks, who ended a 53-year title drought in 2026, will try to rebound when they face the Celtics at TD Garden on Friday at 7:00 p.m. ET.
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