“What the coach wants from me is physical defense.”
In the NBA Cup final against the Spurs, Landry Shamet suffered a sprained right shoulder and Myles McBright also missed the game due to an ankle injury, leaving Jalen Brunson’s only backup guard, Tyler Kolek. Kolek was selected with the 34th pick in the second round last year and was traded to the Knicks from the Trail Blazers on the day of the draft. He signed a four-year contract with the Knicks, but in the first year he was sent to the G League several times and appeared in 41 games, but never made a big impact.
Even so, in his second year this year, although his playing time is limited, he has gradually increased his role as a reserve guard who works hard during the time when Brunson is resting. The impetus was the change of coach from Tom Thibodeau, whose playing time was biased toward the main players, to Mike Brown.
Kolek showed great energy offensively and defensively in the NBA Cup Finals. He took a 3-point shot from in front of Victor Wembanyama, stopped Harrison Barnes’ drive with tenacious defense, drew Wemby with his rim attack, assisted Anunoby’s corner three, and tipped a loose ball in a contest for a rebound and connected it to his teammate.
Kolek’s hustle was on display in every aspect of the game, both offensively and defensively, and as a result, Brown made the decision to use him at the same time as Brunson in the fourth quarter and entrust him with the game.
The lineup at the start of the fourth quarter was Brunson, Kolek, Jordan Clarkson, OG Anunoby, and Mitchell Robinson. Robinson grabbed five offensive rebounds in the next minute and a half, leading to his own tap dunk and back-to-back 3-pointers by Clarkson, turning the Reds from five points behind. Coach Brown said, “I didn’t hesitate. I immediately decided, “These guys made the game exciting, so let’s go all the way with this group.””
Kolek was replaced by Josh Hart with four minutes left in the game, but was reinserted 1:30 later and played until the end. Although the NBA Cup Finals are not officially recorded, his 20 minutes played and 14 points were both career highs for him. He also recorded 5 rebounds and 5 assists, making a big contribution to the team winning the title.
“Every time I get put on the court, I want to raise the level of toughness. I want to change the game with my energy,” Kolek said on NBA on Prime after the game.
In the semifinals against the Magic, Kolek played 18 minutes and had a +18 point differential. You can contribute to the team even if you don’t have any stats. This led to Korek’s breakout career. “We don’t know what’s going to happen in a game, but there are some things we can consistently bring to the table. If we keep our intensity, diligence and defense at a certain level, the rest will follow.”
After the game, Brunson, who was named MVP, mentioned Kolek by name and said, “If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have won the MVP trophy and our team wouldn’t have won.”
Kolek also respects Brunson, one of the best players in the NBA in his position, and is happy to be able to play alongside him. “For him to be able to score that much at that size is just amazing. He’s a great teammate and a great leader. He’s a great role model to learn from.”
“I’ve been getting more playing time these past few games, and it’s an unprecedented opportunity to play alongside Jalen. That’s why I kept in mind that what the coach wanted from me was physical defense, and I tried to play efficiently with him. I think that’s why I was able to put him in the closing lineup in the fourth quarter.”
