Knicks' Historic G League Season Ends

Postseason heartbreak came a little earlier for the New York Knicks franchise this time around.

Despite another dominant interior effort from Moses Brown, the Westchester Knicks fell by a 124-118 final to the Maine Celtics in the quarterfinal round of the 2025 NBA G League Playoffs. Brown had 27 points and 26 rebounds in defeat but that wasn't enough to best Boston's affiliate, which now faces the Osceola Magic in the Eastern Conference Final portion.

Westchester's season was ended by a sterling effort from G League MVP JD Davison, who earned 32 points and 17 assists. Maine led by as much as 19 and held on to the lead despite several Westchester rallies, which were assisted by Brown's usual double-decade outputs and strong shooting nights from Kevin McCullar Jr. and reserve Jamal Bey.

The loss did nothing to curb the enthusiasm of second-year head coach DeSagana Diop, the eighth overall pick of the 2001 draft and runner-up in the G League Coach of the Year vote.

"I'm proud of those guys, man. We've been through a lot this year," Diop said. "You go through things and you just got to keep fighting. Life is not easy and that's what I told them ... I love being here with my family. I enjoy the G League, I feel I'm getting better, and we'll see what happens next."

Thus ends a historic season on Westchester's end: behind the efforts of regulars like Brown and the departed T.J. Warren, as well as appearances from the four-man rookie class headlined by first-rounder Pacome Dadiet, the G League Knicks won a franchise record 35 games and also became the first team to win consecutive editions of the Winter Showcase in-season tournament.

Westchester's obvious attractions were the rookies: Dadiet and McCullar spent most of the year in White Plains while Ariel Hukporti and Tyler Kolek each partook amidst fleeting appearances in the NBA starting five.

But it was a eventful year on Westchester's transactional ledger as well: several of the team's regulars received NBA offers from elsewhere, including Brown (Indiana/Dallas), Damion Baugh (Charlotte), and Chuma Okeke (Philadelphia). Okeke, in fact, couldn't play much in the second half, as he was signed by the Cleveland Cavaliers amidst the postseason action.

Diop, working through his first professional head coaching job, saw all that and more as the hallmarks of a strong season.

"It's a league that everybody want to get out of, get out of here with the NBA," Diop said. "It's not going to happen for everybody, but we've been lucky since I've been here, had a lot of call ups, and that's what it's about, man. I'm happy to see those guys doing that, and guys from the bench coming in [to the NBA], stepping in, and doing a good job."

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