Knicks' Kevin McCullar Jr. Earned Unexpected Minutes vs. Hawks

New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown is making a strong impression over his first season in New York, and as he continues to tweak the minutes sheet to make up for injuries, he's allowing some young stars to emerge.

In their 128-125 win over the Atlanta Hawks, Brown explained that Knicks guard Kevin McCullar Jr. earned his 23 minutes after short stint of strong defense.

“[McCullar] was scheduled on my little minutes sheet to come in at the 8-minute mark of the first quarter. I was going to throw him on Trae just to see what happens," Brown said, via The New York Post. “Kev’s a young, really good defender, has a great feel on both ends of the floor, but especially that end of the floor."

Dec 27, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; New York Knicks guard Kevin McCullar Jr. (9) shoots against the Atlanta Hawks in the second quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

"I wanted to give him a chance. I threw him out there a few minutes and he was fantastic. So, he just earned more minutes. I didn’t have him down for that many minutes, but he definitely earned those minutes as the game went along.”

McCullar logged 13 points with eight rebounds and two assists during the game, and made 50% of his shots from three.

Brown Finding Trusted Bench Pieces

On social media, Brown got a shoutout for his celebration after McCullar sunk a three, and fans were delighted to see the coach so engaged with the success of the team's younger cohort. With Tyler Kolek and Jordan Clarkson playing similar roles among the Knicks' injured roster, Brown is doing a calculated job at marking lemonade out of lemons.

A coach that cares.
A coach that trusts.

Shout out to Mike Brown pic.twitter.com/lHelkFW5Nc
— KnicksNation (@KnicksNation) December 28, 2025

“That’s what having a team is about,” Brown said. “I feel confident in all our guys. [Miles] McBride has been out for a while, Landry [Shamet] has been out, so we’ve got to go to the next man."

“Josh [Hart] is out now with the ankle, so we’ve got to go to the next man. We just want guys to give us what they’re capable of. We don’t want them to go outside their box, but we just want them to give us hard minutes the time that they’re on the floor.”

Hart is expected to miss at least two more games with his Christmas Day ankle injury, suffered vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Knicks' 126-124 comeback victory. Shamet has been out since Nov. 22 with his shoulder injury, but is back to full on-court basketball activities, and is working his way back to full-contact.

The Knicks will face the 8-22 New Orleans Pelicans next, a road matchup, at 8 pm EST.

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