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Knicks’ Tyler Kolek Producing Unparalleled Impact Numbers

The New York Knicks' hot young prospect is stringing intriguingly positive appearances together.
Henry Brown|
Dec 25, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Tyler Kolek (13) reacts after making a three point basket during the second half against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Dec 25, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Tyler Kolek (13) reacts after making a three point basket during the second half against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

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New York Knicks

There aren't many NBA players more popular than Tyler Kolek in emerging from the NBA's eventful Christmas Day slate. It's one of the advantages of impressing on the New York Knicks, the league's biggest market with an impressive team to match.

They're getting more opportunities to perform for nationally-televised audiences than ever before, and Kolek added yet another promising performance to his December ledger in a 16-point outing that had no shortage of clutch fourth-quarter buckets.

That made for the third-showing of 16 points or more that Kolek's rattled off since NBA Cup play concluded, a momentous run to tournament honors that seemed to solidify the backup point guard as a full-time rotational mainstay. The coaching staff seemed to be telegraphing his oncoming breakthrough to a regular minute load, and his effectiveness at letting it fly from the perimeter has been the difference.

He's been a big factor in the Knicks' improving to a 21-9 record, helping to keep the points flowing when some of the usual starters take their seats.

As it turns out, the on/off stats over that last stretch of games agree with his positive impact. He's amounted a +80 over his last seven games, a mark that improves to +94 if we account for the Cup Final to lead the league, let alone all of his teammates.

Explaining the Impact

Now, it's worth noting Kolek's situation when parsing through these measurements. It favors those who play on winning teams, as well as those who get to largely match up against second-stringers, but Jalen Brunson's backup has generally held up whenever he's been thrust into any recent high-stakes situation.

He's appeared for at least 22 minutes in four of the five showings he's made since winning the Cup, proving to head coach Mike Brown that he's a big league playmaker who's ready to balance his shot diet with a willingness to pass. He still leaves some to be desired as a defender, as the coach has noted, but his extending the trust to let the little point guard help guide the squad forward in the clutch has prevailed.

On/off numbers are among the most misused in the basketball zeitgeist, figures that doesn't represent how good or bad a player is as much as it measures who works within their current context.

Kolek is still in a search to locate the most consistent version of himself on the Knicks, a machine that's much bigger than he is, but we can ascertain that whatever it is that he's doing it working as New York keeps stacking wins.

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Henry Brown
HENRY BROWN

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