What Knicks Fans Should Make of Tyler Nickel's Rocky Debut

When a player drafted to the NBA made 40% of his three-pointers over three years between the ACC and SEC, it’s fair to think that player has a chance to go pro. When that player goes scoreless in his preseason debut, it’s reasonable to wonder about the chasm-sized fine line separating the best amateurs from the pros.

When that player is Tyler Nickel, what’s reasonable is also ridiculous.

Yes, his first-ever NBA box score will probably never end up in Springfield. But there are plenty of reasons why the most reasonable position to take with the Knick rookie is not to nickel and dime his game to death, but rather to see him as taking the first steps on what New York hopes is a long and fruitful journey.

Patience is how the Knicks have won with similar projects

Miles McBride is a fan favorite, a three-and-D combo guard drafted and developed in the Knicks organization. Through no fault of his own, he is due a new contract next summer, one expected to lift him from underpaid to properly paid, one the Knicks are unlikely to offer.

Leon Rose has seen this movie before. Three years ago, Immanuel Quickley was the fan fave three-and-D combo guard who’d outplayed his rookie contract and was due for a big raise.

The moral of this story isn’t that Rose is likely to use Deuce in a deal to bring in another starter, the way IQ and RJ Barrett netted OG Anunoby. It's that when Quickley was ready to move on, the franchise had his replacement ready in McBride.

Miles McBride speaks — Miles McBride offers a possible blueprint for Knicks and Tyler Nickel. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Deuce didn’t come out setting the league on fire; his first two years he made only 28% of his three-point tries. But the Knicks followed his progress in the G League, even tracked his shooting numbers during practices. That unseen work gave the team the confidence that McBride would prove a workable successor to Quickley. Three years since, he's taken quadruple the number of threes as his first two and drilled 40% of them.

It’s been a trend ever since Rose took over in 2020: second-rounders get limited first-year minutes, then if they belong, their role is expanded. Note the jumps in minutes for these second-round Knicks from their first year to their second:

DEUCE MCBRIDE 372 → 760
JERICHO SIMS 555 → 812
ARIEL HUKPORTI 217 → 498
KEVIN MCCULLAR 29 → 155

Mohamed Diawara played 634 minutes last year; expect the former second-rounder via Cholet Basket in France to see that number make a leap this year. What Nickel shows or doesn’t show in year one is unlikely to be the last or the best of what he can do, in preseason game one even less so.

Narrower than The Narrows

The Narrows is the narrowest part of Zion Canyon in Utah’s Zion National Park. Nickel’s potential role with/value for the 2026-27 Knicks is even slimmer, and likely unaffected by the preseason.

Nickel isn't a viable roster candidate due to his size, his speed, hops, handle or defense. He’s got a shot because he’s got a shot. Man can splash. The ultimate, evolved Nickel would be a plus shooter from deep who can hold his own in a team defense. He’s nowhere near that now. The Knicks don’t need him to be.

Mike Brown was vocal in his on court support of Tyler Nickel. “Good shot, Tyler”! After a missed three off a DHO. And a “Good job, Tyler”! After a great crash on the offensive glass. It was very notable. Thought Nickel played well. Shots didn’t go in (they will eventually) but…
— DJ Zullo (@DJAceNBA) October 6, 2026

Diawara was an impactful regular-season player, yet come the playoffs little more than a human victory cigar, appearing in only six games the Knicks won by 14-51 points.

Nickel is unlikely to make much of an impact in the regular season or the postseason. The Knicks didn’t draft him to help their spacing come April, May and June. They won’t be concerned about a quiet eight minutes from him in early October. His role is to look good enough in Westchester this season to spend little to no time there next season.

What Nickel adds could be worth bench losses

Replacing a seven-foot center who can jump out of the gym with a 6-foot-7 forward who had the fourth-worst standing vertical in his draft class seems the opposite of common sense. You don't win a championship if you think like everybody else thinks.

The front office has been relentless in maximizing an often seemingly invisible amount of cap space. Mike Brown is famously Abe Lincoln-like in his comfort level with conflicting viewpoints. There is an uncommon sense behind investing time and patience in Nickel.

Unless the Knicks had signed Steven Adams to replace Robinson, there's no way they can avoid an inevitable dip in their offensive rebounding edge, a strength of theirs for years. New York had the league’s third-rated offense last season despite only scoring the 10th-most points.

Mitch provided such a voluminous advantage in the possession game he singularly upped their offensive efficiency with the sheer volume of extra looks he created. Andre Drummond is as good as the rest, but the rest ain't the best, and “good” and “GOAT” are entirely different countries.

Say the last two Knicks to win roster spots are Nickel and James Wiseman. Neither will have much asked of them, certainly not in the biggest moments of the year. But the margins are still a part of the page, and pages are where stories are written.

Drummond is a more skilled offensive center than Mitch. Wiseman is more skilled offensively than Hukporti. If Nickel is a Knick, his shooting will be why.

Could those additions offer a reasonable off-set of the hole Robinson left behind? It's not as ridiculous as it sounds.

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