3. Kevin Knox’s struggles
There was a certain buzz surrounding Kevin Knox heading into what would be his first season in the NBA. The ninth overall pick in the 2018 Draft, he certainly wasn’t as hyped as those taken ahead of him. With Summer League showing of 21.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, fans were curious to see what he could do on a team likely to throw him into the fire.
Counting numbers of 12.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game was a nice starting point for the rookie’s career. He even won Rookie of the Month in December. It was the efficiency with which he produced those numbers that paint a much darker image and tells a bigger story.
Knox shot just 37.0 percent from the field on 12.0 attempts in 28.8 minutes a night. Among rookies with a minimum of 10.0 shots and 25.0 minutes per game, only 16 players have ever shot a worse percentage from the field. The Knicks were content to let their most recent lottery pick play through his mistakes, and it’s clear he has a lot to cover this summer.
The lack of efficiency should say nothing about his future in the league. Three spots ahead of him on that infamous list is Kemba Walker, a high-volume scoring option and three-time All-Star who averaged 25.6 points per game this past season.
Not even 20 years of age, Knicks fans expected growing pains from Knox. But his historical ineptitude was something nobody saw coming, pumping the breaks on a hype train for a player with so much room still to grow.