New York Knicks: 3 players set for a breakout season in 2020-21

2. Austin Rivers

Okay, this may seem like a bit of a stretch at first, but Austin Rivers is a proven scorer. Fresh after agreeing to join the New York Knicks this offseason, Rivers now has his first chance ever to prove that he can ball.

Rivers has been a member of contending teams pretty much for the majority of his NBA career. Often used as the scapegoat when things ultimately go wrong, Rivers was never given the chance to shine and do what he does best, aka scoring the basketball.

As many hardcore NBA fans may recall, Rivers was once the nation’s top high school prospect at his position, meaning that the talent is obviously there. He just hasn’t ever had a coach that believed in him. Shots fired at his Pop.

During his 2017-18 campaign, Rivers was offered the starting spot by the LA Clippers. The result was him having a career year, averaging 15.1 points and 4.0 assists per game on a career-best 37.8 shooting from behind the arc.

How Thibodeau is planning to use Rivers remains unknown to this day. Will he slide in as the starting shooting guard next to RJ Barrett, back him up as the team’s sixth man, or go back to his good ol’ point guard days?