![\"Knicks](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Tyler-Nickel.jpg\")
Knicks second-round pick Tyler Nickel shoots a 3-pointer during the Knicks\u2019 70-49 Summer League loss to the Spurs on July 11, 2026 in Las Vegas. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\nLAS VEGAS \u2014 For obvious reasons, Tyler Nickel prefers to wear No. 5.<\/p>\n
But that uniform was taken by Knicks guard Jose Alvarado. So Nickel settled for double-nickel.<\/p>\n
\u201cT-Nick is my nickname, but a lot of people call me T-5,\u201d said Nickel, the No. 47 overall pick in last month\u2019s draft. \u201cSo [No.] 5 has been me. So when [No.] 55 was available, I was like, \u2018OK, I can\u2019t get [No.] 5, so [No.] 55 is cool.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
If Nickel carves out an NBA career, he\u2019ll be defined by a different digit \u2014 3.<\/p>\n
Knicks second-round pick Tyler Nickel shoots a 3-pointer during the Knicks\u2019 70-49 Summer League loss to the Spurs on July 11, 2026 in Las Vegas. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n
As the second-round pick demonstrated in his first two summer league games, his greatest asset is his proficiency from beyond the arc. <\/p>\n
Nickel dropped six treys on 10 attempts Friday against the Nets, the lone positive in a blowout defeat that featured ugly performances from summer league vets Mohamed Diawara, Pac\u00f4me Dadiet and Dillon Jones.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, Nickel again was the Knicks\u2019 leading scorer with 16 points on 6-for-14 shooting in 30 minutes in the Knicks\u2019 70-49 loss to the Spurs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI definitely feel like I have some comparisons in the league. I feel like I\u2019m a mix of some different guys: my size, my strength, my shooting ability,\u201d Nickel said. \u201cI feel really comfortable shooting off the move, so like [Detroit\u2019s] Duncan Robinson, [Cleveland\u2019s] Max Strus, [Boston\u2019s] Sam Hauser. But then I have my own type of way of being. So it\u2019s kind of a mix of a lot of people but also myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
All those players, including Nickel, have two things in common: They\u2019re catch-and-shoot specialists, and they\u2019re white.<\/p>\n
![\"Tyler](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Tyler-Nickel-2.jpg\")
Tyler Nickel, who scored a team-high 16 points, looks to make a move during the Knicks\u2019 Summer League loss to the Spurs. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cHey, listen,\u201d the 22-year-old Vanderbilt product laughed when told he was making just white-player comparisons. \u201cThey got roles in the league.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nickel, who is from Virginia and talks with a Southern twang, will struggle to stay on an NBA court if he can\u2019t competently defend. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s considered his weakness, but the 6-foot-7 Nickel has the size to make it work with enough effort. <\/p>\n
According to TJ Saint, coach of the Knicks\u2019 summer league team, Nickel committed to defense during minicamp last week.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s been shooting all right. His defense has actually been impressive in the camp,\u201d Saint said. \u201cWhen we were in the airport the other day, I went over to talk to him, and he was studying our playbook, so I already like where he\u2019s at, getting ahead of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite his promise, Nickel is unlikely to command a standard contract for the defending champs. <\/p>\n
He\u2019s a candidate for a two-way deal, though, and that should all be sorted out during training camp in late September into October.<\/p>\n
Nickel\u2019s 18-point game against the Nets drew the attention of Josh Hart, who tweeted during the action, \u201c[No.] 55 got a chop,\u201d in reference to the forward\u2019s shooting stroke.<\/p>\n
As Kevin McCullar Jr. and especially Diawara demonstrated last season, there always could be unexpected opportunities for young players.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, Nickel\u2019s wearing two 5s in Vegas and taking 3s.<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard my name called [at the draft], and seeing it being the Knicks, I was super excited,\u201d Nickel said. \u201cObviously, a championship organization. I thought it was perfect; a perfect situation to see what winning is all about. The standard that they hold everybody to in the program, I feel like it\u2019s perfect for me to be on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vegas intel<\/p>\n
Everybody is awaiting The Decision 2.0 from LeBron James \u2014 including another future Hall of Famer on the market.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhat\u2019s happening on and off the Garden court\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for Inside the Knicks by Stefan Bondy, a weekly exclusive on Sports+.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
According to a league source, Russell Westbrook is a candidate to join the Heat but not if LeBron signs in Miami.<\/p>\n
Westbrook, 37, is a diminished version of his former MVP self but still averaged 15.2 points over 64 games last season with the Kings.<\/p>\n
James, meanwhile, is sifting through his options in free agency. Miami, Cleveland and Philadelphia are considered the front-runners.<\/p>\n
Westbrook and James were teammates with the Lakers for 1 \u00bd seasons and struggled, winning just 33 games and falling to 11th in the West in 2021-22.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LAS VEGAS \u2014 For obvious reasons, Tyler Nickel prefers to wear No. 5. But that uniform was taken…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":293979,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[21,23657,9,11,1104,10,319],"class_list":["post-293978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-nba","tag-nba-summer-league","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-knicks","tag-new-york-news","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293978"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293978\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/293979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}