![\"Tyler](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2259286892.jpg\")
<\/p>\nTyler Kolek is in quite the situation.<\/p>\n
On one hand, the third-year guard out of Marquette is an NBA champion, part of the stacked Knicks roster responsible for ending New York City\u2019s 53-year championship drought in a 4-1 gentleman\u2019s sweep of the San Antonio Spurs in June.<\/p>\n
On the other hand? The Knicks are loaded at Kolek\u2019s position.<\/p>\n
Jalen Brunson is the reigning Finals MVP \u2014 the newfound King of New York City. Miles McBride is a flamethrower and defensive stopper at the guard spot, though McBride is up for a contract extension. And the Knicks traded for Jose Alvarado at last season\u2019s deadline then re-signed him to a three-year deal this summer.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s three proven guards ahead of Kolek in the depth chart, meaning for a third straight season, minutes project as scarce at the pro level. Kolek averaged 7.2 minutes in 41 games as a rookie under Tom Thibodeau and 11.7 minutes in 62 games in Year 2 under Mike Brown. He averaged 4.4 points and 2.7 assists on 38.6% shooting from 3-point range as a sophomore but knows on a veteran Knicks roster looking to become the first team to repeat as champs since the 2018 Golden State Warriors, his role is to stay ready.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Scott Taetsch\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Tyler Kolek of the Knicks looks to make a leaping pass against the Washington Wizards on February 3. (Photo by Scott Taetsch\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\u201cI just gotta play my game everyday,\u201d Kolek said to a small group of reporters while hosting a youth basketball clinic with FlexWork Sports at The House of Sports in Ardsley on Saturday. \u201cBe consistent, whatever the coaches need just follow their direction and let it be what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kolek isn\u2019t in control of his minutes.<\/p>\n
He is, however, in control of what he does with the opportunities he gets, however limited, for an NBA champion looking to protect its throne. Kolek knows there\u2019s much more to his game than he\u2019s been able to display in short stints over his first two NBA seasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s definitely a lot left [for me to show],\u201d he said. \u201cEvery year I try and get better. That\u2019s how it\u2019s been since college, year over year from my first year in the NBA and last year, the improvement. Now I\u2019m just looking forward to improving on that.\u201d<\/p>\n
FAVORITES NO MORE<\/p>\n
The ticker tape that once fell from the Champions Way skies is now sewage waste. LeBron James and Jaylen Brown went to Philadelphia, and so did the Eastern Conference championship projections.<\/p>\n
Kolek helped the Knicks win it all last season. He then watched firsthand as the balance of power in the East shifted around them: The Sixers are now considered among many as favorites to win the conference with James and Brown joining Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and V.J. Edgecombe.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think you can take anything and use that to light a fire under you, anything you can use to be motivated, but at this stage, we shouldn\u2019t have to be motivated. We\u2019re champions,\u201d Kolek said. \u201cWe know what it looks like, and we\u2019re not just satisfied with one.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Tyler](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2267407440.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Sarah Stier\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Tyler Kolek of the Knicks in action against the Pacers at Madison Square Garden on March 17. (Photo by Sarah Stier\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The Sixers weren\u2019t the only Eastern team to make big moves. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Klay Thompson joined Bam Adeabayo and Andrew Wiggins in Miami, and the Toronto Raptors traded for Kawhi Leonard, backed out of the trade in the wake of his salary-cap circumvention scandal, yet are still in play to trade for him again.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt happens every year in the NBA. The [Oklahoma City] Thunder won the year before, and everybody loaded up to try to beat the Thunder,\u201d said Kolek. \u201cWe win, it happens every single year. It\u2019s a copycat league. Teams are trying to beat the best and compete with the best, so they do what they can.\u201d<\/p>\n
And then there\u2019s the elephant in the room: Mitchell Robinson and the Knicks couldn\u2019t agree to a deal, so he left New York and went to Boston. Plus Ariel Hukporti and Dillon Jones left the Knicks for the Sixers. Kolek is excited for a front-row seat to see Knicks All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns go to work against his former teammate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe longest tenured Knick, [Mitch] was great for us. His impact on the floor was tremendous, but that\u2019s how this business works,\u201d said Kolek. \u201cHim going to Boston definitely hurts, big rivalry team, but we\u2019re looking forward to catching him \u2014 I\u2019m looking forward to seeing what KAT does when we play against him.\u201d<\/p>\n
STEALING FROM JALEN<\/p>\n
While Alvarado frequently steals from the opponent, Kolek is looking to take from the captain.<\/p>\n
The third-year guard said he got off to a strong start to his second NBA season before he became too passive on the offensive end. His offseason efforts on the court have revolved around improving his ability to make plays in the paint.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust looking for my shot, being aggressive in the paint, and then that opens everything else up,\u201d he said, \u201chaving the defense collapse and then finding sprays for our guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Tyler](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/AP26036030721647.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
AP Photo\/Jeff Chiu<\/p>\n
Tyler Kolek drives to the basket against the Warriors on Jan. 15. (AP Photo\/Jeff Chiu)<\/p>\n
Kolek invoked Brunson\u2019s name when discussing the improvements he hoped to make entering Year 3.<\/p>\n
\u201cMostly in the paint, playing off two, obviously Jalen\u2019s amazing in the mid-range, the floaters, finishing at the rim,\u201d he said. \u201cSo I feel like just taking that aspect of the game as a smaller guard, being efficient in the paint and around the rim.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kolek may have already stolen another page out of the captain\u2019s book: composure following an emotional championship run in the Mecca of Basketball. The Knicks will receive their rings on Oct. 20, ahead of tipoff against the very 76ers team aiming to take their throne.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the first game will feel like a great celebration, but internally, you\u2019ve gotta block out all the things the fans are saying, and the things the media is gonna say,\u201d Kolek said. \u201cEven though we\u2019re not picked to be the favorites, New York fans are still gonna say we\u2019re the champs. But we gotta stay locked in on our habits and focus on what we\u2019ve gotta do every day.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tyler Kolek is in quite the situation. On one hand, the third-year guard out of Marquette is an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":345354,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[23082,4777,10663,129391,1556,1557,78318,9,24,55,54,56,37017],"class_list":["post-345353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-76ers","tag-jalen-brunson","tag-knicks","tag-mcbride","tag-mike-brown","tag-mitchell-robinson","tag-nba-championship","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-headlines","tag-new-york-city-news","tag-ny","tag-tyler-kolek"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345353","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=345353"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345353\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/345354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=345353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=345353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=345353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}