{"id":345373,"date":"2026-09-13T02:58:25","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T02:58:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/345373\/"},"modified":"2026-09-13T02:58:25","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T02:58:25","slug":"tyler-kolek-looking-to-elevate-knicks-role-despite-crowded-backcourt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/345373\/","title":{"rendered":"Tyler Kolek looking to elevate Knicks role despite crowded backcourt"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tyler Kolek isn\u2019t making any<\/a> predictions or declarations about cracking a crowded championship backcourt. As he said Saturday, the goal is just \u201cevery day be consistent.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

But the third-year Knicks guard also understands he needs to be more aggressive when given the opportunity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEarly on in the season, I was finishing at a high level. And then later on in the year, I was getting in there, maybe I was looking a little too passive,\u201d Kolek said Saturday. \u201cSo just looking for my shot, being more aggressive in the paint, and then that opens everything else up. Having the defense collapse, and then finding sprays for our guys.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kolek enjoyed success and acclaim during a brief foray in the Knicks rotation last season, when injuries to Miles McBride and Landry Shamet left him as Jalen Brunson\u2019s first backup. <\/p>\n

Kolek shined in December \u2014 including during the NBA Cup championship run<\/a> \u2014 and quickly evolved into a fan favorite.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But the 25-year-old also was out of the rotation after Jose Alvarado\u2019s arrival at the February trade deadline. <\/p>\n

With Alvarado, Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Shamet, McBride and Jordan Clarkson all returning, Kolek faces another uphill battle for consistent playing time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But injuries or trades happen every season, and Kolek will have a chance to impress in the preseason starting Oct. 5 in Philadelphia. He also has the ideal archetypal teammate to study as an undersized point guard.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"NewNew York Knicks guard Tyler Kolek drives to the basket during Game 1 of the NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Philadelphia 76ers on May 4, 2026, at Madison Square Garden. Charles Wenzelberg \/ New York Post<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, Jalen is amazing in the midrange, amazing with floaters, finishing at the rim,\u201d Kolek said. \u201cSo taking that aspect of the game as a smaller guard \u2014 I need to be really efficient in the paint and around the rim. And that\u2019ll open everything else for us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the meantime, Kolek is enjoying the waning days of a championship offseason<\/a>. In and around New York City, the players still are being treated like kings. Proof of Kolek\u2019s popularity was displayed Saturday at a FlexWork Sports camp at the House of Sports in Ardsley, N.Y., where youngsters mobbed the point guard on the court.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kolek, like his teammates, warned against turning the adulation into complacency, which might be more difficult on ring night for the Oct. 20 regular-season opener.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first game will feel like a great celebration. But internally we got to block out what the fans are thinking and everything that the media is going to say,\u201d Kolek said. \u201cEven though we may not be picked to be the favorites, New York fans are still going to say we\u2019re the champs and we should run it back, we should win again. But we got to stay locked in. \u2026 At this stage, though, we shouldn\u2019t have to be motivated. We\u2019re champions. We know what it looks like. And we\u2019re not just satisfied with one.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"NewNew York Knicks guard Tyler Kolek puts up a three-point shot in the first half at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York on Feb. 4, 2026. JASON SZENES\/ NY POST<\/p>\n

Plus, the Eastern Conference got tougher with expected improvement from Philadelphia, Miami, Indiana, Orlando and Toronto \u2014 not to mention the potential contenders in Detroit, Boston and Cleveland.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt happens every year in the NBA. The Thunder won the year before; everybody loads up to try to beat the Thunder. We win, [and the same thing happens],\u201d Kolek said. \u201cIt 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\u00a0<\/p>\n

And Kolek believes he\u2019s also improved for Year 3.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s definitely a lot left,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tyler Kolek isn\u2019t making any predictions or declarations about cracking a crowded championship backcourt. As he said Saturday,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":345374,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[21,9,24,55,54,1104,56,319],"class_list":["post-345373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-nba","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-headlines","tag-new-york-city-news","tag-new-york-knicks","tag-ny","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345373","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=345373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345373\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/345374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=345373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=345373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=345373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}