Kevin Knox: 'Going to Be Hard' to Replicate Summer-League Stardom as a Rookie
New York Knicks small forward Kevin Knox admitted it won't be easy to translate his NBA Summer League success into high-end rookie results when the 2018-19 regular season gets underway.
On Wednesday, Marc Berman of the New York Post provided comments from the ninth overall pick of the 2018 draft about his instant success so far in Las Vegas.
"It's going to be hard to do this in the NBA [as a rookie]," Knox said. "As coach [Keith] Smart says in the locker room, it's hard to be in the NBA. I'm playing well right now. I hope I can carry it over. It's a different system playing against different people. It's going to be little tougher, but I'll stay in the gym and keep getting better and learn form the older guys and veterans."
The University of Kentucky product has averaged 23.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals across three highlight-filled summer-league appearances.
His strong start is already starting to raise expectations less than a month after the Knicks selected him inside the top 10. Shooting efficiency is the one area he could show improvement, though; he's made just 39 percent of his field-goal attempts in the three games.
"I want to keep shooting," Knox said. "That's what the coaches really want from me, to take that shot. I want to show my full arsenal in summer league and get ready for the season."
For now, it appears Knox will end up headlining the Knicks' second unit, with Tim Hardaway Jr. and Courtney Lee remaining in the starting lineup on the wings.
That outlook could change if his summer-league prosperity translates in training camp and preseason games.
