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Only one player from the stacked New York Knicks Summer League roster cracked Bleacher Report’s Top 30 prospects to watch in Las Vegas.
And it’s not Pacome Dadiet, their first-round pick, nor Lithuanian point guard Rokas Jokubaitis, who just missed the bus to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
That honor (and pressure) belongs to Tyler Kolek, the 6-foot-3 point guard out of Marquette whom the Knicks believed was worth three future second-round picks.
Kolek landed No. 26 on Bleacher Report’s list of the top NBA Summer League prospects.
“The number of rookie second-rounders capable of impacting next season’s championship race isn’t a long one, but Tyler Kolek is absolutely on it. If the size and speed of the Association doesn’t swallow him up, he offers plug-and-play potential as a polished floor general,” Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley wrote.
Buckley views Kolek’s leadership as a galvanizing force for the Knicks while his instincts, creativity, pull-up shooting and relentless penetration could unlock their offense.
The Knicks acquired Kolek on a Draft Day trade with the Portland Trail Blazers, who selected him as the 34th overall pick, in exchange for three second-round picks (2027, 2029 and 2030).
Kolek leads the Knicks Summer League roster that will also feature Dadiet (No. 25 pick), Jokubaitis, Ariel Hukporti (No. 58 pick) and Kevin McCullar (No. 56 pick).
G League mainstays Duane Washington Jr., Jacob Toppin and Dmytro Skapintsev are also on the team.
Tyler Kolek Signs Record Deal With Knicks
The Knicks are really high on Kolek as they gave him a record-setting NBA contract for a second-round pick.
According to SNY’s Ian Begley, the 23-year-old Kolek will collect $6.6 million, the most guaranteed money ever given to a second-round pick.
“Prior record was Andrew Nembhard’s $6.4 million. Kolek’s Knicks deal is the most a team can pay a second-rounder under the second-round exception,” Begley wrote on X on July 5.
Kolek’s coach at Marquette believes his guard’s fit with the Knicks is ideal.
“Tom Thibodeau is known as the toughest, grittiest, most hard-nosed coach in the NBA, and Tyler Kolek is tough, he’s gritty, he’s competitive, he doesn’t back down from any challenge,” Marquette coach Shaka Smart told New York Post. “So I think that’ll be a real fit for him.”
Kolek, who measured 6’1.25″ without shoes at the NBA Draft Combine, led the nation in assists with 7.7 per game for the Golden Eagles while spearheading the Golden Eagles to their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2013.
Josh Hart Wants to Ask Tyler Kolek About ‘Can’t Read’ Rumor
Kolek’s rise to become the nation’s top playmaker last season did not come without controversy.
Rumors spread early last season that Kolek could not read.
His new teammate, Josh Hart, said on the “Roommates Show” podcast that it will be the first thing he would ask Kolek when they meet at the training camp.
Knicks star Jalen Brunson, Hart’s co-host in the podcast, was taken aback by Hart, who seemed to ask sincerely, “Can he read?”
“It was in the reports,” Hart replied. “It said he couldn’t read. I just wanted to know if he could read.”
Kolek shut down those rumors by posting his grades on X.
A fake report of Kolek’s alleged suspension from Marquette for flanking three midterm exams stirred a social media firestorm in February, which Danielle Josetti, the university’s executive associate athletic director, compliance, marketing and sales, quickly debunked.
“As the senior compliance person at Marquette I can tell you this is unequivocally not true. This is neither funny, nor appropriate. Kick rocks,” Josetti wrote on X.
It will be an interesting NBA Summer League and first meeting with Hart for Kolek.
