Chuma Okeke Gets Second Chance With Knicks

The New York Knicks are filling out their roster with four-year NBA veteran Chuma Okeke, who has spent his entire career so far with the Orlando Magic.

Okeke, 25, was the No. 16 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft out of Auburn, but he didn’t begin his career until the 2020-21 season after using his “rookie” year to recover from his torn ACL he suffered in his final collegiate game. This meant Okeke signed a four-year contract beginning with the 2020-21 campaign, which lasted until this past season.

Okeke joined the Magic right when they were starting to rebuild, which meant he had opportunities given to him to be a key player for the team moving forward. As a 3-and-D specialist, Okeke was never seen as a player with much star potential, but he could develop into a strong role player if everything went right.

When the Magic began adding players who did fill that star potential like Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero, Okeke’s minutes in the rotation began to shrink. He played in just 27 games in the 2022-23 campaign and 47 games this past season, though he only averaged 9.2 minutes per contest.

Okeke was called upon in the middle of the year to be a larger contributor when injuries began to pile up, but for the most part, he was not an active member of the rotation.

The reason why Okeke fits the Knicks is his defensive potential. At 6-7, Okeke is the ideal size of a player you want to have on the wing. He can defend multiple positions, and that should please coach Tom Thibodeau. He likely will have a similar role in New York that he had in Orlando as a situational player when people ahead of him on the depth chart are injured, but his defensive abilities could help the Knicks in a bind if they need someone to defend on the wing.

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