Jericho Sims finally healthy after surgeries, working on offense ahead of pivotal Knicks year

The forgotten Knicks center should benefit from his first healthy offseason as a pro and workouts with a familiar former point guard. 

Jericho Sims, who is expected to compete for the important backup spot behind Mitchell Robinson, rehabbed the past two offseasons from surgeries and was limited in his preparation for those respective seasons.

A year ago, Sims tore his labrum and cuff tendon in his shooting shoulder, requiring a procedure that took his rehab through the summer. 

Two years ago, Sims underwent surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his thumb, a source told The Post.

That injury wasn’t previously disclosed, and a source said Sims was unable to work on his game from July to September 2022. 

This year, Sims is fit and training with Mike Bibby, who has been a coach since retiring from the NBA in 2012 after 14 playing seasons, including his final with the Knicks. 

Bibby, according to a source, emphasized Sims’ offensive game while working toward expanding the 25-year-old’s repertoire.

A couple of videos from their sessions showed Sims knocking down midrange jumpers and executing turnarounds with both hands from the post. 

With the Knicks, Sims has been mostly limited to putbacks and shots around the rim.

He represents the team’s top athlete with a 44.5-inch vertical that allows his head to clear the rim on jumps.

He also earned some confidence from Tom Thibodeau, who started Sims 32 games over his first three years. 

However, Sims took a step back last season and lost his spot in the rotation.

The biggest setback was probably in mid-December against the Lakers, when Sims sprained his ankle on the opening tipoff against Anthony Davis. 

Sims, whose $2.1 million contract will become fully guaranteed if he’s not waived before Aug. 16, had started five straight games to that point because of Robinson’s fractured ankle.

Then Sims was replaced in the lineup by Isaiah Hartenstein, whose game skyrocketed to the point of earning a three-year, $87 million contract from the Thunder in free agency.

Even after returning from the sprained ankle, Sims’ role was further diminished because of his own struggles and Precious Achiuwa’s rise. 

With Hartenstein now gone to Oklahoma City, logic indicates the Knicks will hand back the starting job to Robinson, who provides elite offensive rebounding and rim protection but struggles to stay healthy.

On Tuesday, the Knicks re-signed Achiuwa, who can fill in at center but fancies himself more of a power forward. 

Sims, at 6-foot-10 and mobile, can defend both pick-and-rolls and stretch-5s better than Robinson, who tends to get lost when he leaves the paint.

Sims posted the Knicks’ best defensive rating for a center last season at 109.7 — better than Robinson, Hartenstein and Achiuwa.

However, the offense struggled with the one-dimensional Sims in the lineup and his net rating was minus-0.7. 

Now he’s healthy for the first time in three summers and working on that part of his game. 

Why mess with what worked? 

The Knicks plan to hold part of training camp again at The Citadel in Charleston, S.C., The Post has learned. 

The team returned to Charleston last year for the first time since 2007, gathering for about a week ahead of their preseason opener.

The Knicks then finished the season with 50 wins — their most in over a decade — and lost in the seventh game of the second round, their furthest playoff advancement since 2000. 

From the 1980s under Hubie Brown through the mid-2000s, the Knicks held most of their training camps in the South Carolina city, though they trained back then at the College of Charleston, not The Citadel. 

Training camp typically starts the day after Media Day, which this year falls on Sept. 30.