Knicks Rookie Pacome Dadiet Dazzles in Home Debut

Pacome Dadiet earned a particularly sweet 16 for the New York Knicks on Tuesday night.

The teenage French phenom took advantage of an extended opportunity as the efforts of reserves dominated the Knicks’ penultimate preseason game of 2024.

Dadiet scored 16 points against the Charlotte Hornets in his first unofficial minutes on Madison Square Garden hardwood and stood as one of the main standouts in a 111-105 victory. He reached that tally on 6-of-9 from the floor including 3-of-5 from three-point range as the Knicks (4-0) stayed perfect in the preseason thanks to part to a 41-point outburst earned in the second period while starters sat.

At 25th overall, Dadiet is the Knicks’ most recent first-round pick, the last of four French stars chosen in the opening stanza of the draft (including sixth overall pick and Tuesday opponent Tidjane Salaun). Barring roster horrors, Tuesday figures to be Dadiet’s first and possibly last major contribution this season considering the Knicks’ crowded backcourt and head coach Tom Thibodeau’s relative reluctance to give rookies extended minutes.

No matter what happens, Dadiet is looking forward to a season of learning, as his rookie year will spent practicing with similarly-skilled two-way men like OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges.

“I have to learn a lot of things,” Dadiet said in the aftermath, per video from SNY. “I have the opportunity to be on the team where we’re winning and we’ve got a lot of great players. I’m taking that opportunity just to learn every day about things on the court, off the court, just the NBA in general. So, yeah, I enjoy it.”

Dadiet’s breakout serves as perhaps a solid coda to his first NBA offseason after enduring growing pains of both the literal and figurative variety: Dadiet struggled in Summer League action (31 perecent from the floor and less than 11 percent from three-point range) and did not appear in any of the first three preseason games due to finger issues. If Tuesday is the last the Knicks see of him before going into hibernation behind veterans, he went out on a high note to say the least.

With starters reduced to spectators, the Knicks’ 2024 draft class each vindicated the faith that president Leon Rose and Co. placed in them: final pick Ariel Hukporti scored eight points and pulled in five rebounds while Tyler Kolek made up for an off night in the field (2-of-9) by pulling in eight boards and dishing out nine assists.

The Knicks’ freshmen may get one last chance to shine come Friday when the preseason concludes against the Washington Wizards (7 p.m. ET, MSG).

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