Knicks Trade Up, Draft Tyler Kolek With 34th Pick

With the 34th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, the New York Knicks selected Marquette point guard Tyler Kolek following a trade with the Portland Trail Blazers. Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Knicks are sending back “future second-round” picks in the deal.

Kolek may be a New Englander as a native of Rhode Island, but he may have endeared himself to Knicks fans thanks to prior success at Madison Square Garden: Kolek was the star of the Golden Eagles’ first Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament championship run, taking home Most Outstanding Player honors for the 2023 edition.

That was far from the only honor that Kolek earned in his Milwaukee collegiate career, as he was also 2023’s Big East Player of the Year. This time around, Kolek led the nation in assists and earned consensus a second-team All-American invite. 

“That chip on my shoulder, I’ve got to play that way each and every game to survive. That’s where it comes from. I was that overlooked guy,” Kolek said of his college career, which began at George Mason, per Brian Kalbrosky of USA Today. “I wasn’t a five-star. I wasn’t a top-100 recruit. I wasn’t a highly recruited guy. I’ve been able to get where I am through that toughness and that chip on my shoulder and playing with that feistiness every time I step on the floor.”

As it stands, the Knicks have one more pick on Thursday afternoon, as they acquired the 51st choice on Thursday night.

Make sure you bookmark All Knicks for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!