Quentin Grimes Thankful For Knicks Amidst Reunion

Despite their union ending on less-than-desirable terms, Quentin Grimes is thankful for the New York Knicks, namely his time spent under head coach Tom Thibodeau.

Grimes faced the Knicks as an opponent for the second time on Wednesday night, representing the Dallas Mavericks in an interconference tilt at American Airlines Center. Granted a start upon his original NBA employers’ visit, Grimes vindicated the metroplex’s faith with a season-best 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting in a 129-114 win for the shorthanded Mavericks.

Grimes’ performance in an ensemble effort drew the attention of fellow former Knick Jason Kidd, now his head coach in North Texas. Kidd placed Grimes in the starting five despite missing Monday’s win in Atlanta with an illness.

“I thought he was great on the ball defensively and offensively, he was really, really good,” Kidd lauded, per Eddie Sefko of the Mavs’ official site. “As a starter, he’s been really, really good, so that gives us the flexibility that with injuries or sickness we can plug him in the starting lineup and continue to push forward.”

Grimes was one of the stars of Dallas’ dominant defensive effort on a night where Luka Doncic, Daniel Gafford, and Klay Thompson were forced to sit due to various ailments. New York (10-8) was held to season-lows in scoring in both a single period (15) and half (38), both valleys coming in the respective firsts. The forced futility came less than 48 hours after the Knicks capped off a historic offensive showing in Denver.

While Kidd felt that Grimes carried “a little more juice” thanks to the Knicks’ visit on Wednesday, the first-round pick from 2021 kept things amicable in his own postgame statements, thanking Thibodeau for preparing him for high-profile offensive assignments.

“Credit to Thibs. When I was in New York he gave me a lot of those hard assignments early on in my career. I feel like I was able to get a good understanding of how to guard All-Stars, superstars,” Grimes said (h/t New York Basketball on X). “It’s kind of what keeps me going. I feel like if you’re not doing something offensively, defensively, it gets you going … on the defensive end, I can get my energy going and get it going offensively as well.”

Grimes also tallied a steal and seven rebounds, tying with OG Anunoby and Naji Marshall for three of the offensive variety to lead all participants.

Wednesday was perhaps a bittersweet throwback to Grimes’ finest hours as a Knick: in New York lore, Grimes is perhaps best-known for his defensive work on Donovan Mitchell during the Knicks’ five-game victory over Cleveland in the opening round of the 2023 playoffs. Grimes previously stood as the Knicks’ starting shooting guard but was usurped by Donte DiVincenzo before he was traded to Detroit at last season’s trade deadline. He was shipped to Dallas in July in a deal that ironically included another former Knick in Tim Hardaway Jr.

Grimes will make another return to Madison Square Garden with the Mavericks in March. In the meantime, the Knicks face the Charlotte Hornets in a Black Friday matinee (12 p.m. ET, MSG).

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