It became clear it was so bad – even in the first seconds after it happened – that a trainer rushed over to throw a towel over the ankle, hiding it from view.

Oklahoma City Thunder star Jalen Williams, a 2024-25 All-Star and one of the bright young players in the NBA, suffered a seemingly devastating lower leg injury Sunday, Oct. 25. And though the Thunder haven’t issued a formal diagnosis, the way Williams’ left ankle dangled sideways off his foot strongly suggests that Williams’ season is over just three games after it started.

So now the Thunder, who entered the season as favorites to win NBA Finals, must regroup, because this injury – assuming it’s as bad as it looked – changes the pathway for Oklahoma City moving forward. Because the overwhelming notion for this Thunder team was that it was a strong favorite because Williams was finally healthy.

Williams, the team’s second best player, missed significant chunks last season as he recovered from offseason wrist surgery. Then, late in the year and into the playoffs, it was multiple soft-tissue hamstring injuries.

So now, two-time reigning Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, once again, will have bear more of a burden. Williams can handle the ball and initiate offense. He can slash to the basket and has a dependable perimeter jumper. He’s a plus defender and is often the anchor through which the Thunder run their offense when Gilgeous-Alexander is catching a breath on the bench. When available, he is a staple, having started 238 of his 251 career regular season games. The loss is massive.

"These are tough, man," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said after the game. "We’re not doing great. That’s tough on the guys. Everyone empathizes, I think both teams, in those situations. We’re not doing great."

Yet, if there is any team in the NBA built to weather the loss of a player like Williams, it’s the Thunder. No team has been better at identifying and developing young players through the draft, and Oklahoma City is the deepest team in the entire association. They have options.

Thunder's depth provides options after Jalen Williams injury

In fact, the Thunder are so deep that they can alter whom they start at small forward in place of Williams, depending on the matchup.

The first indication of how the Thunder plan to make up for the loss of Williams comes fewer than 24 hours after he suffered the injury; Oklahoma City hosts the Phoenix Suns Monday, Oct. 26 on the second leg of their back-to-back.

The cleanest move is for Daigneault to replace Williams in the starting lineup with Alex Caruso, a veteran guard who specializes on defense. Caruso is nowhere near as talented as Williams on offense, though his perimeter shot has been a spark off the bench; Caruso is shooting a blistering 45.5% from 3-point range this season.

Each of starting guard Cason Wallace, who also suffered an injury Sunday night, one to his shoulder, and reserve guards Ajay Mitchell and Jared McCain will likely see increased minutes and responsibility.

Daigneault likes to have a serviceable ball-handling creator on the floor when Gilgeous-Alexander heads to the bench, so it makes sense on some level for both Mitchell and McCain to come off the bench. Rookie guard Bennett Stirtz will also be called up for spot minutes.

Thunder's injury history prepared SGA, team to weather long season

This, unfortunately for the Thunder, is a familiar spot. They pushed the San Antonio Spurs to seven games in the 2026 Western Conference Finals despite injuries to Williams and Mitchell. Because the pair are Oklahoma City’s best offensive engines not named Gilgeous-Alexander, the team’s offense stagnated under San Antonio’s defense.

In previous seasons, it was Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein who were knocked out for extensive stretches because of injury.

This is all to say that, in many ways, the Thunder are used to this.

But as much as Oklahoma City is built to mitigate the loss of a star like Williams, one devastating fact is clear, and it’s a fact the team must contend with the rest of the season, assuming the injury ends Williams’ campaign.

The Thunder today are not as strong as they were yesterday, and that’s indisputable.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How Jalen Williams’ gruesome leg injury could alter Thunder’s title hopes

When people said they wouldn’t care if the Knicks went 0-82 this season, I don’t think that they meant it as an invitation.

The first three games have gone from disappointing to annoying to bewildering as the Knicks sit at the bottom of the standings with a 0-3 record after three close losses to Eastern Conference rivals, all of which were winnable with better execution. It’s the first 0-3 start since David Fizdale was coach in 2019-20 (yikes).

In these games, the Knicks have scored 103 or fewer points in all of them. Raw point totals aren’t everything with this team’s preferred slow pace, but that doesn’t work in the modern NBA. This is early-Thibsian-level offense.

Is it process-based or just shoddy shooting? It could be both.

On Opening Night, the Knicks fell to the Sixers not only due to inconsistent shooting at the perimeter, but also startlingly bad finishing at the rim. As a team last year, they shot 66.3% in the restricted area and 58.3% on shots in the paint. On Opening Night? 58.6% and 42%.

These shots make up half the team’s shot diet, so shooting 16% worse at it can decide games. That’s especially concerning against a team with incredibly little rim protection, even if it were the freshest Joel Embiid you’ll ever see.

The jarringly bad shooting continued through Boston and Orlando. They’re 26th in FG% at the restricted area (63%) and dead last in total FG% in the paint (50%).

The main culprits? Andre Drummond (8-for-15 at the rim, 8-for-18 in the paint), Jalen Brunson (4-for-18 outside the restricted area), and Josh Hart (4-for-8 at the rim, 7-for-13 in the paint).

Those last two are the ones we can directly compare to last season. Brunson shot 47.9% on incredible volume outside the restricted area last season, while Hart shot 67.4% at the rim and 60.4% in the entire paint. The sample is small, but important in three close losses.

The perimeter shooting has been pretty bad, too. Outside of Deuce McBride’s Boston heater, nobody has had the touch to start the season. Four players have attempted at least 14 threes so far, and all of them are below league average (Brunson 26.7%, Anunoby 28.6%, Hart 33.3%, Shamet 35.7%). Mikal Bridges is also doing his best October 2024 impression, starting the year 0-for-10 from deep.

On Sunday night against the Magic, the Knicks shot 32 open and wide open threes and made only nine of them. There were some bad looks in there, but a lot of them were clean looks that you’re used to them making. Last season, they only averaged 30.5 of those attempts per game, but shot 37.3%. That’s equivalent to three extra made threes last night, which could’ve swung the game.

Really, they lost on Sunday because the Magic, an extremely poor shooting team, shot 43.6% on those looks and had just their third game in the last two years where they shot 40 threes and made at least 40% of them, but you could’ve also made shots yourself.

As if their shooting at the rim and behind the arc wasn’t bad enough, they’ve also been ghastly at the foul line.

As a team, they’re shooting 70.8%, which in prior years you’d think would be dragged down by the Hack-a-Mitch, but there’s no excuse this year. Even if you remove the only poor free-throw shooter on the roster, Drummond, they’re at an unacceptable 72%. If you removed Mitch last year, the team shot 81.6% from the line.

It added up against Philly; it didn’t help against Boston; and it directly hampered their chances at a late comeback against Orlando.

Anunoby is at 81.8%, but after him? Brunson is 14-for-20, and Towns is 12-for-17, both around 70%. For two guys who are career 85% free-throw shooters, it’s a back-breaker.

Looking at the splits (and turnovers, which are also a small problem) through three games, the Knicks aren’t close to where they need to be as a team:

vs PHI: 37/33/70, 14 TO
@ BOS: 44/40/71, 16 TO
vs ORL: 41/24/68, 14 TO
–
25-26: 48/37/79, 12.9 TO

The only game they shot adequately was against Boston, but they committed a season high in turnovers and still didn’t make their free throws. In the other two games, it was poor play at all three levels.

In the modern NBA, three-point shooting is everything. For the Knicks under Mike Brown, they are as reliant as a team can be without being Joe Mazzulla-esque.

2025-26 Knicks, including playoffs:
22-0 when shooting 44% or better
0-7 when shooting 25% or worse

Last season, when the Knicks shot worse than 33.3% from downtown, they went 11-19.

When they shot 33.3% or better, a mark that is not even league average, they went 58-13.

It’s a cheat code for their success, and considering they returned every shooter from last season’s roster, it’s one that needs to show up to right the ship.

By first quarter’s end on Sunday, the Los Angeles Lakers looked a bit of a mess and trailed the Utah Jazz, 47-29. By halftime, they had righted the ship and already stormed all the way back to enter the break with a 74-71 lead. For much of the second half, the two sides engaged in a back-and-forth affair before Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves made a handful of key plays down the stretch to propel Los Angeles to a 132-123 victory and a 3-o start to the year.

After the win, head coach JJ Redick emphasized the importance of a game like that so early in the season for a team still growing together with so many new rotation players. Of course, doing so in a win is preferable but Redick made clear it would’ve provided valuable information regardless of the outcome.

“I talked about this earlier in the year last year. For, particularly, a new group of guys and this feels like a newer team, right, because of all the new faces, you need to build reference,” Redick told reporters. “Really, whether we had responded to the adversity of that first quarter, not being ready to play and not doing any of the stuff that we had talked about pregame, it still would be a reference point. Because we ended up coming back and winning, now it becomes a positive reference point and it’s a reference point for resiliency, right?”

Once Utah had built an 18-point advantage to close the first quarter, Redick saw his team quickly respond in the second quarter to extinguish the deficit and, ultimately, nab a road victory — something that shouldn’t be discounted, especially against a team that’s given the Lakers trouble in recent years.

“Winning on the road is hard in the NBA. These guys always play us tough, particularly here, at least since I’ve been here,” Redick said. “So I wasn’t surprised with how they came out and played offensively. But our guys were, we talked to them at the beginning of the second quarter and there was an immediate response and then we had to gut out a win. We had to gut out a win and I’m just proud of the group for that.”

You can follow Jackson on Twitter at @jackfrank_jjf.

The Phoenix Suns’ first two games of the season couldn’t have gone more differently. A historic beatdown from the Portland Trail Blazers commenced their season, which they followed up three days later with a solid victory over a Stephen Curry-less Golden State Warriors team in their home opener. Nonetheless, it was a 1-1 week despite losing by 41 in their first game. The beauty of a singular game only being worth one loss, no matter the outcome.

Now having our first glimpse of the 2026-27 regular season Suns, here’s what we want your responses on:

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Thoughts on the new guys

Luke Kennard and Miles Bridges are in Phoenix and contributing early. While Kennard didn’t play in the season opener and Bridges scored just eight points on 3-of-11 shooting, both were impactful in the team’s first win of the season. Kennard hit three three-pointers, including a few late, and Bridges showed his inside-out game, scoring in the paint and hitting a few triples against the Warriors.

How do you think the two have fit in so far, and how do you expect their roles to evolve as the season goes on?

Starting guard drama looming?

Early returns on the Jalen Green and Devin Booker starting backcourt have not been promising. The first game of the season saw the Suns go down 21-0 en route to getting blown out, and in 13 minutes against the Warriors, the starting lineup had a -21.6 net rating.

In comparison, when Collin Gillespie was replaced by Green, the rest of the starting lineup had a +85.7 net rating.

Two games into a season is no time for seismic changes, and the Suns as a whole mightily struggled in their first game of the season especially, but how concerned are you about Jalen Green’s fit next to Devin Booker in the starting lineup?

Early returns on Khaman Maluach as the starter?

There’s a new starting center in Phoenix, and his name is Khaman Maluach, and he’s been quite passive on the offensive end so far. In 44 minutes in his first two games, the Duke product has taken just five shots and six free throws, averaging 5.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and two assists per game.

As the team continues to play without a traditional point guard in the starting lineup, it might take Maluach some time to find his role on the offensive end, and his 136.4 defensive rating leaves a lot to be desired on defense, but the team has been significantly better on the glass when he’s in the game.

It was well-known that the big man was going to take some time to get comfortable in his new role, but have early returns given you more or less confidence in his future as a starter?

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On the Suns’ Plate This Week

Another two-game slate this week starting on the road and ending at home against the Western Conference for the Suns.

Phoenix will face the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight at 5 PM AZ time in a rematch of the first round of the 2026 Western Conference Playoffs that saw the Suns go down in four games. Then on Friday, they’ll host the Denver Nuggets at 7 PM AZ time for their first game of NBA Cup play. The Thunder and Nuggets were the West’s first and third seeds a season ago and once again project to be some of the conference’s best teams.

To quote new Timberwolves commentator Kevin Calabro, “Nothing but cord.” Fresh off another hot shooting night where Minnesota was 15 for 31 from deep (48%) they prepare for their first back-to-back of the season. Coach Chris Finch rewarded the effort of his squad with frequent breathers and deployed 11 players in non-garbage minutes. Some of this was due to LaMelo Ball foul trouble. Or was that Melo’s strategy all along for saving his legs for the next day?

Minnesota’s opponent the Cleveland Cavaliers are struggling to find their Eastern Conference Finalist form in the early goings of the season. They will have the advantages of rest and home court as they host the undefeated Wolves.

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Game Info

• Who:Minnesota Timberwolves (3-0) vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (1-1)
• When: Monday, October 26 at 6:00 PM CT
• Where: Rocket Arena – Cleveland, OH
• Local TV: DAZN-MIN
• Radio: 830 WCCO

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Some Numbers

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Playing for Each Other

Maybe it was something in the Parisian water. Maybe it was the iron sharpening iron team organized practices before training camp. Maybe it was the trade for LaMelo Ball and the full court press to get Jonathan Kuminga to sign in Minnesota. Whatever it was, this Wolves team is knit tighter and more defined than a Norwegian sweater.

No matter the lineup that Finch runs out, every player knows what is expected of them. In the Raptors game, every player bought in on relentless defense regardless of assignment as seen most prominently in Bones Hyland posting as many points as he did blocks and rebounds (three of each). The early efforts have taken some of the load off the regular rotation and allowed the deep bench to get some run. Rookie Isaiah Evans has played in each of the first three wins.

These Wolves are not playing with their food. When they build a lead they add to it. They have only lost three quarters thus far and two of those were in the fourth quarter of 20+ point victories. Even the players “sitting” on the bench understand what is expected of them.

Target the Bad Defenders

The Cavaliers deploy two bigs in Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley who will roam the paint looking to swat shots. Cleveland has averaged eight and a half blocks in their two games, good enough for first in the league. They outbid the Denver Nuggets in a sign-and-trade for Peyton Watson to defend on the wing, and that’s where the strength of their defense trails off. James Harden presents some effort when he can guard in the post, but when asked to move his feet, he runs into problems.

As the Wolves did against the Miami Heat’s Klay Thompson, they should hunt the Harden and Donovan Mitchell on the perimeter. The rest of the Cavs rely on the shot creation of those two players to get their offense going, so pulling them into a recurrent defensive stance will wear them out. Off the bench, Cleveland relies on the scoring of wings Jaylon Tyson, Sam Merrill, and former Trey Lyles Real Madrid teammate Mario Hezonja, none of whom offer much more defensive resistance than who they replace.

Rebounds and Turnovers

The Raptors won the offensive rebounding and turnover battle against the Wolves allowing them to hang around until early in the third quarter. I’d imagine Finch and the coaching staff will be in the player’s ears on the flight to Ohio about ways to clean that up. This will be a unique test for the Wolves playing on the second night of a back-to-back. They rank number one in the league in rebounding, predicated on effort and gang rebounding. They will need to summon that same sweat equity to nullify Cleveland’s bigs.

The Cavaliers have choked away one game against the Philadelphia 76ers and barely hung on against the Brooklyn Nets with fourth quarter turnovers. They have coughed up the ball over 20+ times in each of their first two games with Mitchell and Harden among the biggest culprits. Perhaps a student of the Shaquille O’Neal school of taking the season to play into shape, Harden has shown limited burst to get to the cup. Staying in front of him should allow for off-ball defenders to swarm passing lanes and juice the score in transition.

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Prediction

The Wolves have momentum, a clear thesis of what they want to do, and the spirit of youth. The Cavs guards will look to put Minnesota into compromising positions and if the Wolves play clean, they’ll run out to an early lead. Off of tired legs, less Wolves three-balls will drop, but second efforts on the glass will sap the confidence of their opponent. Cleveland will try to get back into the game launching errant three-point shots and Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson will assure the media that by every number but the final score, they won the game. Isaiah Evans will record his first regular season point.

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Our blogging buddies are over at Fear the Sword. Be respectful of our sword swinging brethren!

After averaging 24 points (84.6% shooting), 8.5 rebounds, 4.0 blocks and 1.5 steals through the first two games of the season, Walker Kessler struggled mightily during the Los Angeles Lakers’ comeback win Sunday against the Utah Jazz. In 28 minutes, he had two points (1-of-2 shooting) and seven rebounds, and committed four fouls.

The matchup marked Kessler’s return to Utah, where he spent the first four years of his career before joining Los Angeles this summer. Afterward, Kessler admitted emotions may have played a role in his poor performance.

“Obviously Utah was the first four years of my career. It’s a special place for me. Kind of jump started my career,” Kessler told reporters. “A lot of good memories, but definitely just let my emotions get the best of me and kind of hype myself up more than I usually do and kind of got too amped and then just couldn’t find the ball. Couldn’t find the rhythm. Just kind of was off. A couple fouls that were tough. A couple of blocks I usually just [get to]. One of those nights, but, fortunately, basketball is not a one-man sport. I’ve got really good teammates and I’m very thankful.”

As Kessler labored through a lackluster outing, the Lakers’ star backcourt pairing led the charge. Luka Dončić dazzled with 52 points (17-of-30 shooting), 10 rebounds, eight assists and two steals while Austin Reaves continued his strong start to the year, dropping 29 points (7-of-12 shooting), four assists, two blocks and one steal. Matisse Thybulle added 11 points (3-of-7 beyond the arc), three steals and one block.

“I think going to the game, I definitely let my emotions get the best of me. But you got to learn in those moments and move on,” Kessler told reporters. “But, yeah, I’m glad we got the win tonight. I’ve got a lot of thanks to give to my teammates. All of them. They all played their roles and did a great job even though it wasn’t my best night. So I really, really appreciated them.”

Kessler will have a chance to bounce back Tuesday night at 8 p.m. when Los Angeles hosts the Portland Trail Blazers in a clash between undefeated teams.

You can follow Jackson on Twitter at @jackfrank_jjf.

While every win hasn’t been pretty, the Lakers have racked them up to start this season. A blowout of the Warriors, a sloppy win against the Clippers and a comeback over the Jazz has them a perfect 3-0 to open the campaign.

It’s unlikely they’ll go 82-0, though you can’t rule it out yet. Even still, the undefeated start has still brought with it some questions. So, let’s hear yours after a wild first week of the season.

Whether it’s about the Lakers or the NBA in general, or even something else, fire away with any questions.

As always, keep things friendly along the way!

A cliché is an overused expression or idea that has lost its originality and impact, while a truism is a statement that is so obviously and self-evidently true that it offers little to no new insight.

Both are pithy, ultimately pointless things to say that we say anyway because something has to be said. There’s a saying in sports: Availability is the best ability.

That’s more of a truism.

Which brings me to the Houston Rockets’ Steven Adams. As of this writing, the Rockets have a rematch with the Atlanta Hawks this evening. Adams is not expected to suit up, which brings him to one game played out of four this season so far.

That’s a problem.

Rockets can’t rely on Steven Adams

Yes, it’s likely that Ime Udoka is intentionally giving Adams some early-season rest. This may not be a massive problem. The team is (again, as of this writing) undefeated.

Only Adams managed just 32 games last year. He played 58 in his 2024-25 debut season with the Rockets, but the year before that he played 0, and 42 in 2022-23.

Durability has been an issue for Adams since that 2022 injury. It’s been four consecutive seasons now. It’s probably fair to drop the caveat:

Durability has been an issue for Adams.

This is a player who’s meant to be integral to the Rockets’ identity. Preserving his body for the playoffs is smart, but this is still an amber alert.

What do the Rockets do if Adams can’t get on the floor?

Rockets must explore long-term backup big man options

Here’s a simple, elegant solution:

Play Oscar Tshiebwe.

Last season, Adams had an 18.9% offensive rebounding percentage (via NBA.com, because there’s a discrepancy on Basketball Reference, and that bothers me). That was third in the NBA. Tshiebwe’s 15.1% mark ranked 8th. That’s a gap, but it’s not a gulf.

We shouldn’t reduce the entire secondary big man’s role to offensive rebounding. At the same time…it’s a pretty large percentage of the role for these Rockets. If we made a pie chart, it’d be one of those pie charts where over half is one color, and then the rest of the pie is divided between a bunch of other variables.

Adams isn’t an especially good defender. He’s a poor offensive player. Yet, he’s managed to be an incredibly impactful NBA player by being the best in the league at two things for a long time: Offensive rebounding and screening.

Tshiebwe can approximate Adams’ offensive rebounding. I’d be lying if I said I could recall an Oscar Tshiebwe screen off the top of my head, but he’s said to be good there too. He won’t be Adams – nobody will – but he’s probably as close as we’ll get.

This is not a big deal. So far, it’s been an odd start for the Rockets. The team is 3-0, and they aren’t leaning on the extra possession philosophy as they have in years past. The team’s 34.3% Offensive Rebounding percentage is just ninth in the league. The Rockets are winning basketball games by doing good basketball stuff.

So imagine how dominant they’d be if they were controlling the offensive glass again.

What’s being suggested here is that getting Tshiebwe on the floor is a way for the Rockets to preserve that identity for the next half-decade. He may not play well, but at least then the team would know.

Otherwise, relying on Capela for the rest of the year is…fine. He’s got a sterling 22.2% offensive rebounding percentage as well, but he’s only playing 9.4 minutes per game. Capela has become a subpar defender, which limits his value.

Maybe Udoka is done with the double-big lineups. That’s fine, but they still need a reliable backup big. If it isn’t Tshiebwe, that’s fine, but they need to have targets circled in the 2027 NBA Draft.

By now, it seems clear that it won’t be Steven Adams for much longer.

Remember when the Knicks won the NBA championship?

Yeah, that was more than four months ago, so maybe it’s about time someone starts getting back down to earth and hooping again.

Here’s the latest from the latest embarrassing loss in an early season full of them.

"The biggest thing is to coach them and tell them the truth… If we're trying, and trying the right way, sometimes you've got to fight through stuff like this to get yourself on track. Games like this will tell us like, our crap stinks. It does."

– Mike Brown pic.twitter.com/32sgBqXXqM

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) October 26, 2026

Mike Brown

On evaluating the season in five-game segments for his own sanity:

“We break the season into five-game segments. There are marks that we like to hit in those five games and it kind of gives us a good feel of where you were, in a fair amount of games, and to see if you can make progress in the next five.

“Obviously you want to go 5-0, you’ll take 4-1, and then maybe you have to take 3-2. But if you’re doing anything less than that, you know that nobody is reaching their potential.”

On coaching the Knicks through their 0-3 start and holding players accountable:

“The biggest thing is to coach them and to continue to tell them the truth. When I talked to them, I said, ‘Hey, we were great in transition in the second half.’ We were. But now, we have to continue to try and embrace the little things. We have to make sure we’re doing it in practice so that it carries over into the game. I’ll really jump their a– if I see the effort is not there. To me, that’s a whole different thing. If we’re trying, and trying the right way, sometimes you have to fight through stuff like this to get yourself on track.

“But games like this will tell us, and I’ve said it before, our crap stinks. It does. We’re the only ones who can do something about it.”

On the Knicks’ excrement:

“Games like this will tell us, our crap stinks. It does. And we’re the only ones who can do anything about it. There’s no light switch we can just turn on and go and win the ballgame. Nobody’s giving us anything, so we have to be better with the little things until we start shooting the ball.”

On the Knicks allowing a nonsensical fourth-quarter offensive explosion to Orlando:

“Giving up 40 points in the fourth quarter is way too much.”

On benching Andre Drummond for James Wiseman:

“I felt our transition defense wasn’t good during that time, not just because of [Drummond], but I wanted to go with a change. Wiseman’s been playing well in practice. I wanted to give him an opportunity and I thought he was pretty good in his first stint [in the first half]. And so I decided to go with him for a second stint. But Andre will go out there as a backup in the next game.”

On the open competition for minutes among the Knicks’ reserves:

“First thing I wanna make clear is we have our starting five. Other than that, anybody can play. When you’re a backup in this league, that doesn’t mean you’re always gonna be the seventh man or you’re always gonna be the eighth man.

“No, no, no, no, no, no. It’s competitive. And it’s less so with the starting group if your starting group is established, which ours is, but everybody else after that starting five, I can throw in front of the next guy in a heartbeat.”

On the Knicks not yet reaching their expected level of play in the early season:

“We’re not quite there yet.”

On Dalton Knecht’s two-way contract and plans to give him playing time in Westchester:

“Right now he obviously is a two-way [player], and we want him to play as much as he can, so he’s gonna play some games with Westchester. If we need him to play games with us, we’ll do that. I’d rather him play than be around us too much and sit.”

On helping Knecht learn the Knicks’ system and potentially giving him NBA minutes:

“So trying to get him caught up to speed sooner than later with what we like to do would be one of the reasons why we want him around. But with him, we’ll take it day-by-day to see how quickly he picks up on the offense and the defense, and then if there’s a need to throw him out there, I won’t hesitate to throw him out there.”

On waiving Kevin McCullar Jr. to sign Knecht:

“Kevin, first of all, he’s a fantastic young man, and we’re gonna miss him, obviously, but he’s been here two seasons as a two-way. Being able to try to get to know a guy like Dalton Knecht at this point of the year, it’s something that we need to take a look at.

“So it wasn’t anything that Kevin didn’t do. He was great, and he is an NBA player. And I think he’s gonna get a shot, someday and it could be with us, who knows down the road? I don’t know. But it was more so having the opportunity to bring a guy like Dalton on just to get to know him a little bit better is why we did it.”

"Poor decision making by me late in the game. Ball's not falling in for us, I think we've gotten some good looks throughout the game but the little things we can control that helps contribute to wins"

Jalen Brunson on the late-game turnovers the Knicks have experienced: pic.twitter.com/1QBya5tgDT

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) October 26, 2026

Jalen Brunson

On defending Miles McBride’s play against the Celtics:

“[McBride] played great. He’s one of the reasons we were still in the game. Without him doing what he was doing, it might’ve been a worse outcome. He came in ready to go and helped us.”

On the Knicks getting comfortable during strong stretches of play:

“Everyone can say it’s early in the season — we can use that as an excuse — but the one thing I see is that when we get on those runs and look like the team we were in the past, we get a little comfortable. We have to continue to put our foot on the gas and execute things like we did last year.

“We’re not going to be the same. We’re not going to play how we were playing last year; that’s just human nature. But we have to accept this part of the journey, find a way to get better, and hopefully after a couple of games, we can look back and say, ‘We grew from that.’”

On taking responsibility for the Knicks’ offensive struggles on Sunday:

“Organization on my part and making sure we’re in the right place to execute what we need to do. Everything falls on my shoulders. I just got to be a better leader in making sure our guys are ready to go and are in the right spots. There are a lot of little things but that’s the main thing. Organization on my part.”

On the message he delivered to teammates after the Knicks’ 0-3 start:

“Control what you can control; focus on the little details that may seem small but are going to impact winning. Most importantly, let’s do it together.”

On his frustration after the Knicks’ third consecutive loss:

“Not happy. Plain and simple.”

On early-season adversity revealing the Knicks’ character:

“One thing I’ve said during training camp and to this day is we’re going to see who we are within the first couple weeks of the season. And we’re seeing adversity. So how are we going to respond?”

On not wanting championship praise anymore:

“Everyone has been telling us what a great job we did, how fun it was, what we did for the city, the constant praise (for winning the title). So now we need the opposite.”

Andre Drummond was asked if he has any idea about his expected role with the team:

"Nope. I'm just here to work, when my number's called I'm prepared to play." pic.twitter.com/ARKIZRdVRy

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) October 26, 2026

Andre Drummond

On being benched against the Magic without receiving an explanation:

“Control what I can control. I can’t do s–t about not playing. All I can do is cheer my teammates on and hope for the best.”

On not knowing why Mike Brown removed him from the rotation:

“You can make the guess for me”

On whether or not Brown told him about his expected role with the Knicks:

“Nope. I’m just here to work, when my number’s called I’m prepared to play.”

Dalton Knecht thinks playing in Westchester "is going to be great":

"Learn a new system, learn a new scheme and stuff like that. Just be ready for the new opportunity, I'm excited to start learning from everybody" pic.twitter.com/bebulPJr19

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) October 25, 2026

Dalton Knecht

On leaving the Lakers and getting a fresh opportunity with the Knicks:

“I thought [Los Angeles] was a great opportunity. Next thing was coming. So it was kind of exciting [to] get a new opportunity, a new start somewhere. So I think this is gonna be great.”

On what changed between his rookie and sophomore seasons with the Lakers:

“I don’t think nothing changed, I think it’s just — the team got changed, and that was it. I don’t have no hard feelings, but on to better things.”

On learning the Knicks’ system and preparing for his new role:

“I think it’s gonna be great [in New York]. Learn the system, learn the new schemes and stuff like that. And you know, just be ready for the new opportunity. I’m excited to just start learning from everybody.”

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was completely shattered upon seeing Jalen Williams' injury.

It's like he went into tears

That's heartbreaking, man 🙁 https://t.co/KzKBNmJPrppic.twitter.com/O38QNWgsiP

— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) October 26, 2026