Tyler Kolek unexpectedly played a rare day-night doubleheader to start 2025.
The rookie guard played 40 minutes in the afternoon in a G League game with the Westchester Knicks before being forced into the NBA team's rotation due to injuries to Jalen Brunson and Miles McBride.
Kolek played 12 minutes off the bench in the Knicks' 119-103 win over the Jazz, scoring two points and dishing out four assists.
“It's fun, I love playing basketball, and if I get a chance, I'm going to take advantage of it,” Kolek said afterward. “It was good. We had a few hours in between. … We just did everything we could to recover and get ready to go. It's more of a mental thing than anything.
“Obviously, with two guys out with injuries, we have to step up and be ready for whatever happens, regardless of the situation.”
Kolek said he learned earlier in the day that Brunson would likely miss the game with a calf strain, but he may not have been used by Tom Thibodeau if McBride had been available. .
“Great. He's a gym rat,” Thibodeau said. “So go in there and make plays. He pulled us up well. … He's young. He's getting better and better. That says a lot about him. ”
Knicks. Jason Suzens, New York Post
Derrick Rose played for Thibodeau with three different teams, including a shocking stint with the Knicks from 2021 to 2023.
Rose, 36, will be retired Saturday before the Knicks' game in Chicago, where he was a three-time All-Star under Thibodeau and the youngest MVP in league history.
“His numbers say what he did was unbelievable. He had an unbelievable career,” Thibodeau said. “And he dealt with everything that was thrown at him, whether it was being the MVP at 22 years old, going through injuries, coming back at the end of his career and coming off the bench.
“Whatever role he played, he was great in that role. And he was the ultimate teammate and obviously a great player.”
Despite Rose's career being delayed by multiple major injuries, Thibodeau believes there is “no question” the former point guard deserves to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Thibodeau said Mitchell Robinson, who hasn't played this season after undergoing ankle surgery, has not yet been cleared to run at full speed and is “still in the same position, but he's progressing well.”
He said the Knicks “expect to be cleared to practice sometime this month.”
