Knicks Year In Review: Miles McBride

With the Larry O'Brien Trophy awarded and the NBA Draft in the books, the New York Knicks' most successful season in a quarter-century officially ends on a bittersweet note.

Armed with the talents of All-Stars Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, New York won 51 games and made its first showing in the NBA's final four for the first time since 2000 but a similar fate awaited in the form of a six-game defeat at the hands of the Indiana Pacers. In the aftermath, the Knicks bid farewell to head coach Tom Thibodeau, ending his reign in Manhattan after five seasons.

With the offseason in full swing and the hoopla over new head coach Mike Brown relatively settled, Knicks on SI looks back and ahead at the Knicks' roster on a case-by-case basis, in numerical order.

2024-25 Year In Review: Miles McBride

Name: Miles McBride
Season: 4th
Key Stats: 9.5 points, 2.9 assists, 7.9 net rating

How It Started

McBride was forced to get his potential new year's resolution off to an early start when the Knicks traded RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to the Toronto Raptors on the penultimate day of 2023.

A second-round pick and draft night acquisition in 2021, McBride was a fringe roster man during the early stages of his Knicks tenure before one of the top homegrown talents and the primary backup backcourt man was sent north. Despite that, he had gained a solid reputation as a defensive standout in his limited time, apparently enough for management to deal away two supposed franchise cornerstones.

The Knicks' plans for McBride were evident when was signed to a three-year extension shortly after the deal for OG Anunoby was finalized. From there, McBride built a lasting residency in the prime stages of the depth chart and never departed.

Such trust was solidified when the Knicks dealt away fellow backcourt threats Quentin Grimes at the trade deadline. In his first stages of full-time work, McBride vindicated his new windfall once the calendar flipped, averaging 10.7 points in relief on over 44 percent from the field, playing a sizable role in the team's run to the second seed in the East.

How It Went

An indirect extension of the trust in McBride through further Manhattan movement: the Knicks let Alec Burks, one of the main yields of the Grimes trade, go during the offseason and they also traded Donte DiVincenzo in the famed Karl-Anthony Towns barter.

Despite a drop-off in his shooting success rates, McBride maintained a lasting spot in the primary parts of the Knicks' second unit despite the arrivals of backcourt vets Cameron Payne and Landry Shamet.

He was a strong silver lining as the Knicks worked through some early growing pains through the emergence of a consistent outside game (which drew declarations of his extended nickname "Deuuuuuuuce" when he lined up at both Madison Square Garden and beyond), though there was noticeable reductions as the seasons went on. A series of nagging lower-body injuries, including an eight-game departure in early spring due to groin ailment, also stifled his momentum.

His defense remained consistent throughout the stretch to justify continued minutes and his prominent presence on the New York bench. Semblances of the breakout McBride began to emerge during the playoffs, which included three double-figure games during the six-stage victory over Boston in round two. Despite the issues, McBride did manage to set a new career-best in assists at 2.9 a game.

Finest Hour

McBride made 10 starts this season, taking advantage to the tune of 14 points and 5.3 assists.

His first such occasion landed on Feb. 20 at home, when McBride and Precious Achiuwa stepped in for an injured Anunoby and Josh Hart against the Chicago Bulls. The game turned out to define everything McBride has come to mean to the Knicks and then some, as he wound up doing a little bit of everything in a 113-111 overtime victory.

McBride's packed box score featured 23 points and he fell one rebound short of his first career double-double. He also had three assists, blocks, and steals to put the cherry on top of the two-way sundae, keeping an extended scorching stretch from the Knicks alive.

They Said It

“We saw his rookie year; we track all the shooting, and it was very accurate. He was putting a lot of time. It wasn’t translating to the games his first year, and part of that was him not being in the rotation. He was just filling in when someone was out. But we felt, with the way that he was shooting in practice, that it would eventually translate. It has.”-former head coach Tom Thibodeau on McBride's shooting (h/t James Edwards III, The Athletic)

“Whenever he’s in the starting lineup or comes off the bench, he has the same mentality, the same energy. I just love way he’s grown into the player he is, the way he works, the confidence, the way he’s been successful. [We're] very proud of him, very happy for him, just love to see him out there, whenever he’s out there.”-Jalen Brunson on McBride (h/t Ian Begley, SNY)

What's Next

Though McBride may be one of the Knicks' most tradeable assets if they continue to go star hunting, there's nothing that's led anyone to believe that he won't continue being one of the first men off the Knicks' bench, even with the potential of newly-signed Jordan Clarkson potentially stealing some of his minute in the backcourt.

New head coach Mike Brown partly build his success in Sacramento off the talents of two-way depth stars such as Kevin Huerter, Mason Jones, and Keegan Murray. That bodes well for McBride, who is working his way toward becoming one of the longest-tenured New Yorkers.

McBride got off to a slow start to his Knicks career because not only did he have to prove himself as a rookie, but he also had to prove himself to a somewhat stubborn Thibodeau. Firmly entrenched in the necessity of the modern Knick culture, McBride has developed a sterling learning curve and should be able to immediately contribute to what Brown is trying to build.

Previous Entries

• Delon Wright
• Cameron Payne