Tom Thibodeau wanted his team to play its best basketball at the end of the season. One of his players is peaking right on time for a Knicks team on its way to the first round of the playoffs.
Veteran sharpshooter Landry Shamet scored a season-high 29 points in the Knicks’ season finale at Barclays Center on Sunday, a 113-105 victory over the Nets that New York’s starters watched from the bench. The mark fell two points shy of his career-high (31) and is the most he’s scored in a game since Christmas Day 2022.
Shamet made seven of his first nine attempts from three-point range before cooling off and finishing 7-of-13 from downtown on the night. The seven made threes also fell two shy of his career-high of nine threes made on Dec. 20, 2022.
“It’s what he does,” said teammate Miles McBride. “He works hard. We see it all the time. It’s not a surprise.”
Shamet is averaging 11.6 points per game since March 25, a scoring rate trumping any individual season of his career. He scored 15 points in Friday’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers and 20 points in the April 1 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
His 47.4 percent three-point clip ranks fourth-most efficient among all qualifying NBA players since March 25, trailing only San Antonio’s Harrison Barnes, Oklahoma City’s Isaiah Joe and Sacramento’s Zach LaVine.
“The way he finished the season was terrific. He just makes really good basketball plays,” Thibodeau said after Sunday’s victory over the Nets. “He knows how to space the floor, how to move without the ball, he’s good in transition, knows how to play off people. He doesn’t force things. When he’s open he shoots, and when he’s guarded he makes the right play. I think that goes a long way. He has the ability to think on his feet and he’s a great competitor.”
The Knicks signed Shamet to an Exhibit-10 training contract, then waived him after he suffered a dislocated shoulder on his shooting arm in the preseason. New York’s G-League affiliate Westchester Knicks team then selected him second-overall in the 2025 G-League Draft and oversaw his rehab before the Knicks re-signed him to a rest of the year deal.
The patience has paid off. Shamet, who has been a contributor on a number of playoff teams, adds much-needed depth to a Knicks team that ranked dead-last in bench scoring.
PLAYOFF ROTATIONS
Thibodeau said shortening his rotations for the playoff is not a difficult task.
“You just do what’s best for the team,” he said.
The Knicks are projected to play their starters — Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns — heavy minutes, with Mitchell Robinson and Miles McBride giving Brunson and Towns breaks at the one and five, while Bridges, Anunoby and Hart log long minutes on the wings.
That leaves Shamet, veteran guard Cameron Payne, and backup forward Precious Achiuwa available for eighth, ninth and tenth men off the bench. Thibodeau had no issue with the idea of cutting his rotation to eight or seven players for the playoffs.
“Most teams do,” he said. “I know you guys are aware of that, being veteran experienced playoff writers, you understand that.”
OLD STOMPING GROUNDS
Bridges signed his jersey in the Barclays Center visitor’s locker room — foreign territory in an ...
