Sunday evening at 7:00, the Atlanta Hawks, fifth seeds in the Eastern Conference, face the fourth-seeded New York Knicks in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. There is a chance that this game will be the first game in NBA history to feature a player from William & Mary. But even if he doesn't get into a single game during the Hawks' playoff run, Nathan Knight proved he belongs in the league. And ain't that something?
W&M's greatest all-time player signed a two-way contract with Atlanta as an undrafted free agent, meaning that he was only eligible to be active for 50 of the team's 72 games. Ironically, the pandemic helped Nate, because normal NBA rules only allow a two-way player to spend 45 days with their NBA parent club and the majority of their time with a G-League affiliate.
I'm not such a homer that I'd overstate Knight's impact on the Hawks in the 33 games in which he appeared, but he did make his mark on a couple of occasions. In his second professional game, with the Hawks' roster depleted by injury, Nate dropped 14 points, making two of three from deep and rocking the rim on a pass from Trae Young as the Hawks beat Memphis (the dunk is at the 1:19 mark in the video below.
On back to back nights in March, Knight scored 16 and 15 in Atlanta's wins over Cleveland and Houston. Then, in the team's final game of the season, he went for a double-double, scoring 13 points and grabbing a career-high 10 boards in 26 minutes of action.
All told, Nate finished his rookie season averaging 3.8 points and 2.2 rebounds in 8.5 minutes per game. He didn't shoot the ball particularly well from the field (37%), but he did make 80% of his 55 free throws. In game action, he demonstrated an offensive explosiveness that we didn't see that often in college.
In our unbiased opinion, the Knighthawk showed enough to get another season in the league. He's got work to do on both ends of the floor, and we're not yet ready to argue that he's a starter. Yet. We reached out to the Atlanta front office for comment about Nate's future with the team, but they declined comment. Which, obviously, means that they don't want the rest of the league to know what they think they have. Smart, right there.
Our crystal ball says Nate's back with the Hawks next year, potentially bouncing up and down between the NBA and G-League. But we haven't seen the last of him, and that's a hell of a thing for a W&M product.
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29 comments:
Has the Knighthawk already logged more NBA minutes than any other Tribe alum?
AT this rate, he may eclipse my old pal Todd Cauthorn's lengthy run of professional hoops excellence with the Sheffield Sharks.
he’s already the w&m record holder in literally every statistical category as it relates to the nba
Andy Duncan would beg to differ if he wasn’t dead.
If he weren’t dead, he might
we don't recognize stats compiled in the baa. splitters.
The baa is a league for goats?
The NBA recognizes the last three baa seasons in their stats but I guess we, like Hebrew National hot dogs, are held to a higher standard.
Not that Rob cares but the Hawks are a really fun team. Trae still has too many empty calories to him but he’s gotten much better and Bogdonavic is amongst the most underrated offensive players in the league. Atlanta is an intriguing team over the next few years and Knight’s game might fit them if he can continue to shoot it better from distance and be a defensive presence.
Hawks-Knicks will be a fun series. Young and Randle will be fun to watch during their first playoffs as it’s different for primary initiators over 7 games Two of the better defensive coaches in the game with entirely too much time to scheme against one another as well.
Ok. Basketball dork session is over for now.
Mark Macon 2.0
draymond needs to be better
Credit to TR for dying on that Marc Macon corner.
Draymond hardly looks at the rim anymore. His chemistry with Steph and his defense still makes him invaluable to the Warriors but he won’t work with many teams at a high level at this point.
Ja. That’s all.
Jawohl
My 11 y/o was pitching in his rec baseball game. He's not much of a pitcher, but he throws strikes. He faced his travel teammate today in the first inning. First pitch hits the kid right in the mouth. The kid's upper lip got smashed into his braces. There was blood and tears.
And it was that kid's birthday. So yeah, that kid will remember turning 12.
Finishing up watching Stop Making Sense, one of my favorite concert films since they aired it monthly as the late night show of the local restored movie house when I was in high school. It’s never lost a step.
Headed out to grab a wing and a beer at the Dirty Buffalo, the Bills-themed star of a Triple D segment. It’s going under the knife for 3 months of remodeling Monday, so we’ll polish off a sixer basket of the mango habanero dry rub with the medium hot dipping sauce, maybe a sweet sriracha or two. And then off to my first Norfolk Tides game of the season with a couple of families.
It’s a fine night in Norfolk, friends.
rocking the orf from ghent to the wharf
I’ve recently been getting the strong vibe that Rob wants to be Whitney’s neighbor.
my liver does not want me to be whitney's neighbor
my kid starting working her first restaurant job yesterday. she loved her first shift. she's a people junkie, so i think she's gonna enjoy it. and since she wants to be a professional dancer, having restaurant experience will come in handy.
start-ed. sheesh.
My oldest has been working her old job at a country club since she returned from NJ. Her Mom just helped her get a bar tending gig at a bar on the river starting in a couple weeks. She’s quite social (like her Mom) as well. She’s going to kill it this summer.
Have a good evening, Whit. Hanging with friends at a baseball game is a great way to spend a weekend evening.
made a sausage and peppers sub with beyond meat hot italian links. texture was better than i expected, and the flavor was really good. much recommend.
There are so many setup lines in that comment.
I taught my young foodie how to start a charcoal grill and do burgers on it tonight. Pretty, pretty good.
I just took a foul ball off the shins. Ask me how.
how?
We’re you trying to bicycle kick it while drinking a beer?
Did you go full Leslie Neilsen and impersonate the home plate ump? I hope you at least got in a couple over the top third strike calls.
I had one rec and one travel baseball game today in 90 degree weather. I have three more tmrw in 90 degree weather. And I started my day (after taking my 13 y/o for his first vaccine shot) with a one-hour bike ride.
So I’m dehydrated. And feeling beyond tipsy after one scotch. No complaints here.
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