The New York Knicks have room for Miles McBride to emerge once again next season, and this time as a premier sixth man in the league. McBride’s ascent in 2023-24 suggests that he may be up to the task.
Knicks: Miles McBride’s rise in 2023-24 could be a sign of more things to come
On its face, last season saw the standout defender average 8.3 points and 0.7 steals per contest on 45.2 percent shooting from the field and a career-high 41 percent clip from three-point range. His marksmanship from distance established him as one of the most efficient outside shooters in the league.
McBride did his damage in only 19.5 minutes of nightly action. While the 2024-25 campaign may not offer him a considerable increase in playing time, he is in line to see a magnified role in Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau’s rotation given the recent departure of Donte DiVincenzo. The Knicks’ second five currently features McBride, Cam Payne, Keita Bates-Diop, Precious Achiuwa, and Jericho Sims.
The Ohio native has the most offensive upside of the bunch. Achiuwa will likely do the heavy lifting in the interior, and Payne has a refined game that will greatly benefit the Knicks, but it’s McBride who could take his productivity to another level next season.
McBride consistently raised his play when given more minutes last season
When examining his play when given ample time, the West Virginia product averaged double figures in scoring across 26 games where he saw at least 20 minutes of action. Further, McBride was good for 16.6 points and 4.2 assists in 12 games where he played 40 or more minutes.
That’s a large enough sample size to prove that he can be a threatening scorer and distributor. That is substantiated by the 17.8 PPG and 3.2 APG he mustered up in six games where he saw 30-39 minutes, at an average of 35.7 MPG, and the 10.9 PPG he put up in eight games where he played 20-29 minutes at 22.9 MPG on average.
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McBride has the skill set to be more assertive on offense
Thus, McBride can be trusted not only to play standout on-ball defense, but also to score efficiently and make others around him better. A deeper look at McBride’s game shows that he did not need to rely solely on catch-and-shoot looks to be effective.
Of his 6.7 field goal attempts, 2.8 were off the catch, where he converted at a 41.7 percent rate. Nearly all of those attempts were trifectas. When looking at his effectiveness as a pull-up shooter, McBride took another 2.3 field goals per game in such situations and delivered on 41.4 percent of those looks. He also connected on 37.2 percent of his pull-ups from trey.
That being said, his efficient stroke should boost his confidence, enable him to take more liberty in finding his shot organically, and be more assertive as a shot-creator for the Knicks next time out. The bottom line is, McBride will still have competition for ball-handling duties with Payne and rookie PG Tyler Kolek, should the latter carve a spot for himself in the lineup. McBride may not see a meteoric rise as a distributor, but will have more opportunities to hoist, given the 8.4 FGA that Hart will take with him into the starting lineup.
The 24-year-old could realistically average double figures in scoring next season and bring his steals average up considerably. Should he pickpocket the rock more than once a game, he could even garner consideration for All-Defensive team honors. A combination of both will make him a prime breakout candidate.
