France knocked off the United States in the FIBA World Cup, and New York Knicks‘ guard Frank Ntilikina was a vital part of the historic upset. Will his play transfer over to the coming NBA regular season?
France was among the select few contenders worthy of a shot at dethroning Team USA this summer. Despite the United States has not a single “superstar”, many assumed the state of international basketball had surely caught up closer to the United States than in recent memory.
When France ultimately knocked the United States out of the World Cup 89-79 on Wednesday, that belief became a statement of fact. And New York Knicks’ guard Frank Nitilikinia was a vital part of making history in their upset win.
Flourishing FIBA Play
Ntilikina hasn’t gone on a scoring explosion by any means (his highest-scoring game to date was 11 points against the United States). Instead, he’s been a solid rebounder and stout defender, averaging 1.3 steals per game and averaging an 8.8 +/- through six FIBA games (fiba.basketball.com).
It has been a solid performance from Nitilikina throughout the tournament so far, and one could argue he’s been one of the few summer bright spots for the Knicks (after watching their two coveted free agents choose the team over in Brooklyn).
The question is, will Frank Nitilikina’s FIBA experience transition to the coming NBA season? Will he even get the opportunity?
Nitilikina’s Knicks future has seemingly been uncertain ever since he was taken eight overall in the 2017 NBA Draft. He’s averaged just 21.0 minutes per game and through 121 games played has started just 25 of them (ProBasketballReference). If the spare minutes didn’t speak to his uncertain future, then the Knicks’ personnel moves of the past likely do.
The Decision for 2020-2021
New York has traded for Trey Burke, Dennis Smith Jr, and this summer signed Elfrid Payton. All players who the front office hoped had brought some stability to the point guard position. But after a strong FIBA outing, will Ntilikina finally get a shot at proving himself?
It would be timely nonetheless, the Knicks must decide whether to exercise their $6.2 million option for the 2020-2021 season. Don’t forget that Ntilikina was the last draft pick of Phil Jackson, so despite his strong international play do they instead want to move in a new direction regardless?
Ahead of a season that just can’t be thrown away (we saw how that ended this past summer), the Knicks’ should look to find strengths from all possible options on the court. Fans want to see improvement and development this season, not another tank job. All roster options should be examined.
That includes Frank Ntilikina running the point, and this season may be different than the past. After a strong performance on an international stage, that just might be the x-factor in Ntilikina’s development. The hope is that he continues that next step in a Knicks jersey, as opposed to somewhere else.