Trey Burke and Luke Kornet were named to the All-NBA G League third team on Monday as the Westchester Knicks accolades pile up.
The Westchester Knicks excellent season received even more validation on Monday when an official release from the G League named Trey Burke and Luke Kornet to the All-NBA G League Third Team. Westchester forward, Nigel Hayes was also named to the All-Rookie G League team.
This has to be an awesome moment for all three players. Hayes doesn’t look to figure into the long-term plans for the organization, but he’s proved that he’s capable of continuing to compete in the G League and try to eventually make an NBA roster.
Kornet might be the poster boy for the two-way contract. After going undrafted out of college, Kornet proved himself on the Westchester Knicks and to an extent, the New York Knicks. He looks like he has a possible future as a rotational player in the NBA.
Burke was named to the Third Team, but he probably would have been higher if the Knicks didn’t sign him to the NBA roster in January. Burke averaged 26.6 points and 5.3 assists per game in 26 games with Westchester. By contrast, the G League MVP, Lorenzo Brown of the 905 Raptors, averaged 18.8 points and 8.9 assists per game.
These end of season accolades for Westchester are in addition to the team’s coach, Mike Miller being awarded the G League Coach of the Year.
While the New York Knicks’ season was a disaster at times, the Westchester Knicks’ season was undoubtedly a success. Westchester finished the season with the best record in the league, the Coach of the Year, and now three players have been named to various All-NBA or All-Rookie G League teams.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that all is well with the Knicks in terms of player development, but there is no way this is a bad sign. Hopefully, this past season is an indication of the organization turning a corner. Continue to focus on finding players and developing them into potential rotational players.
