Ignas Brazdeikis is looking to prove himself in his rookie season with the New York Knicks and he’s not sweating any doubters.
Ignas Brazdeikis isn’t your typical second-round pick. While most guys tend to use their second-round status as motivation to succeed, the New York Knicks rookie isn’t overly concerned with how other people perceive him.
“I’m just here to prove myself right,” he said to Ian Begley of SNY. “I don’t really care about anyone else, proving them wrong, whatever. I know who I am, I know how good I am, and I know how much I can help this team. I’m going to prove it, I’m going to do my thing. And I don’t hold anything against anyone (who may have overlooked him). It what it is, but I’m definitely ready to go.”
There’s no right or wrong way to self-motivate. Allonzo Trier seemed to feed off of his undrafted status last season. Brazdeikis is just wired differently.
Despite his second-round status, the hope is that he can develop into a rotational player. In college, Brazdeikis scored 14.8 points per game on 39.2% from three-point range. His ability to shoot the ball might be his way of carving out a role in his rookie season.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dVqDFXCV0c
New York has had success in recent years with their second-round picks. Mitchell Robinson looks like he could become one of the best centers in the NBA within the next few years. Damyean Dotson isn’t a perfect player, but he’s a competent wing to have on the second unit. And although Trier was technically undrafted, he deserves to be in the conversation as well.
The Knicks have a strong track record with finding talent after the first-round and Brazdeikis could be the next man up.
