The Dallas Mavericks confirmed on Friday the signing of free agent Frank Ntilikina, the number eight pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. The addition of Ntilikina will help the Mavericks to boost their lineup of guards as they head into the new 2021-22 season.

Ntilikina began his professional NBA career with the New York Knicks, representing the team from Manhattan for four seasons. During his time at Madison Square Garden, the French player averaged 5.5 points and 2.7 assists.

Born in Belgium, Ntilikina moved to France at the age of 3, where he later entered Strasbourg IG’s youth academy when he was 15. After helping Strasbourg to the French Youth League Championship title in the 2014-15 season, Ntilikina signed a professional contract with the first team.

The 23-year-old star represented Strasbourg in 32 games during the 2015–16 Pro A season, scoring 1.3 points per game and being named the league’s Best Young Player that year.

Ntilikina represented France at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, picking up a silver medal after his side lost to the United States in the gold medal game.

The post Mavericks Sign Free Agent Frank Ntilikina appeared first on SportzBonanza.

It looked like Kevin Knox, New York Knicks’ ninth overall pick in 2018 NBA Draft, is off to a great start of his NBA career. Knox started all Knicks preseason games, leading people to believe that he will be a starter in his rookie season. But New York’s head coach David Fizdale decided to go in other direction and announced on Tuesday Frank Ntilikina will take the starting spot from Knox at the beginning of the season.

According to Fizdale, Ntilikina, who was the eighth overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, earned to be a starter.

“I think the most important thing I was trying to get out of it was culturally you’ve got to earn it,” – said Fizdale. “I don’t think Kevin got to the point where he earned it more than Frank. But there were some good things for Kevin (in the preseason), and I was really happy with him having to go through highs and lows early on.“

Kevin Knox had a great showing in NBA Summer League, where he averaged 21.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game. In the preseason games, however, he showed great inconsistency, shooting 33 percent from the field and averaging only 8.8 points per game.

“He had the two double-doubles early and then he hit a wall.” – added Fizdale. “That’s just a learning opportunity for him. I don’t want to reward that yet. I do think Frank, consistently throughout the preseason, no matter where I put him, he got the job done. So for our culture that’s more important.“

The role of a starter will be a new one for Frank Ntilikina, who spent his rookie season mostly coming off the bench. In 78 games played in the last season, Ntilikina averaged 5.9 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game.

The post Knicks’ Opt to Start Frank Ntilikina Over Rookie Kevin Knox appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Dallas Mavericks confirmed on Friday the signing of free agent Frank Ntilikina, the number eight pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. The addition of Ntilikina will help the Mavericks to boost their lineup of guards as they head into the new 2021-22 season.

Ntilikina began his professional NBA career with the New York Knicks, representing the team from Manhattan for four seasons. During his time at Madison Square Garden, the French player averaged 5.5 points and 2.7 assists.

Born in Belgium, Ntilikina moved to France at the age of 3, where he later entered Strasbourg IG’s youth academy when he was 15. After helping Strasbourg to the French Youth League Championship title in the 2014-15 season, Ntilikina signed a professional contract with the first team.

The 23-year-old star represented Strasbourg in 32 games during the 2015–16 Pro A season, scoring 1.3 points per game and being named the league’s Best Young Player that year.

Ntilikina represented France at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, picking up a silver medal after his side lost to the United States in the gold medal game.

The post Mavericks Sign Free Agent Frank Ntilikina appeared first on SportzBonanza.

It looked like Kevin Knox, New York Knicks’ ninth overall pick in 2018 NBA Draft, is off to a great start of his NBA career. Knox started all Knicks preseason games, leading people to believe that he will be a starter in his rookie season. But New York’s head coach David Fizdale decided to go in other direction and announced on Tuesday Frank Ntilikina will take the starting spot from Knox at the beginning of the season.

According to Fizdale, Ntilikina, who was the eighth overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, earned to be a starter.

“I think the most important thing I was trying to get out of it was culturally you’ve got to earn it,” – said Fizdale. “I don’t think Kevin got to the point where he earned it more than Frank. But there were some good things for Kevin (in the preseason), and I was really happy with him having to go through highs and lows early on.“

Kevin Knox had a great showing in NBA Summer League, where he averaged 21.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game. In the preseason games, however, he showed great inconsistency, shooting 33 percent from the field and averaging only 8.8 points per game.

“He had the two double-doubles early and then he hit a wall.” – added Fizdale. “That’s just a learning opportunity for him. I don’t want to reward that yet. I do think Frank, consistently throughout the preseason, no matter where I put him, he got the job done. So for our culture that’s more important.“

The role of a starter will be a new one for Frank Ntilikina, who spent his rookie season mostly coming off the bench. In 78 games played in the last season, Ntilikina averaged 5.9 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game.

The post Knicks’ Opt to Start Frank Ntilikina Over Rookie Kevin Knox appeared first on SportzBonanza.