Tyler Kolek’s NBA journey is complete.
He started as an unheralded recruit from Cumberland, Rhode Island and worked his way up to Two-time Consensus All-American. Now he has taken the final step on the road to becoming a professional.
The 6-foot-1 point guard was picked at No. 34 by the Portland Trail Blazers in the second round of the NBA draft, but was immediately traded to the New York Knicks.
Kolek was viewed as a mid-to-late first rounder throughout the pre-draft process due to a strong senior season in which he led the country with 7.7 assists per game, also averaging 15.3 points per contest.
But his below average physical attributes made him drop to the second round.
At the NBA combine, Kolek finished below average to other NBA point guard prospects in five different tangibles categories — physical, vert, agility, raw and combine score — according to MU stat blog PaintTouches. He also opted not to play in the 5-on-5 combine scrimmages.
Where Kolek stands out to teams, though, is with his high-level awareness and feel for the game.
In his three seasons at Marquette, Kolek dominated the pick-and-roll and ran the Golden Eagles’ high-octane, NBA-styled offense. He also improved as a shooter, exploding from a 28% 3-point clip as a sophomore to shooting an average of 39.3% from deep in his junior and senior years.
Kolek now has a chance to learn from current Knicks point guard and NBA star Jalen Brunson, and possibly play in the same arena he won the 2023 Big East tournament.
This article was written by Jack Albright. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @JackAlbrightMU.
