SAN FRANCISCO — After working diligently through rehabilitation, Landry Shamet is ready to rejoin the lineup, bouncing back from a shoulder injury that interrupted his promising sophomore season with the Knicks.
Shamet suffered a severe right shoulder sprain from a hard mid-court screen by Orlando’s Wendell Carter Jr. during the first quarter of the Knicks’ November 22 road game against the Magic. Recently, he practiced with the team at Sacramento State University’s Hornet Athletic Center, although he sat out their initial road game against the Kings, which ended in a disappointing defeat.
However, the Knicks upgraded Shamet’s status, making him available for their Thursday matchup against the Golden State Warriors.
“Landry is a dedicated worker,” said head coach Mike Brown before Thursday’s game. “I wasn’t with him throughout the entire rehab process, but whenever I saw him, he was putting in the effort. Playing again is significant for him.”
Shamet’s return is timely, as the Knicks have been struggling, losing six out of their last eight games. Further challenges arose with Jalen Brunson out due to a right ankle sprain suffered just five minutes into the game against Sacramento.
While the Knicks can’t fully replicate the contributions of their All-Star point guard, Shamet’s return as a reserve sharpshooter and defensive asset offers some much-needed support.
He played 15 games, and started in six, through the first portion of the Knicks’ season and averaged 9.3 points on 45% shooting from the field and 42.4% shooting from deep to start the year. Those numbers marked his highest-scoring season since 2021 with the Brooklyn Nets, and the second-best three-point shooting season of his career since 2019.
Brown said the Knicks are going to be “patient” as Shamet, 28, returns to form. He injured the same right, shooting shoulder that he dislocated during the preseason last year and stepped back onto the court on Thursday for the first time in nearly two months.
“He was in a great rhythm before he got hurt, and he’s been out for a while, so it’s gonna take some time for him to get back and it’s exciting for him to be back,” he said. “We’re gonna be patient with him while he’s fighting his way back to where he was before the injury.”
A-PLUS
Brown said rookie Mohamed Diawara has passed a number of tests as a rookie second-round pick who’s been thrust into the fire on a veteran team with championship expectations.
“Any opportunity you get, you throw him out there, and sometimes you might throw him out there for 15 minutes and sometimes you might throw him out there for two minutes, and you just kinda watch and see how he responds to it. And there may be stretches where he doesn’t see the floor at all, and you see how present he stays with it, and then the times that you do throw him out there, does he get shook or is he rattled?” the Knicks’ coach said pregame on Thursday. “Mo, for a young guy especially a second-round pick that probably wasn’t expecting to play at all this year, he passed a lot of tests. He’s gonna continue to be thrown into the fire from time to time.
“But he’s young, he’s growing, he’s learning, there’s no need to rush him, so he’s gotta stay patient while growing with every experience that he gets when he gets on the floor.”
The Knicks selected Diawara with the 51st pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. He has shot 12-of-30 (40%) from downtown and is averaging 12.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.9 blocks per 36 minutes this season.
DRAYMOND COACHING?
Warriors star Draymond Green expressed an interest in coaching when his playing career is over. Brown believed Green can serve in any capacity for a basketball organization.
“One thing: He’s extremely intelligent. His feel for the game is second to none. I’ve been around a lot of players and he’s gotta be up there Top-3 in terms of basketball IQ because he’s been doing it at a high level, has got a great feel, and has had success at it,” said Brown. “He’s won. It wouldn’t surprise me if he transitioned into coaching, front office, whatever, because I think he’d be able to impact the game in a positive way.”
