Former University of Kansas guard Kevin McCullar of the New York Knicks, who entered Saturday’s game against Atlanta with seven total appearances in a two-year NBA career, was named the team’s defensive player of the game by coach Mike Brown.
He played 23 productive minutes in a 128-125 road victory over the Hawks.
McCullar, a 6-foot-7, 210-pound San Antonio native who spent most of his 2024-25 rookie season rehabbing from knee surgery while on a two-way contract, scored 13 points with eight rebounds, two assists and two steals. He hit 4 of 7 shots and was 3-of-6 from 3-point range.
McCullar shadowed all-star Trae Young, who scored just nine points total, none when guarded by the former KU standout.
“I just wanted to give him a chance,” Brown told media after the game as reported by SNY.TV. “Threw him out there for a few minutes and he was fantastic. He earned even more minutes. I didn’t have him down for that many minutes, but he definitely earned them.”
McCullar helped make up for the absence of Josh Hart, who suffered an ankle injury on Christmas Day against Cleveland. In fact, McCullar was first player off the Knicks’ bench versus Atlanta..
“McCullar was scheduled on my little minutes sheet to come in at the 8-minute mark of the first quarter. I was going to throw him on Trae just to see what happens,” Brown said, as reported by the New York Post. “Kev’s a young, really good defender, has a great feel on both ends of the floor, but especially that end of the floor.”
Brown has tuned to various players off the bench this season, including Tyler Kolek and former Mizzou Tiger Jordan Clarkson, because of injuries to Hart, Miles McBride (ankle) and KC native/former Wichita State Shocker Landry Shamet (shoulder).
“That’s what having a team is about,” Brown told the New York Post. “I feel confident in all our guys. McBride has been out for a while, Landry has been out, Josh is out with the ankle, so we’ve got to go to the next man.
“We just want guys to give us what they’re capable of. We don’t want them to go outside their box, but we just want them to give us hard minutes the time that they’re on the floor.”
McCullar, who also plays for the Westchester Knicks of the G League on his two-way deal, was prepared when called upon in Atlanta. He’s averaged 16.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.8 steals over 30.3 minutes in four G League games this season.
“You just have to stay ready at all times,” McCullar told SNY.tv. “Coach Brown trusts in one through 17 on the bench, and you just have to try to be ready when your number is called.”
The 24-year-old McCullar, who entered Saturday’s game with nine total points scored in his NBA career, grabbed four rebounds (three offensive) and with one assist after entering in the first quarter.
“McCullar carried that into the second quarter, contributing one of the plays of the season, in which he dove after a loose ball he poked free then found some space and knocked down a corner 3 on the return pass,” wrote John Flanigan of SNY.TV. “It was those type of hustle plays that gave New York the energy they needed to end the first half strong.”
McCullar played so well that the injured Hart took to social media after the game and wrote: “Yea Kev!”
It should be interesting to see if McCullar, the 56th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft who turns 25 on March 15, is again a rotation player in Monday’s game at New Orleans. Hart is not expected to play.
“At the very least, the Knicks now know they have a legitimate weapon waiting in the wings in Westchester,” wrote Alexander Wilson of empiresportsmedia.com. “McCullar proved he isn’t just a G League standout, he is an NBA-ready contributor who can step into a high-pressure environment and produce immediately.”