The New York Knicks could target Tim Hardaway Jr.
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The New York Knicks could target Tim Hardaway Jr.
The Denver Nuggets got back on a winning track on Friday, March 21.
As they faced the Toronto Raptors, who have developed into Eastern Conference contenders this year, the Nuggets came away with a 121-115 victory.
The superstar center Nikola Jokic checked in for 37 minutes. He shot 9-14 from the field to score 22 points. Jokic also produced nine assists, right rebounds, one steal, and one block.
Denver’s Jamal Murray also had a big game, checking in for 40 minutes and shooting 10-18 from the field and making all but one of his 10 free throws. Murray finished the game with 31 points, six assists, and five rebounds.
Off the bench, Tim Hardaway Jr. made the absolute most of his 27 minutes.
The veteran shot 8-16 from the field, knocking down 70% of his threes. Hardaway finished the game with 23 points, four rebounds, and a steal.
With his play, Hardaway made a strong statement. Following the game, he made a bold verbal statement as well, laying out one of his top goals for the year.
Matt Brooks
Tim Hardaway Jr. has been absolutely heroic tonight. No other way to say it.
Tim Hardaway Jr. Makes Personal Goal Crystal Clear
Tim Hardaway Jr. wants to be the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year.
After the Nuggets-Raptors matchup, he made that crystal clear.
via Brendan Vogt, DNVR: Tim Hardaway Jr. on the Sixth Man of the Year award:
“If I was sitting here saying I wasn’t thinking about that – I’d be lying. I do think about that. When I came here, it was one of my goals. But also it comes with team success.”
When it comes to availability, Hardaway has been on the court for the Nuggets for all but one of their 71 games this year.
The veteran has gone from a full-time starter in 2024-2025 to garnering just five appearances in the starting lineup this year.
With 27.1 minutes of action per game, Hardaway is making 45.1% of his shots from the field and averaging 40.9% from three on 7.0 attempts per game.
Beyond his scoring, Hardaway is producing 2.6 rebounds per game and dishing out 1.4 assists per game.
Being in the NBA since 2013, Hardaway has been a reserve for roughly half of the 883 games he’s played.
When he was with the New York Knicks for four years, Hardaway started 131 of the 254 games he played. A short time with the Atlanta Hawks included just 31 starts in 130 games.
A large chunk of Hardaway’s career was spent with the Dallas Mavericks. He started 183 games in 352 matchups. That was a six-year span, before Hardaway was moved to the Detroit Pistons via trade.
On the Pistons, Hardaway started in every game he played (77 games). He signed with the Nuggets during the 2025 offseason. The role might be different, but Hardaway has clearly embraced the idea of being a top bench player at 33.
He’s been in the Sixth Man of the Year conversation before. In 2021 and 2024, Hardaway finished in the top 10 in the voting.
According to FanDuel, Hardaway has the sixth-best line. He trails Ajay Mitchell, Reed Sheppard, Keldon Johnson, Naz Reid, and Jaime Jaquez.
Hardaway has some time to change his standing. The Nuggets will be back on the floor to host the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday, March 22, for a 6 PM ET tip.