Knicks guard Miles McBride shooting against Philadelphia in a May 2026 playoff game
Knicks guard Miles McBride shooting against Philadelphia in a May 2026 playoff game
Miles McBride went scoreless in his final three appearances of the NBA Finals. He missed all eight of his three-point attempts across those games, an ugly finish even with the Knicks winning the championship.
It would be a mistake to make that stretch his entire scouting report. The useful question for this preseason is how to get his regular-season production back, not how to punish him for the worst week of his year.
McBride averaged 12 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 41 regular-season appearances last year. He shot 41.3 percent from three. The season was interrupted by a core-muscle injury, but the production he provided before the championship-clinching stretch still belongs in any fair evaluation.
The Finals shooting deserves attention. It doesn’t automatically outweigh a much larger set of games, and it doesn’t prove he’s incapable of helping a playoff lineup. I’d want Mike Brown to identify the situations where McBride can shoot and defend effectively before reducing his role over those misses.
His first two preseason games haven’t supplied an instant answer. He made one of nine three-point attempts across Philadelphia and Washington, scoring six points in 28 combined minutes. The ball needs to go in more often, and nobody has to pretend otherwise to make a case for him.
Knicks guard Miles McBride shooting over Keldon Johnson during the June 2026 NBA Finals
Archive photo from the 2025-26 season. Jun 3, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; New York Knicks guard Miles McBride (2) shoots the ball over San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson (3) during game one of the 2026 NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Give McBride a role he can actually execute
My preference is a regular bench assignment that lets him defend guards and play off another creator. That doesn’t require asking him to run every possession like Jalen Brunson. A guard can help the offense by spacing the floor and moving the ball without becoming its primary organizer.
I’d also give him some preseason minutes alongside the main rotation rather than judging him entirely through reserve-heavy combinations. The staff can see whether his shooting changes the space available to its best offensive players. That’s a test, not a claim that any particular five-man group has already succeeded.
Brown has alternatives. A different guard may give the second unit more playmaking, or the matchup may call for a larger player. Keeping McBride useful shouldn’t mean promising him the same minutes regardless of performance.
His core-muscle injury also interrupted last season. He’s playing now, but that doesn’t tell us whether the medical staff sees a reason to limit his workload. Brown needs that assessment before increasing his minutes.
The Timberwolves visit Monday before the Knicks finish the preseason with two Toronto games. I’d use that remaining schedule to test McBride’s fit and shot quality, rather than treat nine preseason attempts as a second verdict on his Finals. He should have to earn his minutes, but he shouldn’t have to erase the bad stretch before his good work counts again.