A marriage made in heaven: the Knicks and their McBride-to-be
Miles McBride is the greatest surviving collaboration between Leon Rose and Tom Thibodeau thus far
Everyone loves a good collaboration effort. In fact, it’s often that two musical artists I’m not a fan of collectively release an album or a song that I enjoy and eventually purchase. Enter the two artists known as Leon Rose and Tom Thibodeau, who, as individuals, have multiple greatest hits in the “music world” of the NBA.
Who could forget “Ice, Ice, Ice!,” Thibs’ first number one hit? Or the double-platinum R&B track “Patience and Prudence” from Leon? That’s right, Knicks fans: James Dolan isn’t the only aspiring musician clocking in and out of Madison Square Garden. But two talented artists collabing doesn’t always make for a smash hit. Rose and Thibs' attempt at covering “I’m Coming Home” by Carmelo Anthony, with Kemba Walker doing lead vocals, received strong criticism before being taken off radio stations everywhere.
In a July 2023 column titled “The Art of Collaboration: Benefits and Essential Tips for Artists,” Wimbledon Arts wrote: “By bridging gaps between art forms, artists can combine their unique strengths, skills, and perspectives to create something truly remarkable and meaningful.”
On a serious note, the Miles McBride we’ve seen this season – a borderline starter who locks down on D and knocks down threes, winning games for the team in blue and orange? He’s the greatest collaboration between the New York Knicks’ coaching staff and front office. Let’s break down the four-song tracklist that got us here.
Track No.1 - “Got My Guy” by Thibs ft. Leon Rose
Coming off an undermining first-round loss to Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks in 2021, the Knicks’ draft board prioritized defense and shooting from the guard spots. They walked out of the first round with Quentin Grimes and the second round with McBride. But it was Thibs who pushed the front office to draft the latter after reportedly being impressed in pre-draft workouts. Rose responded, pulling off a couple draft night trades and selecting “Deuce” with the 36th overall pick.
Almost instantly, the expectation was McBride would see playing time his rookie season, even if only “situationally” in a Frank Ntilikina-role. But even with Kemba’s erratic and lone homecoming season, McBride remained buried in the rotation behind Alec Burks, Derrick Rose and Immanuel Quickley. He finished his rookie season with just 372 minutes logged and 40 games played, watching the final game of their season – a meaningless game for the already-eliminated Knicks – from the bench while fellow youngsters Quickley and Obi Toppin combined for 76 points. Rookies who logged more minutes than McBride that year include Keifer Sykes, Sandro Mamukelashvili (for a 51-31 Milwaukee Bucks team, no less!), Terry Taylor and Vit Krejci.
Track No. 2 - “The Tribe Has Spoken” by Leon Rose ft. Thibs
Since emerging from a six-month endeavor to regain better health and some soundness of mind, I’ve enjoyed a return to writing. Most days, I put something mindless on the TV for background noise, most recently Survivor, one of America’s longest-standing reality shows. But very quickly my writing and not watching turned to writing and watching, before ultimately evolving into watching and not writing. I couldn’t help but see a humorous parallel between McBride’s situation with the Knicks and that of the contestants on the show. You see, when players are voted off of Survivor, it’s because they’re either:
so physically strong that their presence intimidates fellow players
too weak to contribute to the island lifestyle in tough terrain
disliked by the majority of their tribe
The same can be said for basketball regarding trades. Deals are made for varying purposes, but usually those players:
are great and in line for an outrageous payday
have been performing poorly and are wildly overpaid
are talented proportionate to the value of their contract, and thus could be a part of a package for a better player
have caused so much trouble within the locker room that their talent isn’t reason enough to keep them around
Somehow, McBride has never qualified for those descriptors at the junctures where the Knicks were contemplating big moves. So when he made his way to New York’s “tribal council” year after year at the trade deadline and in the offseason, it was Quickley, Grimes and Barrett being voted off the island. Jericho Sims and Mitchell Robinson are the only other Knicks originally drafted by the team (Robinson was selected by Oklahoma City for New York as part of the Carmelo Anthony trade). But with a freshly-signed extension and strong third season backing him, McBride seems primed to outlast them all.
Track No. 3 - “Pay Him, Play Him” by Leon Rose and Thibs
The situations that have “warranted” Miles McBride getting playing time for the New York Knicks over the years have adapted but never strayed from their superficiality. From players being injured, or the roster being shy of a few bodies in light of a trade, it was never simply based on his skill or talent. But this season, as opposed to pulling the third-year guard out of commodity or necessity, Thibs has ultimately deployed him consistently because he’s been just that: consistent. The simple rebuttal here is that New York traded their bouncing, pouncing sixth man in Quickley when they acquired OG Anunoby. But that’s said without acknowledging the three-year, $15-million extension McBride signed the day of the Toronto deal.
So with the same veteran on the roster whose very presence once guaranteed McBride’s absence, Thibs has gone with the kid. He was rewarded, akin to how I was rewarded with a good grade the few times I studied for an exam in high school:
Prior to the December 30 trade that brought Anunoby to the Big Apple, McBride scored 39 points over 99.7 total minutes. He appeared in 19 of 32 possible games.
Since then, McBride has scored 528 points in 1,245.7 minutes played, appearing in 50 of 51 possible games. He’s hit the third-most threes behind Brunson and DiVincenzo while leading the team in 3-point accuracy.
Notable names who will make more annually than McBride next season include Ben Simmons (lol), Jordan Poole, Caris LeVert, Josh Green and Marvin Bagley III. Not so notable names that will make more annually next season include Jett Howard, Jock Landale, Sasha Vezenkov and Ousmane Dieng.
No. 4 - “Numbers Don’t Lie” by Thibs and Leon Rose
I’m old enough to remember when McBride was among the best starting shooting guards in the NBA. Because for a nine-game stretch between March and April, he was. Anunoby was sidelined following a March 16 game against the Sacramento Kings with elbow inflammation. Thibs responded by starting McBride, for just the 10th time in his career. That night will forever be known as “The One Where McBride Outdueled Steph.”
New York’s third-year guard outscored the four-time champion 29-27 and six made three-pointers to the all-time league leader’s four. McBride was as responsible for the 29 he scored as the “only” 27 Curry did.
Over his nine-game starting spree before the return of Anunoby, McBride averaged 18.9 points, 3.3 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 44.5 minutes on 49/44/89 shooting.
Per Cleaning the Glass: In 723 possessions with all three of DiVincenzo, Brunson and McBride, the Knicks are outscoring opponents by 14.1 points per 100 possessions, good for the 98th percentile. New York’s played just 172 possessions with Brunson/McBride on the floor and DiVincenzo off.
McBride’s true shooting has skyrocketed from 47% to 59% this season, all while seeing a dip in his 3-point rate (the percentage of his shots that are threes) from 62% to 58%.
Per Stathead, 21 players have registered 3.5 win shares this season in under 1500 minutes. McBride is one.
In the 14 games Deuce started, New York went 6-8. In the 10 of those games he joined Brunson, the Knicks went 5-5.
When matched up with McBride this season:
Dejounte Murray shot 2-of-7 from the field (28%)
Stephen Curry shot 6-of-16 from the floor with two turnovers (37%)
De’Aaron Fox shot 9-of-22 from the field (40%)
Devin Vassell shot 4-of-10 from the floor (40%)
When being guarded by,
Cam Thomas, McBride shot 6-of-7 from the floor (85%)
Alex Caruso, Deuce went 3-of-5 from the floor with two assists (60%)
Looming playoff opponent Buddy Hield, he went 4-for-7 (57%)
Darius Garland, he hit 4-of-8 shots – all threes! – with three assists (50%)
According to Stathead, 37 players connected on 45 or fewer threes while attempting over 100 last season. McBride is the only one to come back this season and hit over 100 threes while still attempting less than 300. Concentrated improvement.
The first line under “Weaknesses” in Aran Smith’s post-draft profile of McBride? “McBride is a hard worker, so don’t bet against him.” For as many times as it may have seemed Rose or Thibodeau were doing just that, the two were actually conspiring, in the lab, preparing McBride for a centerstage role in the Knicks’ resurgence. This is an NBA player. Leon drafted, held onto, and ultimately extended the two-way guard. Thibodeau spent years in his corner, helping McBride to develop his skill set and succeed on the hardwood. A collaboration indeed.
As someone without the willpower to let the change jar fill up before I cash it in for paper currency, I applaud the patience practiced here by the New York Knicks. “The Soundtrack to McBride” is an album that’s spent years in the making. And Miles McBride’s future with the New York Knicks seems to stand firmly on the waves of his career crescendo and multi-year contract extension. The hits, it seems, will keep on coming.