Ariel Hukporti on the Knicks' 2024-25 roster? 'Everything's possible'
Ariel Hukporti of the New York Knicks shoots over Moussa Diabate of the Charlotte Hornets in a preseason game on Tuesday. Credit: Errol Anderson
The play was basic offensive basketball.
Standing above the three-point line, Deuce McBride had the ball and was waiting for Ariel Hukporti to set a screen on Hornets guard Tre Mann.
McBride took three steps to his left and fired a one-hand bounce pass into the lane for Hukporti, who gathered the ball and launched himself skyward at the rim, where he was met in the air by Charlotte’s 6-6 guard Charlie Brown Jr.
Brown’s desperate attempt to contest an easy basket did not work. The screen-and-roll did. Spectacularly. The Knicks'’ 6-11 rookie center extended his arm and hammered a one-handed dunk that caused the Garden to buzz Tuesday night.
“I jumped and I was like, oh damn, I’m [very] high' ” Hukporti said after the Knicks' 111-105 preseason win. “Why not? Let me try it.”
The entire sequence took four seconds and while it will not be the determining factor whether the 22-year-old will be on the opening night roster, it could be a moment that resonates with team president Leon Rose and coach Tom Thibodeau when they finalize the Knicks’ roster ahead of Tuesday’s season opener against the Celtics in Boston.
“Everything’s possible, right?” Hukporti said when asked if he thought he could be part of Thibodeau’s rotation once the season begins. “Everything’s possible. It [doesn't] matter where you get drafted or where you’re from.”
Even though the NBA and, more broadly, basketball has become global, Hukporti would be an example of both the growth of the sport and individual perseverance should he make the team.
Born and raised in Germany, Hukporti started playing at age 11 and turned pro in 2018, signing with Riesen Ludwigsburg of the Basketball Bundesliga. From there, he played for Nevezis Kedainial of the Lithuanian Basketball League, Melbourne United of the Australian National Basketball League and Riesen Ludwigsburg before being the last selection, 58th overall, in the 2024 NBA Draft by the Mavericks, who traded his rights to the Knicks for Melvin Ajinca. Hukporti subsequently signed a two-way contract with the Knicks in July.
It is not exactly the traditional route to the NBA. So, then, why does Hukporti have an opportunity to make the team?
There is the small matter that the Knicks will not have the services of Mitchell Robinson until December or January at the earliest following what the organization referred to as “a small procedure” on his left ankle in May.
Without Robinson, the true centers on the Knicks’ roster are starter Karl-Anthony Towns, Jericho Sims and Hukporti. Add to that Thibodeau’s value in having centers who can protect the rim, and there is an obvious need to be filled.
“You win games [in] different ways,” Thibodeau said. “Sometimes it’s your defense [and] your rebounding. Some nights you will shoot it well, and your offense will carry you but to be consistent in this league, you have to be strong on both sides of the ball.”
Plus, Hukporti has contributed when he has received playing time during the exhibition season. Hukporti is averaging 5.0 points and 3.7 rebounds in 14.7 minutes in the three games he has played. And against the Hornets, he finished with eight points and five rebounds in 22 minutes.
“Ariel played well,” Thibodeau said.
Then there's the matter of dollars and cents as the Knicks have the option to convert Hukporti’s two-way deal — and potentially one of Kevin McCullars' and Jacob Toppin’s — to NBA contracts, which would keep the organization under the salary cap’s second apron of $188.931 million.
