Knicks: Langston Galloway is Making the Critics Look Silly
It wasn’t too long ago that ESPN ranked Langston Galloway as the 317th best player in the NBA. It was a laughable ranking to those who watched him play and progress.
Less than two weeks into November, Galloway is doing what he’s done since Day 1: making his critics look silly.
Galloway was a bright spot on a terrible 2014-15 Knicks team that won just 17 games. That offers some measure of reason for his constant underrating, but it’s still inexcusable.
According to Ian Begley of ESPN New York, Galloway believes that his success is rooted in the lessons he learned as an undrafted D-League standout.
"“I definitely look back and say I cherish that moment because it made me better as a player and better as a person. I just continue to strive on. (Playing in the D League shows that) there’s nothing given, you have to earn it. So I try to take every day and just go earn it, and everything will work out.”"
Galloway earns it every single day.
A season ago, Galloway went from being undrafted to shining for the Westchester Knicks to making the All-Rookie Second Team. That’s three massive jumps that most players fail to achieve.
Rather than being discouraged by his setbacks, Galloway has been motivated by them.
Entering 2015-16, another hurdle presented itself: a war for playing time. All eyes were on Jose Calderon and Jerian Grant as the potential starting point guard, with some even hypothesizing that Galloway wouldn’t make the main roster.
Eight games in, one could argue that Galloway’s been the most consistent contributor on the Knicks.
Galloway is currently averaging 12.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.9 steals and 2.3 3-point field goals in 27.8 minutes of action per game. He’s done so on an otherworldly slash line of .484/.621/.720.
The latter mark is underwhelming, but Galloway currently leads the league in 3-point field goal percentage—with a minimum of 10 3-point field goal attempts.
According to NBA.com, Galloway ranks in the Top 25 in points scored in clutch situations in 2015-16. He’s tied for the league lead in 3-point field goals made in said scenarios.
Most impressively, Galloway boasts a +/- of plus-12 in clutch settings—a major reason for New York owning four surprising wins.
Much as his coach, Derek Fisher, was, Galloway is emerging as an unsung hero who’s one of the better clutch contributors in the NBA.
The fact that most wrote Galloway off makes his success all the more impressive. He’s never been one to relent, and that’s become abundantly clear during his brief NBA career.
Galloway, who has helped cultivate New York’s blue collar reputation, is all about hard work.
"“If you don’t put the work in, things don’t happen for you,” Galloway said. “A lot of people see that I’ve worked so hard to get to this point, but that’s not to say I’m going to stop now. I’m going to continue to prove myself and continue to prove that we can be a contender in this league.”"
How can you not support a player like this?
As New York searches for its identity, Galloway is making it quite easy to define. Many others on the roster do the same, but Galloway’s path from being undrafted to the D-League to the NBA makes him a team leader at 23 years old.
Day by day, game by game, Galloway continues to excel and prove the critics wrong.