Westchester Knicks Rewind: The 2016 NBA D-League All-Star Game

On this day in 2016, Jimmer Fredette and Jordan Bachynski became the first two Westchester Knicks to compete in the NBA D-League All-Star Game.

The NBA D-League All-Star Game is less than a week away. 24 of the top D-League players are headed to New Orleans and are expected to put on a show at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Quinn Cook, Shawn Long, Briante Weber, and Keith Benson are few of the names who are featured on the All-Star Game roster.

While no Westchester Knick will be competing in D-League All-Star Weekend in 2017, a pair of Westchester players had a taste of the All-Star festivities last year.

On Feb.13, 2016, Jimmer Fredette and Jordan Bachynski became the first two Westchester Knicks to compete in the NBA D-League All-Star Game.

Not only was Fredette shooting lights out, but he was getting it done in many different forms. He was rebounding and distributing the ball well. Since he was scoring at an efficient rate, Fredette started distributing the ball and began to get others involved.

Not including Fredette’s 35 points, five players (Sean Kilpatrick, Jarnell Stokes, Jordan Bachynski, Rakeem Christmas and Scott Suggs) scored in double figures.

With both teams scoring at a high rate, Jimmer Fredette helped push the Eastern Conference to a four-point victory, 128-124, over the Western Conference. He totaled 35 points, eight assists, six rebounds, and one steal on 13-of-19 shooting from the field and 6-of-12 shooting from 3-point range.

As a result of that great performance, Fredette was named D-League All-Star Game MVP.

Jordan Bachynski had a productive performance in his own right. Blockynski was able to chip in production all across the board. He totaled 10 points, two rebounds, one assist, one block, and one steal in 13 minutes of action.

For Bachynski, the experience of competing in front of his home crowd in Canada was a huge honor.

“It was amazing. Anytime you can play in an All-Star Game, it’s a huge honor,” Bachynski told me last season. “And to be able to go to my home country and to be with my teammate, it was a lot of fun.”

Having an MVP performance was beneficial for Fredette. Nine days later, he received another opportunity in the NBA when he signed a 10-day contract with the New York Knicks.

Along with competing in the D-League All-Star Game, Jimmer Fredette also competed in the 3-point shooting contest the previous day. Fredette, who has always been known for his long-range shooting, was one of six players competing in the contest in Canada.

Fredette drained seven of his first eight shots. In the opening round, he missed five shots and didn’t have enough time to get off the final shot on the money rack. The former Westchester Knick totaled 24 points in the opening round, which was good enough for second place.

In the second round, Jimmer Fredette started to rush his shots. He missed four shots in a row and only made the money ball. Despite missing 11 shots in the final round, he nailed four of his final shots on the money ball rack, including the final shot at the buzzer.

Fredette finished the final round with 20 points.

The only issue: Andre Ingram was on fire. The former Los Angeles D-Fender drained 14 of his first 15 shots, including the entire money ball rack. After totaled 26 points in the opening round, Ingram dropped 27 points in the final round to win the 2016 NBA D-League 3-point Contest.

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Not only was it huge for two Knicks players to represent Westchester in the NBA D-League All-Star Game, but this moment is significant in Westchester Knicks history. In their second year as a franchise in the NBA D-League, Jimmer Fredette had one of the most memorable performances at the All-Star Game, which culminated in him winning the D-League All-Star Game MVP.

Not only did Fredette and Bachynski have solid games, but they will both be inked in Westchester Knicks history as the first two Westchester players to represent the organization in the NBA D-League All-Star Game.