New York Knicks: What is Immanuel Quickley’s Ceiling?

Immanuel Quickley has arguably been the steal of the draft for the New York Knicks. Coming off of a 25-point performance against the Kings, Quickley will look to build off that performance. Despite being taken with the 25th pick he’s been one of the top rookies in the class. He’s currently averaging 12 points per game in just about 18 minutes a game, and the way he’s playing, he should make an all-rookie team this season.

Immanuel Quickley has proven to be a solid role player but what is his ceiling as a player? Does Immanuel Quickley have an All-Star upside? On the offensive end he’s proven to be a good 3 point shooter, he can beat defenders to the rim, and his floater game is off the charts. According to nba.com. Quickley shoots 57% within 5 feet of the basket, which is a strong number for a rookie.

New York Knicks: Player comparisons for Immanuel Quickley

A player that Quickley often gets compared to is Lou Williams, another small combo guard who thrives off the bench. Lou Williams has never been an All-Star but he’s been an elite player in the NBA for years. Back in the 2017-18 season, he averaged 22 points and 5 assists per game for the Clippers off the bench. Quickley is a good 3 point shooter and a strong finisher but an area of his game he should unlock to become an elite scorer is his midrange game.

Many small guards around Quickly’s size, such as Lou Williams, CJ McCollum, and Chris Paul are all deadly mid-range shooters. The problem with Quickley developing a lethal midrange shot is his low release point. Players like McCollum who are deadly in the midrange all have high release points which help them to get their shot off.

With Quickley’s low release point, it’s hard to envision him becoming an elite mid-range shooter because of the difficulty of getting the shot off against NBA defenders. That’s part of the reason he shoots the floater so much, even from midrange. He’s able to get the floater off much faster than if he was to pull up.

One small guard that dominates without an elite midrange shot is Fred VanVleet. Of his 16 shots a game, only 2 of them are coming from the midrange. VanVleet averages just under 20 points per game, mostly from shooting 3 pointers and scoring at the basket. Quickley could potentially model his game like VanVleet. He’s already good at shooting 3s both off the catch and coming off-screen and he’s a strong finisher in the paint.

The key for Quickley to get to VanVleet’s level would be to get better as a scorer out of the pick and roll. VanVleet is great shooting the 3 off the pick and roll or beating the big to the rim if the defender comes out to contest the outside shot.

Quickley is also a strong passer. His playmaking isn’t advanced, but he’s good at throwing lobs to bigs in the paint and kicking it out to the open shooter. As he gets more experience he’ll get better at finding the open man. Upside is one of the hardest things to predict but if he keeps developing his game and improves his playmaking and shooting he could become a fringe All-Star player for the New York Knicks.