During the first half of the New York Knicks’ 2026-27 regular season opener, many fans were saying, “Mitch who?”
Their new backup center, Andre Drummond, posted a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds in the first two quarters of their season-opening loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. The 33-year-old looked spry, and many wondered whether he was even an upgrade over the departed Mitchell Robinson.
By the third game, the vibes around Drummond had completely changed. Mike Brown left him on the bench for the entire second half of New York’s Sunday loss to the Orlando Magic.
“I felt our transition defense wasn’t good during that time, not just because of [Drummond], but I wanted to go with a change,” Brown said after Sunday’s game. “Wiseman’s been playing well in practice. I wanted to give him an opportunity, and I thought he was pretty good in his first stint [in the first half]. And so I decided to go with him for a second stint. But Andre will go out there as a backup in the next game.”
Drummond saw his former team, the Detroit Pistons, on Tuesday. The near-7-footer reminded everyone why he will play an important role in helping the Knicks repeat.
Drummond quiets doubters with Monday’s performance
Drummond's second half in the regular season-opener didn’t go as well. That was written off by many as just being overtaxed for the first 24 minutes. He played 17:42 of that time because Karl-Anthony Towns spent much of the first half in foul trouble.
In the next two games, Drummond struggled and played only 14 total minutes. James Wiseman got the backup center minutes in the second half of the loss to the Orlando Magic on Sunday.
Brown made it clear that Drummond would get the backup big minutes in Tuesday’s game against the Detroit Pistons, and that he did. With Jalen Duren out for Detroit, it was a get-right opportunity, as Detroit lacked the size to match Drummond.
He capitalized, and Wiseman didn’t play until the end of the game, when the Knicks had the victory in hand. In his 14 minutes on the floor, Drummond scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds. He looked spry and didn’t have the defensive transition lapses that occurred, particularly against Orlando. No shots missed the rim completely, which was a common occurrence through the first three outings.
The Knicks were also successful with him on the floor. Drummond was a plus-16—second on the team, behind only Josh Hart’s plus-19. In Drummond’s 5:19 of action in the second quarter, New York was plus-11. The Knicks trailed by 13 after the first 12 minutes, but took a one-point lead into halftime.
Will Drummond continue providing up-and-down minutes off the bench? Or was his latest performance a turning point that will earn him the trust of Brown? Do the Knicks need an upgrade at backup 5 from Drummond (and Wiseman)? If the start to the season is any indication, these will be questions Drummond has us asking all season long.
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