Remember when Guerschon Yabusele was billed as the steal of the offseason for the New York Knicks? Well, it turns out that honor actually belongs to Landry Shamet.
This has been true for a while now, but the 28-year-old drove it home during the Knicks’ Friday night victory over the Miami Heat. New York was down Jalen Brunson (ankle), and then ended up having to soldier on without OG Anunoby (hamstring). It didn’t matter.
Karl-Anthony Towns’ 31-point first half was a huge part of the 140-132 win. But Shamet stole the show with his second-half heroics, finishing the game with a career-high 36 points on a scintillating 12-of-19 shooting, including a 6-of-12 clip from beyond the arc.
This performance is an outlier in the literal sense. Shamet isn’t going to foment “Lan-dry Sham-et” chants from the Madison Square Garden crowd on a regular basis.
'Lan-dry Sham-et' chants picking up steam at MSG with Shamet at the free throw line. He has an efficient 24 points and three assists as Knicks lead MIA by 14 with 9:29 to go in fourth quarter
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) November 15, 2025
At the same time, this outing is an extension of what Shamet has done all season long: dramatically outperform expectations—and his contract
Landry Shamet technically almost didn’t make the Knicks roster
Shamet entered training camp on a non-guaranteed deal, battling Garrison Mathews and the since-retired Malcolm Brogdon for the Knicks’ final remaining veteran’s minimum spot. They toyed with trading someone to open up a second slot, but never actually did.
While the decision seems obvious in hindsight, fans should shudder at the thought of what could have been. New York still needs a backup playmaker. If Brogdon never retires, and if the front office still doesn’t dump Tyler Kolek or Pacome Dadiet, Shamet could have easily wound up back in the free-agent pool.
Fortunately for the Knicks, he didn’t.
Turbulent play and missed games up-and-down the roster have rendered New York shallower than it was supposed to be. Shamet’s ability to fill in as a starter or log heavier minutes on certain nights is currently a necessity. And yet, even the Knicks could lean on him less, they shouldn’t want to.
Shamet is crushing it for New York
After his 36-point detonation against Miami, Shamet is now averaging 10 points per game while downing a mind-melting 44.6 percent of his triples. The Knicks have lost the minutes he’s played on the season, but not by much, and he has helped many of their secondary lineups tread water.
The constant gravity he provides on offense is a huge boon. He is comfortable drilling threes off movement, and making defenders work even when he’s not going to touch the ball. The volume he provides from three is an asset unto itself. After Friday, he’s taking 8.1 triples per 36 minutes, which ranks second on the team, behind Jordan Clarkson’s 8.5.
This is absurd bang-for-your-buck territory. And the Knicks need every ounce of it.
Yabusele has largely been a bust after signing for most of the mini mid-level exception. Clarkson is so far looking like a steal at the veteran’s minimum, but unlike Shamet, he was never on a non-guaranteed deal. Plus, Shamet is more reliable on the defensive end, and has just enough size to scale up to guard certain wings.
Even if you’re #TeamClarkson in this debate, having this conversation at all bends the brain. Shamet has gone from someone who wasn’t assured of making the roster to entrenching himself as one of the Knicks’ most effective and essential reserves, all for the low price of a vet’s minimum.
Highway robbery doesn’t get more painfully obvious than that.