Guerschon Yabusele is joining the New York Knicks despite having opportunities to play for plenty of other teams, including his incumbent Philadelphia 76ers. And the reason why has (very) little to do with money. It's more about the Knicks' culture.
During a recent interview with SKWEEK TV, the 29-year-old explained what most appealed to him about leaving Philly for New York. “[There’s] a couple of teams that we play against, and I was looking at them, like, ‘Oh my God, this team plays good together,’ Yabusele said. “[The Knicks are] a good team. I can tell it’s a good group of guys, there’s no bad guys, there’s no problems. And I was looking at them like, ‘Oh my God, this could be like a good chance and opportunity to play there.'”
Guerschon Yabusele speaks to SKWEEK after signing with the New York Knicks for the next two seasons
— SKWEEK (@skweektv) July 4, 2025
🇫🇷 Guerschon Yabusele réagit au micro de SKWEEK après sa signature aux New York Knicks pour les deux prochaines années pic.twitter.com/4YccYJ3499
Shots fired at the Sixers, anyone??? Maybe not. Dancing Bear was extremely complementary of his time in Philadelphia. Still, it’s fun to wonder whether he grew tired of Paul George promoting his podcast, or of Kelly Oubre Jr. attempting to paint Yabusele’s own nails jet-emo black, or of Nick Nurse strumming his guitar to "Brown Eyed Girl” on team flights. (Please note: These are jokes.)
For the purposes of the Knicks and their fans, his motivation behind absconding from Philly doesn’t matter too much. The high praise Yabusele gives his new team is more important—and potentially everything.
The Knicks clearly have a culture that appeals to players
People fire off “Power of friendship” jokes all the time. And rightfully so. The degree to which Knicks players are connected by collegiate partnerships or agencies stands out, and is kind of funny.
At the same time, Yabu’s comments are a nod to the overall power of positive vibes. This past Knicks season wasn’t the smoothest. The weight of expectations has a way of grating on organizations, creating an inherent undercurrent of severity. New York was no exception. There were nevertheless few signs of internal fractures and fissures.
Sure, Mikal Bridges apparently wasn’t happy with Tom Thibodeau’s minutes workload. And yes, Karl-Anthony Towns’ routinely poor defensive execution reportedly rubbed many inside the lock room the wrong way. But short of being the near-perfect Oklahoma City Thunder, these wrinkles are typical of any NBA season.
Eighty-two games is a lot. Disagreements are inevitable. But even as the Knicks struggled to maintain their grit from the 2023-24 campaign, when they were still quasi underdogs, they always delivered a can’t-quite-quit-them air of enjoyability.
That joy and hopefulness and togetherness reached a fever pitch during the playoffs, where they established themselves as comeback kings prior to their Eastern Conference Finals loss against the Indiana Pacers. It is clear now, more so than ever, that players are taking notice.
Guerschon Yabusele chose the Knicks over other intriguing teams
Yabusele’s comments bode even better for the Knicks’ curb appeal when considering who they beat out. The Sixers were far from the only team vying for the combo big’s services.
The Denver Nuggets, Milwaukee Bucks, and San Antonio Spurs all registered interest in signing him. This means he chose the Knicks over opportunities to play alongside and behind Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. That’s a pretty huge deal, particularly when all of those teams ended up having the ability to pay Yabusele more.
Does it also prove the Knicks are destined to wind up as the destination of choice for LeBron James, Giannis himself, or for some other star that orchestrates a trade in the near future? Not even close. But Yabusele’s reason for signing is proof that the Knicks have built a special dynamic—and that players around the league are taking notice.