New York Knicks rookie Mohamed Diawara has been a breath of fresh air in 2025-26. He plays with something that resides between unending energy and reckless abandon, thus enabling the Knicks to turn to a big forward for quality minutes in a way they hadn't been able to before his emergence.
As Diawara explores just how far his potential reaches, however, New York must help him find a sustainable middle ground between all and nothing.
Diawara has made waves with his energy and aggressive three-point shooting during his late-season surge with the Knicks. He averaged just 5.4 minutes per game between his first 40 appearances, but is up to 15.8 over his past 15 showings.
One of the driving forces behind Diawara's success with the Knicks has been his 3-and-D potential and impressive physical tools at 6'9" and 225 pounds.
Diawara's most viral performance saw him shoot 13 threes in 15 minutes during a win over the San Antonio Spurs. It was one of his four outings with at least 10 points during his recent stretch of success across the past 15 games.
The hurdle that Diawara must find a way to overcome, however, is finding a comfortable medium between going all-out with a surplus of shot attempts and effectively not shooting at all.
Time might be the only remedy for Mohamed Diawara's rookie struggles
The unfortunate truth is that some degree of patience will be necessary in this situation. Diawara is a talented young player, but the operative word in that phrase is "young." He's 20 years of age and has made just 55 appearances during his NBA career.
With that in mind, it's entirely possible that time is the great weapon Diawara will wield in his attempt to become a consistent player.
For as true as that may be, the Knicks are still in an ideal position to help their rising forward take a more sustainable approach to offense. For instance: He'd gone 4-of-13, 2-of-4, and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc during a recent three-game stretch—all of which were played against playoff teams.
Diawara then attempted one three-point field goal in 12 minutes against the Denver Nuggets, showed signs of life with three in 15 minutes against the Los Angeles Lakers, and was limited to one against the LA Clippers.
Rather than living on either end of the extremes, Diawara should be made to feel comfortable with a consistently assertive approach. There must be limits and guardrails to prevent the rookie from shooting his team out of games, but there also must be a degree of encouragement to take chances.
If the Knicks can help Diawara strike the ideal balance between those two thought processes, then an intriguing rookie season can begin to yield consistent results.