The New York Knicks' 2025 draft class consisted of just Mohamed Diawara, the team's selection with the 51st overall pick. Before Diawara had a chance to impress in Summer League, fans gravitated toward the next prospect to join the roster. New York signed 19-year-old Dink Pate as an undrafted free agent after he had spent two seasons in the G-League. Pate now plays for the Westchester Knicks, the team's G-League affiliate. He just sent a message to the NBA with a 37-point triple-double on Wednesday that he's just getting started.
Pate makes Knicks history with triple-double
The Knicks' G-League affiliate in Westchester has only existed since 2014, but it had never seen one of its players produce a 35-point triple-double before Wednesday. Pate's stellar performance was the first triple-double of his professional career. It did come in a 116-111 loss to the College Park Skyhawks, but the 37-point, 11-rebound, 13-assist performance is still just as noteworthy.
Both the point and assist totals were career-high marks to this point for Pate, in his third season as a G-Leaguer. The 11 rebounds were a season high, but not a career high as Pate pulled down 13 in a game last season. He also tied his career-high in steals with three: not enough to make it a quadruple-double but still worth discussion.
This isn't the first time Pate has made history during his G-League career. Before his 2024-25 season with the Mexico City Capitanes, Pate played for the now-defunct G-League Ignite team in 2023-24. He made his debut at 17 years old, making him the youngest professional basketball player in the history of the United States.
What's the Knicks' plan for Pate?
Even with NBA teams increasing the amount of two-way players they can roster in the 2023 Collective Bargaining Agreement, Pate did not get one of the Knicks' three spots. Those belong to Kevin McCullar Jr., Trey Jemison III, and Tosan Evbuomwan.
None of the three have played much under head coach Mike Brown thus far, with appearances typically limited to the ends of already-decided contests. However, it feels highly unlikely that Brown would tell the Knicks' front office to work out a call-up for Pate anytime soon.
The head coach spent the offseason talking about spacing principles; the talented 19-year-old is not NBA-ready as a shooter. New York wants to contend for the championship and veteran experience has also seemed most valuable to them, regardless of the coach.
The hard truth holding Pate back
Last season, he shot 40.4% on 3-point shots but only on 3.6 attempts per game. So far this season, he has starkly increased his volume. Pate is taking 8.7 3-pointers on average through his first nine appearances but made just 28.2% of those looks.
Not having the reputation of a marksman around the league does not disqualify any given player from having a chance to succeed with the Knicks. But the time doesn't seem right yet for Pate, who would need to contribute off the ball, without many touches, purely with his athleticism and feel for the game.
Those can both continue to shine in the G-League as he simultaneously gets reps allowing him to polish the rest. Pate made five of his 13 3-point attempts on Wednesday, a large step in the right direction.