Frank Ntilikina, who spent his early NBA years with the New York Knicks, is drawing interest from Greek club Olympiacos, according to Sport24. The French point guard bounced around the league for a few years after leaving the Knicks, but last season was his first away from the NBA since getting drafted back in 2017.
Despite being the No. 8 overall pick in 2017, Ntilikina never panned out with the Knicks. Following his rookie contract (four years) with the Knicks, Ntilikina wasn’t brought back. He landed with the Dallas Mavericks, with whom he spent two seasons. Then, after five games with the Charlotte Hornets in 2023-24, Ntilikina was out of the NBA.
Since then, it’s been solely international ball for the Frenchmen.
What has Frank Ntilikina been up to?
Before getting drafted by the Knicks, Ntilikina played overseas ball as a youngster. He spent three seasons with the French team Strasbourg IG (even though he only appeared in three games during his first season in 2014-15).
In his first year back playing international ball, Ntilikina joined KK Partizan for the 2024-25 season. He appeared in 50 games for them, playing 19.0 minutes per contest and averaging 7.1 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 1.9 assists while shooting 44.5% from the floor and 38.0% from deep on 3.0 three-point attempts per game.
Unfortunately, while he played fairly well with Partizan, he never panned out with the Knicks. In fact, most Knicks fans would probably view him as one of the bigger busts in recent memory.
Over the course of his four-year career in New York, Ntilikina appeared in 211 games in the blue and orange, playing 19.5 minutes per game. He averaged 5.5 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 2.7 assists while shooting 36.6% from the floor and 32.8% from beyond the arc (on 2.2 three-point attempts).
He gave the Mavs some decent minutes in his two years there, but unfortunately, his overall game never came around enough to stick in the NBA. Now, he might get the chance to help out Olympiacos next year.
The Greek side has a very talented roster that features some other former NBAers, including ex-Knicks Evan Fournier, who just signed a multi-year extension with the club. Saben Lee, Kostas Antetokounmpo, and Donta Hall are also slated to suit up for the organization next year.
Adding Ntilikina to the group could give them a lead point guard to help run the show and shore up the defense.