Wikipedia

Tyler Kolek (basketball)

Tyler John Kolek (born March 27, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the George Mason Patriots and the Marquette Golden Eagles. He was drafted as the 34th pick in the 2024 NBA draft by the New York Knicks.

Tyler Kolek
Kolek with George Mason in 2021
New York Knicks
PositionPoint guard
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (2001-03-27) March 27, 2001 (age 23)
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school
College
NBA draft2024: 2nd round, 34th overall pick
Selected by the Portland Trail Blazers
Playing career2024–present
Career history
2024–presentNew York Knicks
Career highlights and awards

Early life and high school career

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Kolek grew up in Cumberland, Rhode Island and initially attended Cumberland High School.[1] He transferred to St. George's School prior to the start of his senior year. Kolek was named the Rhode Island Gatorade Boys Basketball Player of the Year as a junior after averaging 18.6 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 2.5 steals per game.[2] He committed to playing college basketball for George Mason over offers from Elon, Northeastern, Holy Cross, and Vermont.[3]

College career

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Kolek began his college career at George Mason.[4] He was named the Atlantic 10 Conference Rookie of the Year as a freshman after averaging 10.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game.[5] Following the end of the season, head coach Dave Paulsen was fired[6] and Kolek entered the NCAA transfer portal.[7]

Kolek ultimately transferred to Marquette.[8] He averaged 6.7 points per game and led the Big East Conference with 5.9 assists per game in his first season with the Golden Eagles.[9] Kolek was named the Big East Player of the Year and first team All-Big East as a junior.[10][11] He was also named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2023 Big East tournament after averaging 18.7 points, seven rebounds, and five assists in the three games.[12] Kolek averaged 12.9 points, 7.5 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.8 steals over 36 games on the season.[13]

Kolek was named the preseason Big East Player of the Year as well as to multiple preseason All-American teams entering his senior season.[14]

Professional career

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New York Knicks (2024–present)

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On June 27, 2024, Kolek was selected with the 34th overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, however, he was subsequently traded to the New York Knicks in exchange for second-round picks in 2027, 2029, and 2030.[15]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020–21 George Mason 22 18 30.7 .399 .358 .794 3.6 2.3 1.3 .1 10.8
2021–22 Marquette 32 32 29.3 .320 .281 .810 3.7 5.9 1.4 .1 6.7
2022–23 Marquette 36 36 32.3 .471 .398 .802 4.1 7.5 1.8 .1 12.9
2023–24 Marquette 31 31 33.0 .496 .388 .851 4.9 7.7 1.6 .2 15.3
Career 121 117 31.4 .436 .355 .819 4.1 6.2 1.5 .1 11.5

Personal life

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Kolek's father, Kevin Kolek, a retired police officer, played college basketball at Southeastern Massachusetts University (now the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth) and was named the Little East Conference Player of the Year twice.[16] His older brother, Brandon, played basketball at Franklin Pierce University.[17]

Whilst in his final year of college, false reports emerged that Kolek was illiterate and had failed several of his exams.[18] This is believed to have resulted in a slide in his draft stock.

References

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  1. ^ Koch, Bill (January 29, 2022). "RI native Tyler Kolek playing for Marquette at The Dunk vs. PC". The Providence Journal. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  2. ^ Rueb, Eric (March 15, 2019). "St. George's junior Kolek named R.I. boys basketball Gatorade Boys Basketball Player of the Year". The Newport Daily News. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  3. ^ Koch, Bill (September 17, 2019). "St. George's guard, Cumberland native Tyler Kolek commits to". The Providence Journal. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  4. ^ Kayata, Joe (January 14, 2021). "Homecoming for Cumberland's Kolek". turnto10.com. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  5. ^ Koch, Bill (April 14, 2021). "George Mason transfer Tyler Kolek Marquette Shaka Smart". The Providence Journal. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  6. ^ Borzello, Jeff (March 16, 2021). "Paulsen out after six seasons at George Mason". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  7. ^ Kayata, Joe (March 19, 2021). "Cumberland's Kolek enters transfer portal". TurnTo10.com. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  8. ^ Steele, Ben (April 14, 2021). "Atlantic 10 freshman of year Tyler Kolek transfers to Marquette". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  9. ^ "Cumberland's Kolek continues to excel at Marquette, earns Big East Player of Week honors". The Valley Breeze. February 2, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  10. ^ Steele, Ben (March 5, 2023). "Marquette's Tyler Kolek, Oso Ighodaro, Kam Jones earn Big East honors". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  11. ^ Steele, Ben (March 8, 2023). "Big East honors Marquette's Tyler Kolek and Shaka Smart as conference's basketball player and coach of year". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
  12. ^ FLM (March 14, 2023). "Marquette aims to douse upset bid by 15-seed Vermont". CBS Sports. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  13. ^ Tucker, Kyle (October 30, 2023). "Men's college basketball preseason All-Americans: Edey, Kolek lead The Athletic's list". The Athletic. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  14. ^ "Marquette's Tyler Kolek is Big East preseason player of year". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. October 24, 2023. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  15. ^ "Trail Blazers Acquire Three Future Second-Round Draft Picks in Exchange for 34th Selection Tyler Kolek". nba.com. June 27, 2024. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  16. ^ "Marquette guard Tyler Kolek could be Big East player of the year". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. February 21, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  17. ^ Hart, Mike (March 9, 2022). "Get to know Marquette Golden Eagles guard, No. 22 Tyler Kolek". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  18. ^ Weir, Grayson (May 12, 2024). "Marquette Basketball Star Tyler Kolek Mocked Haters Who Said He Was Illiterate At Graduation". BroBible. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
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