Point guard Miles McBride slid to the second round in Thursday night's draft due to concerns about his size, but the 6-foot-2 sophomore out of West Virginia will spend his first season with the Knicks sending a message to all the teams that passed on him.
"Way longer than I expected," McBride said after New York took him 36th overall. "Everybody's gonna pay for that. I promise you."
McBride already has payback on his mind, though he was held in high regard by the Knicks and head coach Tom Thibodeau, who appreciates McBride's toughness on the court and as a former football standout in high school. McBride will likely use that toughness to take his anger out on opposing teams that didn't see him as a first-round talent.
"There's going to be get back," McBride said to the crowd that joined him on the court of his former high school for a watch party on Thursday night.
McBride lacks height but had the largest wingspan at the NBA combine among point guards, and had success in the Big 12 last season, averaging 15.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game while shooting 41.4 percent from beyond the arc.
The Knicks will obviously be in the market for an established starting point guard this offseason, but McBride could turn into a factor off the bench. His focus on draft night was clearly on those who doubted him, but he also didn't lose sight of his next chapter, having secured a spot with a playoff team that appears to be on the rise.
"I'm gonna be a Knick," McBride said. "Oh man."
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