Make no mistake: that “5-0” that rests on the line next to “New York” in the Summer League standings looks mighty impressive . . .perfect, spotless, a testament to a hard-working, talented young squad.

But, ultimately, what the Knicks will take away from Las Vegas won’t be their record; but rather, the lessons learned and the information gathered over 10 days in July. . .10 days that might have a lasting effect on the long-and-short-term future of the team.

The Knicks completed their undefeated week with a come-from-behind 116-108 victory over Denver on Sunday in their finale at the NBA Summer League presented by adidas. In joining Dallas (also 5-0) as this year’s only undefeated teams in Las Vegas, the Knicks outscored Denver 63-52 in the second half and overcame a 42-point effort by the Nuggets’ Von Wafer.

The numbers and statistics of Summer League, however, will fade quickly. What will remain is the educational process that everyone –players and coaches – took part in. And what the Knicks learned in July will echo into October, and perhaps beyond.

Nate Robinson came into his third straight Summer League with a new look and a new mission – learn to play at the point guard spot or perhaps see his playing time dwindle. He came out of it with the Summer League’s most outstanding player award, on the basis of 19.6 points, 6.0 assists, 48 percent shooting and a wave of newfound respect.

“Nate Robinson didn’t play one possession of anything other than point guard this week. I thought he was fantastic,” said assistant coach Dave Hanners, who piloted the Knicks’ Summer League squad. “He took control of the team, ran plays when we needed to run plays. He ran the break and got people the ball on the break when we needed to run, and set the tempo and pace of the game. So for a guy who’s really been a two-guard all his life, and played very sparingly at the point, I thought he did a tremendous job.”

For Wilson Chandler and Demetris Nichols-- the Knicks’ two Draft Night acquisitions – Summer League marked their professional debuts. Nichols shot at a 53 percent clip for the week and averaged 15.6 points, including 23 points in Sunday’s finale. Chandler, the 23rd overall pick in the 2007 Draft, notched 13.4 points and shot 51 percent.

"They showed me several things,” said Hanners of the two newest Knicks. “The first thing that jumped out at me was that they’re very mature. They’re older than their years, and they have a confidence in their game that usually comes after five or six years in the NBA and getting kicked around a little bit and knocked down. And you pick yourself back up, and being able to pick yourself up and surviving gives you a sort of inner confidence and I think they have that. So that’s a really neat thing to see in those young kids.

“I knew that they could make shots; they both made shots in the drills we ran them through. . .to make them with the defense on them is even better. They both tried to defend and really tried to do everything we asked them to do. You can’t expect more from guys that are that age than what they gave us. So I’m really pleased with them.”

Center Randolph Morris, who made the unprecedented jump from college (Kentucky) to the pros late last season, had three double-doubles in the five games at his first Summer League, averaging 11.2 points and 9.2 rebounds. Second-year swingman Renaldo Balkman was used in Vegas at both forward positions as well as two-guard, and responded with 13.2 points, including 19 in Saturday’s win over Golden State.

“(Renaldo) played three different positions, which means he had to learn at least twice as much as everybody else, because he’s learning three different spots in the offense,” said Hanners. “And you only have, say, five practices (so) you couldn’t put very much in. But actually we had about 25 plays that we got in over the course of the week, and he very rarely forgot where he was supposed to be.

“So aside from the fact that he ran and jumped and did all the things that we know he can do really well, he was really cerebral out there and helped everybody get in the right positions and helped Nate be a better point guard. So I was extremely pleased with the way he played.”

New York’s Summer League squad ran off an undefeated record with the knowledge that they’re involved in the NBA’s version of musical chairs. Come October, there won’t be enough roster slots for the number of players the team is currently carrying. What was on display in Las Vegas was an abundance of young talent that will make the final roster decisions that much harder for president, basketball operations/head coach Isiah Thomas.

It’s a problem every NBA team wishes it had.

“(Isiah’s) really great at these situations,” says Hanners. “and he has a great vision and he’ll see what our team really needs and he’ll work it out. I’m confident that he’ll do a great job with that. But it is nice to know that you’ve got competition at every spot. So that’s a big plus for us for next year.”