BOSTON – Little did Nathan Knight realize Tuesday night, as he took off his blue and orange uniform inside TD Garden’s visitors’ locker room, that he had just played his last game as a New York Knick.
Little did he realize that the next time he’d be slipping on a jersey, it would be green and white, and he’d be doing so right across the hall.
New York waived Knight two days after its 123-110 loss in Boston, and three days after that, he was a Celtic.
The fourth-year forward/center filled the third and final two-way slot on the roster replacing Jay Scrubb, who recently suffered a season-ending ACL tear.
Knight introduced himself to the Celtics reporters in memorable fashion at Sunday afternoon’s practice: after driving to the hoop against Jaylen Brown, the 6-foot-8, 253-pound locomotive barreled into the media scrum as they were interviewing Jrue Holiday (everyone came away unscathed).
Knight later brought that same energy into his first interview, where he came across as upbeat and excited for a new chapter.
“I’d just like to thank the Celtics for giving me this opportunity,” he said with a big smile. “There were conversations with a couple of different teams this offseason. I signed with the Knicks; things didn’t work out the way I planned to. Had conversations with Brad Stevens and [Joe] Mazzulla, and they were willing to give me an opportunity to come here, put in work for them, and do what I can to contribute to the organization. I’m just happy to be here.”
Knight was a standout player at William & Mary, where during his junior season he became the first college player since Tim Duncan to average at least 20 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and two blocks per game. He went undrafted in 2020, but signed a two-way contract with the Atlanta Hawks.
Knight then signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves, for whom he played the last two seasons.
The 26-year-old has seen limited action in 108 NBA games, during which he has averaged 3.7 points and 2.0 rebounds per game (17.2 points and 9.2 rebounds per 36 minutes).
Celtics fans may recall Knight torching their team on Dec. 27, 2021 in Minnesota where he earned his first career start and erupted for 20 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists – all career highs – in a 108-103 Wolves win.
If not, these highlights may jog your memory:
“I was just looking at how do I make my team be successful,” Knight remembered of his ‘career knight.’ “I just took advantage of my opportunity, took the shots that were there, and if the shots weren’t there, being able to find my teammates.”
Knight got to practice a little bit with his new teammates Sunday, and he made a solid impression on his new head coach.
“He’s great,” said Mazzulla. “He’s a willing learner, listens, communicates. He wasn’t involved in as much in some of our stuff today. I just got to know him a little bit, but the times we played against him, especially in Minnesota, he’s had good games against us because of his energy, his communication, his ability to offensive rebound, and he can make an open shot. So, any time you have a guy like that in your organization, it’s good.”
Knight also has the benefit of knowing a few of the guys within the organization, so it was comforting for him to see a few familiar faces. He says that Al Horford, who still has ties to Atlanta, acted as a mentor to him during his rookie season with the Hawks. He's also friends with Lamar Stevens and Oshae Brissett, who played college ball in his hometown of Syracuse, New York.
Knight added that he can't wait to get to know the rest of the guys and is looking forward to settling into his role, whatever it may be.
"The business can be treacherous, and opportunities are slim, so just being able to take advantage of those when they come and just going out there and doing whatever my organization needs me to do," he said. "If I need to be the cheerleader, I’ll be the best cheerleader we have. Just going out there and doing whatever I can to help my organization win games."