Interview – « Nobody knows what Frank Ntilikina’s ceiling can be »

As the NBA season is one week away from officially returning, we caught up with the editor-in-chief of The Knicks Wall, Ryan Punzalan. He talks to us about his optimistic stance regarding the Knicks’ future, as well as what lies ahead for France’s own Frank Ntilikina.

Parlons NBA : Being a Knicks fan has been quite difficult for a long time now, as the ball club’s constant struggle doesn’t match the pedigree of the franchise. How do you keep the faith?

Ryan Punzalan : Honestly? I have no idea. The Knicks have been quite putrid for the majority of my life, yet there’s something about them that I can’t stop enjoying. They’re bad, but they’re enjoyably bad. And when they’re not enjoyably bad, there’s a player or coach that you end up gravitating towards. In the 90s, we had the Pat Riley/Jeff Van Gundy teams that had insane rivalries and intense playoff runs. The 00s had an awful streak of bad contracts, bad teams, and bad management, yet fans were watching Stephon Marbury and Wilson Chandler drain buckets. Then you have the current iteration of Knicks that are finally lovable from all around. Knicks fans keep faith by finding one thing that keeps them going and I know I’ve had to do that for almost the last 30 years.

Obviously the Knicks are in rebuilding mode around new, young, exciting players. How optimistic are you regarding the future? Is this the most optimistic you have been in a long time?

For the first time in a while, I can honestly say that I’m optimistic for the future. The biggest difference between this regime and previous ones: The culture. With the addition of David Fizdale and the duo of Scott Perry and Steve Mills, there’s a sense of confidence and assurance that hasn’t really been around for a long, long time. I know there’s a difference between talking the talk and walking the walk, but as it stands now, the front office has said the right things, done the right things, and even reassured they’re going to be sticking with the right things.

One of those young exciting players is Frank Ntilikina. I know you’re a big fan of his. In your opinion, where does he stand right now as a player? Does he remind you of a particular player?

I absolutely love Frank Ntilikina and have been a big fan of his since they drafted him. As he stands now, Ntilikina shows flashes of being an above-average offensive player with an elite skillset on the defensive side. Last season, Coach Hornacek pushed the sense of winning basketball games early by playing Jarrett Jack and even Ramon Sessions, giving Ntilikina sporadic minutes throughout the first half of the season. A minor injury didn’t help Ntilikina’s case, but the lack of opportunity as well as the rise of Trey Burke really hurt Ntilikina from a developmental standpoint. However, he always was exceptional on defense and had a hint or two of being able to make plays on the offensive side. But now, he’s definitely going to be one of the main pieces for this offense moving forward and he’ll need to show confidence scoring the basketball. If he can drain the jumper that defenses are giving him, he’ll be able to create more off-the-dribble which would then allow him to give other players a better look at an open shot or even allow him to be more aggressive and drive to the hoop.

If there’s a particular player that he reminds me of, is Avery Bradley. If I’m not mistaken, Bradley, in his early seasons with the Boston Celtics, struggled with any resemblance of an offensive game, yet was a lockdown defender. It was until his third or fourth season that he became a sharpshooting three-point shooter and an all-around type of player.

How does America perceive Frank? And most importantly how do New York fans perceive Frank? I get the feeling he’s quite popular among your fanbase.

I still feel like Frank Ntilikina is relatively unknown outside of the New York City area. He hasn’t been getting much exposure in marquee matchups with the exception of his scuffle with LeBron James. Besides that, he hasn’t gotten the minutes and opportunity to shine on the big stage. That being said, New York fans are on two sides when viewing Frank: They either love him so much (myself include) or they think he’s nothing more than a defensive role player, and that’s it. We’ve gotten a lot of pushback when we post TOO many Frank things, but there is a big population that absolutely enjoys all of the pro-Frank content we have produced and shared. But that’s the amazing thing about Knicks-fans: They’re extremely passionate about their opinions and will do anything to share that sentiment with other fans.