On July 8, the Knicks announced to start the week that they had finally completed the deal that we had all been waiting for: they had signed Ariel Hukporti to a two-way contract.
The Dallas Mavericks gave up their selection, and the Knicks selected Kukporti with the No. 58 pick of the second round of the 2024 NBA draft.
At just 22 years old, the German big man weighs 246 pounds and is 6-foot-11. He is one of the organization’s rare centers going into the 2025 campaign. The Knicks only have two real centers on their roster, Jericho Sims and Mitchell Robinson, excluding the rookie, so having Hukporti around, even on a two-way contract, was crucial, if only to be able to bring him up in an emergency.
Hukporti is a native of the German Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), the country’s premier league. In three BBL games (two starts) with MHP Riesen, he averaged 5.0 points and 6.3 rebounds in 14.3 minutes. Considering that he was coming from the Australian National Basketball League, it’s hardly concerning that he played in such a small number of games.
Hukporti, a hooping Australian, averaged 8.4 points and 7.0 rebounds in 18.4 minutes per game over 28 games with Melbourne United. The big man averaged 7.8 points and 6.0 rebounds in 16.8 minutes per game across his two seasons with Melbourne.
Before Hukporti signed a contract with the Knicks, all three of their two-way slots were open. However, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic, the team may soon fill a second spot because they issued a two-way qualifying offer to Jacob Toppin.
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