Kyle O’Quinn is a forgotten Knick, residing on the team during their dark years from 2015 to the 2017/18 season.
On July 9, 2015, O'Quinn was signed-and-traded (to a four-year, $16-million contract) from the Magic to the New York Knicks in exchange for cash considerations and the right to exchange 2019 second-round draft selections.
Starting his Knicks’ tenure as a Power Forward, O’Quinn would make the change to Center before the 2016/17 season. The hometown kid would set a career mark in 2016 with New York, notching a career-high 16 rebounds (Dec. 22nd). The right-handed shooter would also tie his career-high in points (23) against the Brooklyn Nets (Mar. 16th, 2017).
The 2017/18 season was Kyle O’Quinn’s final season as a Knick and it was full of career-high stats. O’Quinn set career-highs in minutes played (18), FG% (.583%), free throws per game (1.3), DRB (4.5), TRB (6.1) and AST (2.1).
The 6-9 standing center would opt out of the final year of his contract for 2018/19. O’Quinn would sign with the Indiana Pacers on a $4.5M contract on July 9th, 2018, which was a $200K raise from what New York was set to pay him.
O’Quinn would see decreased playing time with the Pacers, leading him to sign with Philadelphia for the 2019/20 season before being out of the league entirely.
Kyle O’Quinn made the most out of his Knicks’ tenure, playing in 221 out of 246 games (19 starts) and having the best years with New York of what ended up being an eight year career in the league.
Despite not playing in the NBA since late 2020, O’Quinn still plays comparatively in the China Basketball Association for the Sichuan Blue Whales.
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