Have you ever bought a car and then noticed that specific model car everywhere you went? In a weird way, the New York Knicks fanbase can relate.
Because for years weโve sat idly by as talented youth after talented youth began or refurbished their NBA careers in Madison Square Garden. We told anyone who would listen about Immanuel Quickleyโs unlimited upside, or the two-way potential of one Miles McBride.
Hell, for all the warts of his NBA journey, Kristaps Porzingis is an NBA champion.
Because as these young players have been given the opportunity to spread their wings in New York, weโve seen molds of great players represented all around the league.
Mohamed Diawara is just the latest. And perhaps the most intriguing.
Drafted by the Knicks with the 51st pick in last yearโs draft, the 20-year-old Frenchman is the best kept secret from this yearโs rookie class.
Donโt let his per game averages fool youโ3.5 points and 1.4 reboundsโDiawara is the real deal: as was Porzingis, as was Quickley, as is McBride.
To better highlight Diawaraโs rookie campaign, I wanted to talk to one of his biggest fans, and my Knicks X-Factor colleague, Holden Gumb.
Collin: Mr. Gumb! Whatโs up? Anything you want to add before we get started singing the praises of our favorite Knick youth? What have you seen from Diawara as New York sits 48-28 with six games to go.
Holden: Collin, my good friend! I’m hoping the Knicks can finish this regular season strong – maybe even snatch the two seed back from the ever-so-detested Celtics before itโs all said and done.
But now back to the topic of discussion, the apple of our eye โ Mohamed Diawara. Where does one begin?
What Iโve seen from Mo, not just during this win streak but throughout the course of the entire season, is damn near limitless potential. Standing at 6โ9โ, 225 pounds with a 7โ4โ wingspan at just 20 years old, this guy might literally punch through his ceiling.
As a fan of a team that, for the better part of my life, seemingly existed only to torment me, Iโve latched on to more than my fair share of neophytes in an attempt to keep my head above the fast-rising waters.
The Knicks are good enough now that I can admit a lot of them were delusions of grandeur, but Iโll never get rid of my Frank Ntilikina jersey.
Itโs for that exact same reason why this time around feels different. Gone are the days of convincing myself that better days are coming. The Knicks are a good team, and aside from that 2-9 stretch from hell and a few other bumps in the road, Iโd wager to say that they might even be great. The potential is there, at the very least.
The kicker is that fans still have a rookie to root for now that the team is a contender. Albeit at just 9 minutes a night, Diawara is contributing to winning when heโs on the floor and has shattered whatever goals you had for him in his rookie season, if any.
Instead of putting unreasonable expectations on Player X to be the savior of our bad franchise, Iโm now able to see what a well-run franchise with an already established winning culture can do for a young player. Unsurprisingly, a whole lot.
Perhaps my favorite skill that Mo has shown flashes of honing is his touch from beyond the arc. I mean, 40.5% from three as a rookie is always going to be stellar, but in Diawaraโs case, we are way ahead of schedule. While his form has always been pretty, a surefire sign of being capable of developing into a dependable shooter, the results from his time playing internationally were almost never there.
For the last team he played for before being drafted by the Knicks, Cholet Basket in France, Diawara shot just 31% from deep in 27 games, his most extended run of any season. What do you say, Collin?
Is Diawara’s shooting prowess this season a case of potential being tapped into unexpectedly fast, or do you believe it to be a flash in the pan?
Collin: Iโll compare Diawaraโs shooting journey to second-year quarterbacks. When guys like C.J. Stroud enter the NFL, they can often catch a lot of teams by surprise due to a lack of pro film. Then they come back in year two, and what were once Sports Center highlights are cut down to plays focused on moving the chains. Quarterbacks are forced to rely on the fundamentals of the game after spending a season playing outside of them.
Where I think this applies to Diawara is the coverage heโs seen throughout the year. Heโs gone from seeing no defender, to half a defender out of his peripheral, to now being guarded face up on his three-point attempts. And it’s worth noting it hasnโt rocked his confidence.
Over half of his attempts from deep this season have come with wide open coverage, according to NBA.comโs Tracking, i.e. thereโs no defender anywhere near him. Diawaraโs shooting 42-for-100 in those situations. And heโs knocked down six-of-19 attempts with a defender within four to six feet. The makes arenโt as important a metric as the attempts are there. 12 of the 19 heโs taken in tighter coverage have come post All-Star break. A sign that teams are adjusting.
Most importantly though, Diawaraโs shooting 42.2% from deep when he doesnโt dribble, i.e. catch and shoot situations. Thatโs the staple of Brownโs offense, and a big reason why heโs continued to see time on the floor as the roster grows healthy.
And I don’t want anyone to walk away from reading this thinking that Diawara is just a catch-and-shoot guy. He’s got quite the mixed bag on offense, despite 61.5% of his shots coming from behind-the-arc.
For example, while the right corner three is his most efficient shot (73.7% !!!), he’s also shooting 10-of-16 (62.5%) in the mid-range this year. Once Diawara gets space on the way to the rack, his defender is usually the last person to know what’s coming next.
But to shift the conversation now, I want to talk about all the other little things Diawara does. Because heโs played A LOT. He ranks 35th in total minutes played among the current rookie class, but only Carter Bryant/Dylan Harper have played more minutes on a team with a better record.
All in all, I think the shooting is the canโt miss trait weโve seen from Mo so far. And what I mean by that, is that if it keeps up, I think the rest of his game will follow. Being a floor spacer in this offense means a guaranteed opportunity for Mike Brown. Look at Jordan Clarkson, and conversely Jeremy Sochan, for all the evidence you need. What else are you seeing?
Holden: As one final addendum to Moโs shooting in relation to the rest of his class, Diawara currently ranks fifth in percentage among all rookies who have attempted at least 100 threes this season, trailing only Javon Small, Kon Kneuppel, Kasparas Jakuฤionis, and Kobe Sanders. Ironically, Sanders was selected by the Knicks in the 2025 Draft and promptly traded that same night for, you guessed it, Diawara.
For what else Iโm seeing, Iโm going to refer back to that which you canโt teach, his physical attributes. Iโll lay them out once more – 6โ9โ, 225 pounds, and a 7โ4โ wingspan. Itโs that last piece that I find myself particularly enamored by, and a large part of why I think his defense is going to be a problem for years to come.
Out of all Knicks draftees who have actually suited up for the team since at least the turn of the century, only two matched or exceeded Diawaraโs wingspan measurements: Porzingis and Mitchell Robinson. Both were defensive stalwarts at the peaks of their powers, sure, but more importantly for the point Iโm trying to make, they’re both seven-footers.
Barring any further growth from Mo, which isnโt completely off the table for somebody turning 21 in a month, the 6โ9โ forward is going to be spending most of his time on the perimeter, where his wingspan has the potential to become overwhelming, whether for his defensive assignment or in the passing lane.
As of my writing this, there are three rookies in the NBA this season who have appeared in at least 60 games and boast a defensive rating of 107 or lower: Hugo Gonzalez (105.9 DRTG), Dylan Harper (106.5), and Diawara (106.5), per NBA.com. Mo’s rating is also the lowest on the Knicks under the same criteria.
Of course, being physically blessed is not the end-all be-all when it comes to basketball, though it certainly helps. You can be successful while also being below the NBAโs standards measurements (see: Jalen Brunson), and you can still fall short of expectations even if you have every tool in the box. Itโs about what you do with what youโre given, and it certainly seems that Diawara is trying to make the best of his allotment.
Although his playing time has recently been dashed due to the resurgence of veteran Clarkson in Brownโs rotation, whatever the head coach’s plans are for this budding French army knife will be at the forefront of my thoughts moving forward.
Any final thoughts on Mo, Collin?
Collin: I think the one last piece to Diawara’s game I’d like to touch on is the passing, which goes back to his overall instincts at just 20 years old.
For a rookie who is getting a mix of lanes to run in — some nights it’s 12 minutes like in the loss to Charlotte and some nights it’s two minutes, like the loss to the Thunder — there’s so many times where he’s driving the ball and ditches the rock at the last minute. They’re not always completed plays, but the intention behind those passes and the savviness of them is enough to commend.
It would be far too easy — and has been for a lot of young guys, historically — to take the contact in those moments and hope for the and-1 highlight.
Diawara has consistently prioritized his teammates, even when he has a head full of steam headed towards the cup. As the season has gone on, it’s become more and more a staple of his game:
- Pre All-Star Break (45 GP): 24 assists (0.5 per game average)
- Post All-Star Break (19 GP): 20 assists (1.1 per game average)
In one of the most agonizing wins of the season, it was Diawara had five assists in 19 minutes as New York escaped Barclays with a one-point victory.
Watch these passes.
This is a kid! Diawara is 20 years old! He’s only played in 64 games!
And his passing chops aren’t just on display in drive-and-kick or drive-and-dump plays. Diawara is constantly targeting players in motion on the three-point line.
His vision for the game at just 20 years old is arguably his greatest quality. Combine that with the physical attributes and shooting touch, and a lengthy NBA career seems comfortably in the cards for the 51st overall pick out of Europe.
One of my mentors in life once told me that “any questions about your future can be answered in the decisions you make today.”
Mohamed Diawara, for all the questions about his NBA future, is answering them all every time he steps on the hardwood.
