Knicks’ Valuable Achiuwa exhibits true baseball colours, shuts down Yankees query

New York Knicks ahead Valuable Achiuwa caught himself in a clumsy second after the New York Yankees made it two wins towards the Cleveland Guardians within the ALCS on Tuesday. After the Knicks’ preseason win over the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday, Achiuwa and his teammates answered questions from the media within the locker room. Nonetheless, the facility ahead was caught off guard when requested in regards to the Yankees ALCS run. Since to Achiuwa, it is all in regards to the New York Mets.

“Do you care in regards to the Yankees,” requested a reporter.

“I am a Mets fan,” Achiuwa responded.

“You grew up within the Bronx,” the reporter mentioned.

“I went to high school within the Bronx. I grew up in Queens,” Achiuwa clarified.

Born in Nigeria, Achiuwa moved to the US after his mother and father settled in Queens. The 25-year-old went to Our Saviour Lutheran College in New York and performed basketball as a freshman at Memphis. Initially drafted by the Miami Warmth, after Achiuwa had signed with the Toronto Raptors in 2021, he was traded to the Knicks in 2023.

Achiuwa performed 49 video games for the Knicks final season, averaging 7.6 factors and 1.1 assists in 24.2 minutes per recreation. He performed 35 minutes within the workforce’s fourth consecutive preseason win, main the workforce with 20 factors.

What’s subsequent for Mets fan, Yankees hater and Knicks ahead Valuable Achiuwa?

The Yankees and Mets share a fierce rivalry, and the 2 rivals might arrange a blockbuster World Collection by successful their respective championship collection. Whereas everybody is aware of who Achiuwa can be rooting for, everybody in New York will root for him and the Knicks as soon as the World Collection ends. For the reason that Knicks is likely to be one of the best within the NBA after the strikes they made this offseason.

Buying and selling for Karl-Anthony Cities made it clear, if it wasn’t abundantly so already, that the Knicks’ brass are pushing all of their chips into the middle of the desk for this upcoming 2024-25 season. Earlier than that deal, the Knicks had already resigned OG Anunoby to a long-term contract and traded a surprising variety of first-round draft picks for Mikal Bridges of the crosstown rival Brooklyn Nets.

By including Cities, New York shored up the one true weak spot on its roster: its frontcourt depth. This was going to be a major concern. Mitchell Robinson was anticipated to overlook the opening chunk of the season as a result of damage. Including Cities creates extra spacing on offense for New York. That permits Jalen Brunson to function in isolation and throughout the recreation’s movement. The Knicks must be explosive this 12 months and might match the championship pedigree their baseball groups carry.