Healthy at last: Former KU guard Kevin McCullar enjoys special moment with NBA’s Knicks
Former Kansas basketball guard Kevin McCullar — now of the New York Knicks — on Tuesday night scored his first points in what he hopes will be a long NBA career.
McCullar, the 56th pick of last June’s NBA Draft, was selected despite not being able to work out for any teams because of a leg injury that shortened his senior season at KU. The injury prevented him from making his G League debut until late January.
Finally, he entered his first NBA game with 3:09 left in Tuesday’s 128-113 home victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
McCullar at the 1:41 mark accepted a pass on the wing, dribbled with his right hand toward the goal and, despite being closely guarded, sank a 3-footer off the glass for his first NBA points.
He took another shot, missing it, thus went 1-for-2 on the night.
A popular rookie, McCullar received the game ball from Knicks standout Josh Hart, who led the way with a triple-double.
“Kev got his first NBA points, man, so we’re going to give it to him,” Hart said in his postgame interview on the Madison Square Garden network.
Hart’s gesture was special considering his 16 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists gave him his ninth triple-double of the 2024-25 season. He surpassed Clyde Frazier’s 56-year-old team record for the most triple-doubles in a single season.
“That record is going to get broken at some point,” Hart said after the game. “Getting your first NBA points, no one can take that from you.”
“Josh is a good dude. That’s my vet on the team. He’s shown me nothing but love since I got here. I appreciate him doing that,” McCullar told media members after the game.
McCullar indicated it was a special moment just entering an NBA game for the first time.
“When I checked in I was kind of in a fog a little bit,” McCullar said. “But I was like, ‘I’m about to really do it, get in there.’ That’s what I worked for my whole life. I prepared my whole life to do it. When I got out there ... it just felt good, a relief on my shoulders for sure. I’m back healthy and competing. Now I’ve just got to keep building on it.”
Of actually scoring in his debut, he stated: “It felt amazing. It felt good. As a kid that’s what you dream of doing, so to go out there and finally get in the game and be able to score my first bucket was big.
“They (teammates) were telling me, ‘I better get it done tonight,’” he added, smiling.
McCullar, who is on a two-way contract his rookie season, completed his long rehab from knee surgery on Jan. 31 when he entered his first G League game with the Westchester Knicks. He scored 10 points while playing 16 minutes in a 119-111 loss to the Osceola (Florida) Magic.
He was brought up to the NBA Knicks this week after exploding for a pair of triple-doubles for Westchester. He had 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a 130-125 overtime win over the College Park Skyhawks on Friday night. He was 10-of-21 from the field (1-of-3 from 3) and was a plus-16 in 42 minutes on the court.
Two days prior, he had 20 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and three steals in a 138-123 win over the Skyhawks. He was 7-of-11 shooting including 3-of-4 from 3.
McCullar, 24, is averaging 11.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.6 steals on 39.2% shooting from the field in 11 appearances with Westchester. He has scored in double figures six times, including three 20-point games.
During his 2023-24 senior season at KU, the 6-foot-6 McCullar averaged 18.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game.
This story was originally published March 26, 2025 at 9:39 AM with the headline "Healthy at last: Former KU guard Kevin McCullar enjoys special moment with NBA’s Knicks."
