Behind the Scenes of an NBA Call-Up, Part II: Brandon Knight

This season, due to COVID-19, 101 players earned 120 call-ups to the NBA, which is a G League record. This three-part series is an in-depth look at how the process works and what it means for players to fulfill childhood dreams. We continue our saga with nine-year NBA veteran Brandon Knight.  

There are some players in sports that are hard to hate. No matter what team you support, it is hard to find a reason to be mad about Matthew Stafford winning a Super Bowl. It is hard to hate a guy like Giannis Antetokounmpo who came from very little and has now become an NBA Champion. There is just too much good in these guys to spite them.

The Skyforce is very fortunate to have a guy like this in Brandon Knight, who is very likable on and off the court.

Knight has been around the block a few times. He was the eighth overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft out of Kentucky by the Detroit Pistons. Before landing with the Skyforce, Knight played for Milwaukee, Phoenix, Houston, and Cleveland.

His journey has seen some low points. In the 2017-2018 season, Knight suffered a significant knee injury that kept him sidelined for some time.

Since then, he has had to fight to prove he is worthy of being a player in the NBA.

“It hasn’t been easy, but it’s been rewarding,” Knight said. “It’s been transformational. The person I am today, versus the person I was when I got hurt, those are two completely different people. I’ve grown, my perspective has broadened. I’ve become a much more rounded individual.”

Knight has excelled in his role of being a team leader for the Skyforce. The young roster depends on him. When the going gets tough, they look up to him.

Not only has Knight excelled at being the leader of this team, but he has shown that he is still more than capable of being an impactful player in the league.

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In the Showcase Cup, Knight 21.3 points on 39.7 percent from the field and 5.8 assists per game in 38.0 minutes per game. Knight had five games of 24-plus points in his last six games of the Showcase Cup.

His excellent play in the showcase part of the season earned him a well-deserved NBA Call-Up at the 2021 NBA G League Winter Showcase. He helped the Skyforce earn a victory in Las Vegas by scoring 25 points, grabbing five rebounds and adding four assists.

On December 23, 2021, Knight signed a 10-day contract with the Dallas Mavericks.

“There were a lot of emotions,” Knight expressed. “Some frustration was let out after being out of the league for a little bit. There were some tears that came out: tears of joy, tears of frustration. The journey has been so long. But overall, it was just gratitude. I am thankful to play wherever I’m at, but I am so thankful just to have a chance to be back on the stage and have an opportunity.”

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If you get the opportunity to be around Knight, you get to learn that thankful is one of the most used words in his vocabulary.

There is not a second of his journey that he is not thankful to have, especially when opportunity does not knock on your door a lot when you just turned 30.

“Once you get to this age, you realize it’s not promised,” Knight said. “When you’re younger you think ‘I’ll get so many shots, I’ll always be around’, but with the business and injury, that’s not the case. But for me, getting that call-up was like starting from the beginning. You always have that dream of being in the NBA, so you go back to your roots of dreaming again. I am more thankful this second time around. It has a lot more meaning this time.”

Knight may be 30 but getting the call back to the NBA had him feeling like the 19-year-old coming out of Kentucky.

“Literally I was like a kid all over again,” Knight said. “The second time around, I wasn’t taking it for granted. I was taking it in how I should’ve been the first time. My jersey is hanging in the locker, I’m taking pictures of it all like ‘Look my name is on the jersey!’ I’ve got teammates like Kristaps Porzingis, who is a unicorn, and Boban Marjanović. The kid in me and the fan of basketball in me has been revived. I’m just a kid looking around the arena like, ‘Wow’. It’s like I’ve never been there, and I get the chance to start fresh.”

Knight’s journey has taught him a lot about the importance of building relationships around him.

Every person he meets, he wants to positively impact because they could be on the same path together in the future again.

“When I was in Dallas, I was taking in the moments and really cherishing the relationships,” Knight said. “I wasn’t going to go into that situation and not get to know the guys and lay a foundation for the future. That could very well be a place I could end up. Wherever I go, I’m going to serve the guys, the team and the coaches.”

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While Knight was building new relationships in Dallas, he had the unique opportunity to rekindle an old one.

During the 2014-2015 NBA season, Knight was playing with the Milwaukee Bucks. At that time, the Bucks were coached by Jason Kidd, who currently is in his first season coaching the Dallas Mavericks.

“It was awesome reconnecting with Kidd,” Knight said. “I’ve grown a lot as a player and as a person, and he’s grown a lot as a coach and a person. Jason is, and always will be, a great basketball mind. It was great to go back and reconnect with him and to be with a coach that’s taught me a lot throughout my career.”

Knight had an impressive stint in Dallas. In three-games, Knight averaged 10 points on 45 percent from the field, 2.7 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game.

His best game came on December 27 against the Trail Blazers where he scored 18 points on 50 percent shooting, with five assists and three rebounds in just 24 minutes.

“It was quick,” Knight said. “A 10-day is not a whole lot of time, but it was fulfilling. Those are the relationships and experiences you keep for your entire life. Even though it was a quick time, I believe that you plant seeds, and they can grow into something awesome later.”

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Knight is more concerned with others than he is with himself. He believes that it is that selflessness and hard work that will get him back to the NBA again.

“I am a firm believer in taking care of people,” Knight said. “Taking care of me is taking care of other people. It’s cool to have individual goals, but you must serve the season well.

While I’m here, this is my team, this is my family. I’m here to build guys up and help the Skyforce be the best team we can be. You reap what you sow. Getting everyone else better will make you better. You take care of what’s around you, and whatever you want will be there for you.”