The Knicks may have a development brewing behind Robinson and Towns.
The New York Knicks sit at 48-26 and third in the Eastern Conference, locked in as a legitimate title contender with a roster built around Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and a deep supporting cast.
But one of the more quietly interesting stories happening on the fringes of the organization right now involves a 23-year-old center who barely cracks head coach Mike Brown's rotation and just wrapped up his G League season with back-to-back 32-point performances for the Westchester Knicks.
Ariel Hukporti dropped 32 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks on Saturday in Westchester's 123-121 season-finale win over the Windy City Bulls, shooting 13-for-23 from the field and a career-best 4-for-6 from three-point range.
After the game, Hukporti didn't overthink it when asked about the long-range shooting.
"I was a shooter in high school," Hukporti said. "I'm just trying to bring it back to my game."
From Zero Threes to This
What makes that quote so interesting is the context.
Hukporti didn't attempt a single three-pointer in NBA, Summer League or G League action until December.
Not one.
He was a paint-only big who relied on his speed, his size at 7-foot-0 and his ability to block shots and finish at the rim.
The outside shooting was something people only saw during warmups, never in actual games.
That changed in mid-December when Westchester sent him out there with the freedom to let it fly, and the results were rough at first.
He went 0-for-4 in his first game with three-point attempts.
But since then Hukporti has gradually found a rhythm, and he finished the G League regular season hitting 8 of his last 21 attempts from deep, which comes out to 38 percent.
Saturday's 4-for-6 performance was the best of the bunch and the kind of game that tends to stick with a young player trying to prove something.
Why It Matters for the Knicks
At the NBA level, Hukporti's numbers are modest.
He's averaging 1.8 points and 2.8 rebounds in about nine minutes per game across 49 appearances this season, and he's outside of Brown's regular rotation when the team is healthy.
Towns and Mitchell Robinson handle the center minutes, and the Knicks recently added Jose Alvarado and Jeremy Sochan at the trade deadline to round out the roster even further.
But what Hukporti is doing in Westchester is exactly why the G League exists.
The Westchester Knicks finished their season at 14-22, and the wins and losses don't really matter.
What matters is that a young center who was scouted as having zero shooting range coming out of Germany is now comfortable pulling up from three in live game action and actually making them at a respectable clip.
If Hukporti can continue developing that part of his game, it adds a whole different layer to what he brings as a backup five.
A 7-footer who can protect the rim, run the floor and stretch the defense even a little bit has real value in today's NBA.
The Knicks don't need him right now with how well they're playing, but the version of Hukporti that finishes the G League shooting this well from deep over his final stretch is a much more interesting long-term piece than the one who showed up in October.