Kevin McCullar Jr. set a new career-high in points with 13 Saturday night in the Knicks' 130-127 win over the Atlanta Hawks, setting another milestone in his sophomore season. 

McCullar Jr. has been a versatile bench piece for the Knicks this season and saw his highest usage of the season on Saturday after playing 23 minutes, the most out of any player coming off the Knicks bench in the game. 

Still just 24 years old, the 6'6 shooting guard has been rapidly improving on a talented Knicks roster and he's given a lot of credit to the veterans around him for giving him the guidance and encouragement he's needed to improve as a player. 

Josh Hart, more than anyone else it seems, has taken on a huge leadership role and mentored McCullar Jr. and the other young players on the team. 

"That's my big bro [Hart] on the team for sure. His energy's contagious," McCullar Jr. said (via KnicksMSGN).  "I've learned a lot from him over the last year. Just went out there, just tried to make plays, tried to make winning plays."

Having a mix of talented, emerging youth and seasoned veterans seems to be the ideal for a formula, especially for a team that's trying to promote long term success and see their young players develop. 

It's even better when those veterans take an active role in the locker room to push those young players and that seems to be exactly what Hart has been doing, to favorable results. 

McCullar Jr. spoke on the high standard that veterans like Hart have set inside the locker room and the mentality of readiness they've cultivated when he was interviewed after the game on his big performance. 

"We've got great veterans in the locker room. They're always staying on us young guys to be ready when our number's called. And just take advantage of it. And that's what I did," McCullar Jr. said. 

McCullar Jr. was the Knicks' second round pick in the 2024 Draft and despite his young career being held back by a number of injuries that have followed him from his college career at Kansas, McCullar Jr. has shown potential in his limited showings at the NBA level. 

He played just four games last season and he's four games in to his sophomore season so far and has already shown rapid improvement. He's upgraded his points per game from 1.5 last season to an average of four this season and at this rate, he's bound for more success.