In his second stint with the New York Knicks, guard Tim Hardaway Jr. has become much more of a well-rounded player since he was drafted No. 24 overall in the 2013 NBA Draft.
According to an article written by Marc Berman of the New York Post, Hardaway Jr. credits a lot of his improvement to his two seasons under head coach Mike Budenholzer with the Atlanta Hawks.
“They made me mature as a ballplayer on and off the floor, made me an all-out competitor, the grinding, the time I spend with the coaching staff and strength coach,’’ Hardaway said. “It was very memorable.”
Despite breaking up their 60-win team from a few seasons ago like it was nothing, the Hawks were still able to make it to the playoffs last year with a 43-39 record and took the Washington Wizards to six games in the first round.
“The atmosphere was something I’ll never be able to describe,” Hardaway Jr. said. “It was a great way to build as a ballplayer and know what you have to work at in the offseason. It makes you want to have that energy and desire to want to get back there.’’
Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek also attributes the rise to success of Tim Hardaway Jr. to his time in Atlanta.
“It’s tough to win when you have one-sided guys,’’ Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said. “Tim has taken pride in that defense. They got on him in Atlanta about it. He’s grown. He understands what it takes to defend. He’s bringing that to our team.”
Hardaway Jr. and the Knicks take on the Hawks tonight at Philips Arena after the guard had a career-high 38 points in New York's 108-100 win over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.
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