In Frank Ntilikina's NBA debut, he finished with zero points, zero rebounds, one assist in just eight minutes against the Oklahoma City Thunder. As the New York York Knicks prepare for the Detroit Pistons, the rookie unfortunately suffered an ankle injury during practice.
Head coach Jeff Hornacek revealed Ntilikina likely stepped on Willy Hernangomez's foot and is expected to miss his Madison Square Garden debut according to FOX Sports:
“Looked like I thought he maybe stepped on Willy’s (Hernangomez’s) foot,” coach Jeff Hornacek told Newsday. “He went to box him out and it looked like he stepped on his foot. Hopefully, it’s not too bad.”




For Ntilikina, it will be interesting to see how he responds to the pressure of playing in New York. After only playing eight minutes in his NBA debut, there will be questions as the Knicks took him over well-known players like Dennis Smith Jr. and Malik Monk with the eighth overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
With the Knicks eventually trading Carmelo Anthony to the Thunder, all the focus is on developing the team's young core. Along with Ntilikina, Hernangomez and Kristaps Porzingis should all ideally see major minutes in hopes of speeding up the rebuilding process.