The New York Knicks are on the verge of getting a defensive stalwart and a major rotational piece of their frontcourt back for the stretch run of the 2024-25 season.
Center Mitchell Robinson’s goal is to make his 2024-25 season debut within the next week, according to a report from ESPN’s Shams Charania on Sunday.
The 26-year-old center has participated in multiple full scrimmages recently and is expected to make one more during the early portions of this coming week. Only after then will the team cement when he returns to the lineup.
Robinson has been sidelined since May after undergoing ankle surgery to repair an injury that was exacerbated during New York’s first-round series victory over the Philadephia 76ers.
His return will provide a stalwart under the basket for a Knicks team that has struggled to survive down low—the only drawback of Karl-Anthony Towns’ star-studded arrival.
During the first half of the season (pre-All-Star break), the usually-resolute Knicks ranked 18th in defensive rating, last in blocked shots per game, 25th in defensive rebounds per game, and 20th in opponents’ points in the paint per game.
Robinson has averaged 1.9 blocks per game in his career and possesses a per-36-minute average of 11.7 total rebounds per game. He is one of the game’s premier offensive rebounders, averaging 4.3 per game since the start of the 2022-23 season.
