Landry Shamet was not supposed to be this important in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Less than two years ago, it seemed as though injuries were about to derail his career for good. Yet in the Knicks’ most meaningful series of this millennium, it was Shamet’s shooting that helped tilt the series in their favor.
The 29-year-old guard shot a staggering 11-for-12 from three-point range in their four-game sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers, setting an NBA record for the highest three-point percentage in a playoff series by a player with at least 10 attempts.
For a Knicks team heavily reliant on its starting five of Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Josh Hart, that kind of production off the bench can be the difference between a contender and a champion.
What makes Shamet’s run even more remarkable is how unlikely the path to this moment has been. Originally a first-round pick by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2018, he is now on his fifth team in eight NBA seasons.
Shamet first joined the Knicks in 2024, only for a dislocated right shoulder to cut his preseason short. New York waived him that October, but found a way to keep him in the organization by selecting him in the G League Draft.
He eventually returned to the Knicks that December and appeared in 50 games during the regular season. His role under Tom Thibodeau was limited during last year’s playoff run, and he spent much of the ensuing offseason unsigned before eventually returning to New York on a one-year deal.
That decision has paid off handsomely for the Knicks.
New head coach Mike Brown quickly made Shamet a regular part of New York’s rotation, and the veteran guard responded with a strong campaign. He averaged 9.3 points and two three-pointers on 39.2 percent shooting from deep across 51 regular-season games.
Still, Shamet played limited minutes in the first round against Atlanta and early in the East semifinals against Philadelphia. His opportunity finally came when Anunoby missed Games 3 and 4 against the Sixers with a hamstring strain. Shamet stepped in and seized the opportunity, averaging 13.5 points in the final two games of the series while shooting 6-for-9 from three-point range to help the Knicks complete a sweep.
Since Game 3 against Philadelphia, Shamet has hardly missed, shooting 17-for-21 from beyond the arc. His hot shooting carried into the Eastern Conference Finals against Cleveland, where he scored 14 points on 4-for-5 shooting from deep in Game 3 before following it up with 16 points on a perfect 4-for-4 mark in Game 4. He was a team-high plus-28 in the closeout win.
The Knicks’ stars will rightfully receive most of the credit for this run, but teams do not reach the Finals on star power alone. They need role players who can swing games when opportunities arise, and Shamet has done exactly that.
A year ago, he was recovering from injury and searching for another opportunity in the league. Today, his blistering shooting has helped send New York to its first NBA Finals since 1999 and within four wins of its first championship since 1973. Few players have taken a more unlikely path to this stage—and fewer have made the most of it the way Landry Shamet has.
