Years and years ago, Landry Shamet played 78 games for the LA Clippers, which lasted about a season and a half. His tenure is often forgotten, given that it occurred at the beginning of his veteran career. Since then, though, Shamet has been on several different teams and eventually found a roster spot with the New York Knicks, where he currently plays.
In the playoffs for the Knicks, particularly the Eastern Conference Finals, Shamet consistently went absolutely unconscious from beyond the arc, with only one missed three-pointer in 12 attempts over four games, and was ultimately a player the Knicks needed to make it to the NBA Finals.
Without Shamet, their mission in taking down the Cleveland Cavaliers would’ve been so much harder. He did everything, and more, of what head coach Mike Brown needed him to do, and ultimately helped the Knicks gain an upper hand in regard to extra rest and preparation over whoever they play from the Western Conference.
The Knicks could not have done it in style if Landry Shamet wasn’t there
As a player, Landry Shamet is practically the same as he was for the LA Clippers from 2019-2020. He’s an elite shooter, capable defender, understands spacing, and moves well off the ball to get himself and his teammates open looks.
But, in the Eastern Conference Finals, for the New York Knicks, he did all of that, just at a significantly higher level.
While the 91.7% three-point percentage speaks for itself, Shamet also recorded an offensive rating of 119.1 and a defensive rating of 96.1, leading to an overall net rating of 23.1, which implies he was borderline perfect when his team needed him most.
In addition, in the close-out game, Shamet had his best performance of the series: 16 points in 19 minutes, shooting 5-6 from the field and 4-4 from a distance. For reference, he had the third-most points on the team and fourth overall in the game.
So, all things considered, it’s pretty safe to say that Shamet made sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers possible. In fact, Cleveland had no answer for him. He was essentially having his way from the start of the series, all the way until the finish.
Assuming the Finals pan out the same or somewhat similar, the Knicks will certainly aim to bring Shamet back on a higher salary next year, as he's on a veteran minimum at the moment.
In the same breath, they will have a respectable amount of competition in the open market.
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