Traffic forces D-Leaguer to sprint through NYC streets to make NBA debut for Knicks
Marshall Plumlee had himself a busy weekend.
[Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball contest now | Free NBA Yahoo Cup entry]
On Saturday, the former Duke big man starred for the D-League’s Westchester Knicks, scoring 22 points on 9-for-13 shooting to go with eight rebounds, two blocks and a steal in 32 minutes of floor time in a win over the Greensboro Swarm, the Charlotte Hornets’ affiliate. Less than 15 hours after putting the finishing touches on that win, the 24-year-old center — playing in the D-League after signing with the New York Knicks as an undrafted free agent this summer — found himself in a race against the clock to make his big-league debut.
Plumlee — who reportedly spent Saturday night in the gym with a shooting coach and his older brother, Mason Plumlee, whose Portland Trail Blazers were in New York to take on the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday — received a call at about 10 a.m. Sunday from a Knicks official. That’s when he learned that the Knicks’ starting center, Joakim Noah, had fallen ill, and that he needed to be at Madison Square Garden and in uniform for a 12 p.m. matinee meeting with the Atlanta Hawks … and that’s when what was supposed to be a low-key Sunday morning became anything but.
From Marc Berman of the New York Post:
Living near a Metro-North station, Plumlee elected to take the express train to Grand Central [Station in Manhattan]. That went well, but the cab ride to the Garden didn’t. Stuck in traffic, Plumlee said he paid the cab driver to dash through at least one red light.
But eventually, after a $60 tip, Plumlee hopped out. Traffic was too severe, and the 7-footer bolted the final few blocks to the Garden.
“I sprinted over as fast as I could,’’ Plumlee said. “… My phone was blowing up: ‘Are you almost here? Are you almost here?’ I don’t think they realize those texts just slow you down so I put the phone away.
“But I got here. They said, ‘Do you need a warm-up?’ I’m already warm. I ran here.’’
After arriving at MSG midway through the first quarter and upon making his NBA debut with a check-in at the 5:21 mark of the second, Plumlee continued to run:
Plumlee hustle and grit level currently off the charts. It's almost unseemly. He's the Plumlee family try-hard.
— ☕netw3rk (@netw3rk) November 20, 2016
I've never seen someone run harder down the court than I just saw Marshall Plumlee run. Looked like he was running the 40
— Rich Arleo (@Rarleo) November 20, 2016
Marshall Plumlee running out there like he just drank 5 Red Bulls
— Carlos Diaz (@king_cad5) November 20, 2016
Marshall Plumlee: NBA player or track star?
— Christopher Kline (@KlineNBA) November 20, 2016
Marshall Plumlee is running the floor like he sees his car being stolen in the distance
— ☕netw3rk (@netw3rk) November 20, 2016
Given the wake-up call he got, who can blame him?
“Just imagine being woken up, saying like, ‘Hey, we need you to guard Dwight Howard,'” said Plumlee, according to Steve Popper of NorthJersey.com. “You’re just like, what?”
Well, on that score, Plumlee didn’t have the most success. Just look how excited Hawks swingman Kent Bazemore was when he saw Howard matched up against the neophyte a minute after entering the game — he couldn’t wait to throw Dwight a lob:
Kent Bazemore starts laughing at Dwight Howard's matchup before throwing him an alley-oop. ????
A video posted by SportsCenter (@sportscenter) on Nov 20, 2016 at 11:25am PST
[Follow Dunks Don’t Lie on Tumblr: The best slams from all of basketball]
Despite that unkind introduction to the finer points of interior NBA defense, Plumlee would wind up with the last laugh, as New York scored a 104-94 win behind big days from Carmelo Anthony (31 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals) and Kristaps Porzingis (19 points, 11 rebounds), and strong relief work in the middle from reserve centers Kyle O’Quinn and Willy Hernangomez, who combined for 15 points and 16 rebounds in Noah’s absence.
Plumlee’s stat line was nothing to write home about — zero points, one rebound, one personal foul in five minutes and 26 seconds of work — but the circumstances that produced it just might be.
“It was crazy,” said Plumlee, according to Popper. “I feel like I could write a book about it.”
More NBA coverage:
– – – – – – –
Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
Stay connected with Ball Don’t Lie on Twitter @YahooBDL, “Like” BDL on Facebook and follow Dunks Don’t Lie on Tumblr for year-round NBA talk, jokes and more.
