Who is Jericho Sims: Tracing his path to the NBA with New York Knicks

Jericho Sims is a 24-year-old New York Knicks center who recently signed a 3-year, $5.6 million contract with the franchise. The New York Knicks have a club option for the 2024-25 NBA season, and he will earn $1,927,896 next season. This season, Jericho Sims is earning $1,639,842, which along with the club option takes the overall value of the contract to $5.6 million.

He was selected in the second round of the 2021 NBA draft with the 58th pick by the Knicks and signed a two-way contract with the team in August 2021, which allowed him to split time between the Knicks and their G League affiliate, the Westchester Knicks. His three-year deal is a partially guaranteed contract with the Knicks.

In his rookie season for the New York Knicks last year, Sims appeared in 41 games and started in five. He averaged 13.5 minutes per game and had a field goal percentage of .722. He also averaged 4.1 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.3 steals, 0.5 blocks, and 2.2 points per game. Sims always had defensive resilience, but it seems to have improved lately.

Sims has emerged as an important player for the New York Knicks in Mitchell Robinson’s absence. He has been a defensive monster and has produced two games with 10 and 12 points in his last five appearances. In a recent victory over the Boston Celtics, Sims produced his career-best with 14 rebounds.

Jericho Sims is important for the New York Knicks in Mitchell Robinson’s absence

Jericho Sims has been impressive in recent games. He is the team's top choice at center while Mitchell Robinson is out injured for the New York Knicks. This was evident by the fact that Isaiah Hartenstein, who is also a center, had minimal playing time in recent matches.

Sims is a valuable asset to the team, providing consistent rebounds, defensive statistics, and a high field goal percentage (80.7%). The player is quite young and has plenty of scope for improvement. His college career in Texas saw him suffer a serious ankle injury that reduced his stock and made him a second-round pick in the 2021 NBA draft.

Sims had to take the longer route to first-team action considering the time he spent at the Westchester Knicks but has clearly used the experience to improve his defensive skills and overall game.