Selected 34th overall in the 2024 NBA Draft, Tyler Kolek has had a rather easygoing rookie campaign thus far. The 23-year-old was the latest guest on the ‘Roommates Show’ when his Knicks teammate Jalen Brunson pondered whether the first-year guard has taken on enough rookie duties.
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During the podcast, Kolek revealed that there hasn’t been much in the way of hazing during his debut campaign. “Just the Disney princess bags,” he revealed. Carrying Disney princess backpacks has been a hazing tradition in the NBA for over a decade and it seems to be continuing in the Big Apple this year.
The point guard also added that he carries Brunson’s portable gaming device (POGA) as part of his rookie duties. “He does carry the POGA, I make him carry the POGA. POGA’s like 3 pounds, it’s heavy. You know what, I’m gonna start making him carry the POGA to my room,” JB shared.
Considering some of the off-color hazing rituals that permeated the NBA just two decades ago, the Knicks are certainly finding a good balance with their rookies. “I would say we’re pretty good vets. I look out for Ty… That’s my guy. I should start hazing him though. I need hazing ideas. Let me backtrack, I need reasonable hazing ideas please,” Brunson added.
Kolek didn’t seem too scared of the concept as he joked that the fans should share their ideas in the comments. We’ll find out if he ends up regretting his statement as it seems to have prompted JB into finding more duties for the rookie. Of course, Jalen could always refer to his own rookie season and reuse some of the hazing practices he had to endure.
Jalen Brunson’s rookie duties involved chicken wings
Hazing has been an initiation process in the NBA for decades and teams have found an acceptable balance to it in recent years. Interestingly, the Disney princess backpacks seem to have been a part of the Knicks locker room since 2013, when 29-year-old rookie Chris Copeland was spotted with one of those bags at a press conference.
When Jalen Brunson became a Dallas Maverick in 2018, he had to undergo his own share of hazing. “I had to pick up about 50 flat chicken wings… we had to pick those up. Sometimes we switched off as rookies, but I picked them up and bring to the plane, and if we didn’t bring it to the plane… I actually never found out [what will happen], so that’s good,” he revealed in 2019.
Brunson was lucky to come into a Mavericks team rife with mature veterans. Dirk Nowtizki was playing his last season, JJ Barea and Devin Harris were experienced point guard mentors and as JB recalls, their approach to hazing was rather light. He clearly learned from that experience as he is trying to be a more respectful vet to his rookies in New York.
