PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – FEBRUARY 02: Guerschon Yabusele #28 of the Philadelphia 76ers … More celebrates a basket during the second half against the Boston Celtics at the Wells Fargo Center on February 02, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
Getty Images
Everybody saw the play that helped change his life.
France and the United States were pitted against each other in the Olympics during the gold medal game. The first half was coming to a close with the United States winning by seven when Guerschon Yabusele beat Devin Booker to the baseline and hammered home a thunderous dunk over LeBron James.
France would ultimately end up losing the game, but Yabusele’s impact throughout the tournament left NBA teams impressed. He would sign a contract with the Philadelphia 76ers shortly after, which gave him a chance to rebound from an unremarkable first stint in the NBA.
His 2024-25 season was a success and he walked into free agency with a bevy of teams interested in his services. Ironically the 76ers seemed to have lowballed the big man with a contract at the veteran’s minimum.
The New York Knicks won out by signing him with the taxpayer mid-level exception. It is a two year deal worth about $12 million with a player option on the second year of the deal. Lowering the first year of the deal will allow the Knicks to be able to grab another veteran while still ducking the second apron, according to the NY Post.
Yabusele brings an interesting style to the table that should be able to help the Knicks in their pursuit of a championship.
Shooting
Not many frontcourt players have the ability to launch it like Yabusele. Only 11 big men (with at least 1,500 minutes played) in the NBA took over 40 percent of their shots from deep. His willingness to let it fly is beneficial only if the opposition closes out hard to him when he is behind the arc. In order to get them to react that way you have to hit enough of those shots to keep them honest. Yabusele did just that last season.
The 29-year-old drilled 38 percent of his shots from three point range last season, which made him one of only 10 big men last year (with at least 1,500 minutes played) to accomplish the feat. It helps the Knicks get to different looks because of that shooting.
Yabusele could play in lineups with a center like Karl-Anthony Towns or Mitchell Robinson. He could be the first big off of the bench, if Mike Brown opts to start Robinson and Towns together. It also allows the Knicks to maintain an additional spacer at the position if Towns is ever forced to miss any time. Yabusele provides just the necessary skill set for a team that desperately needed more offensive juice on the second unit.
Transition
This is the easiest way to generate points for an NBA team, and Yabusele was an elite player at taking advantage of these opportunities. He ranked in the 98th percentile in the NBA by being a +20.2 per 100 possessions, which means that the team scored at one of the best rates in the league when he was on the floor in transition.
He’s able to be effective because of his effort and speed. He is often matched up with an opposing center, which allows him to get up the floor quickly on a turnover. His ability to finish through traffic and elevate for powerful dunks gives him a higher rate of success when out and running.
It’ll be important for him to bring that same ferocity to New York. The Knicks were a solid team during the regular season at scoring in transition as they ranked 11th in the NBA, but struggled mightily during the playoffs. That struggle was no more evident than against the Indiana Pacers where the Knicks scored a ghastly 88 points per 100 possessions in transition. For proper context, the worst team during the entire playoffs during that time was able to score 100 points per 100 possessions. Yabusele can help charge the Knicks’ offense when it slogs down, especially when spring rolls around.
Efficiency
The biggest comparison will between Yabusele and Precious Achiuwa. Achiuwa logged nearly 1,200 minutes last year, even though he missed the first 21 games of the season due to a hamstring injury. There is plenty of minutes to go around for a third big, especially with the injury history of Robinson.
But the main issue with Achiuwa was that he was never really efficient in any respect. He flashed the potential to shoot from distance with Toronto but that never materialized with the Knicks. He was ignored when spaced to the corners, which limited his versatility. For this reason, most of his shots came at the rim where he shot an unimpressive 62 percent. That mark was far worse than his fellow big men, and far worse than Yabusele.
Last year the “Dancing Bear” logged a 71 percent shooting mark from that area on the court, and a 60 percent effective field goal percentage from the field. Achiuwa clocked in at a 52 percent mark, which shows the offensive bet the team is willing to take this season.
This game against the Denver Nuggets has all of the best characteristics of Yabusele on display. The feathery touch inside the paint, the takes in transition to the basket, and the deep range shooting that forces defenders to race out to him. The potential is there for him to impact the Knicks rotation if he can keep up the offensive firepower he had last year for Philadelphia.