As T.I.’s “Bring Em Out” blares about Madison Square Garden, the Knicks gather in the tunnel and line up behind … Tyler Kolek.
Not any of the stars, but rather the reserve guard who leads them out onto the floor — and is the first face fans see when they emerge for warmups — prior to every game.
“I always look back because I’ve seen videos of Deuce [Miles McBride] running out [before he was there], the first guy runs out and they all stay behind,” Kolek told The Post. “So every time I go around that corner, I look back to make sure they’re running out with me.”
Kolek might be worried about his teammates pranking him, but it’s his own affable personality that has allowed him to emerge as a popular glue guy in the locker room.
“He’s a goofball, he’s a funny dude, but he takes his job really seriously,” McBride told The Post. “I’m happy he’s here. He has a personality that he knows how to mess with everybody the right way, in the sense of he can get under your skin a little bit but you always know it’s all love and he’s joking.
Tyler Kolek dribbles during a Knicks game on Oct. 17. Jason Szenes for the NY Post
“He’s a great dude off the court. I feel like the front office has done a great job bringing guys that want to win, want to put the team first, and that’s one of the guys.”
On the court, he comes across as straight-edged and intense.
But it’s behind the scenes and away from the court where he lets loose.
“He’s goofy, fun-loving, always picking guys up,” Josh Hart told The Post. “You need someone like him in the locker room. Always upbeat, got a personality and a good sense of humor.”
Malcolm Brogdon’s sudden retirement just before the season started left the Knicks thin at point guard and paved the way for Kolek to earn a role as Jalen Brunson’s primary backup.
He got that chance to start the year, averaging 12.0 minutes across the first four games of the year.
But there were rough results, and Kolek largely fell out of Mike Brown’s rotation.
He averaged just 3.2 minutes across the next 10 games, which included four DNPs.
McBride, though not a natural point guard, took over those responsibilities when Brunson was on the bench.
Injuries to OG Anunoby and Landry Shamet have given Kolek another opportunity, however.
McBride has entered the starting lineup as a result, leaving Kolek as the only ball-handling guard on the bench.
And he’s subsequently averaged 14.4 minutes across the Knicks’ last seven games.
While Anunoby and Shamet remain out, it’s vital for Kolek’s future that he cements himself in that role and not have the Knicks looking to acquire a backup point guard ahead of the trade deadline to supplant him.
Maintaining his positive off-the-court energy could be tough when constantly in and out of the lineup.
But Kolek sees it as a vital part of what he offers to the team and part of what will help keep him here.
“Especially a guy like me, I’m fighting for my life,” Kolek said. “I’m trying to get as many minutes as I can, get the coach’s trust, get these guys’ trust as much as I can, so I gotta bring not just the basketball stuff every day, but my personality, my energy, give those guys whatever I can to help the team.”
Tyler Kolek attempts a shot during the Knicks’ loss to the Heat on Oct. 26. Imagn Images
He also doesn’t just want to be the “goofball.”
Point guards are naturally expected to be leaders on the court.
There was one example on Wednesday, when Kolek made a beautiful pass to Ariel Hukporti, who was open right under the basket.
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But he instead kicked out to the perimeter, and Kolek told him to “dunk the f–king ball.”
Hukporti didn’t seem thrilled and shot back at Kolek before the two worked it out on the bench.
It’s who Kolek is in the locker room, he says, that allows that dynamic to work.
“My [college] coach [Shaka Smart] was huge on relationships,” Kolek said. “That’s how you win on the floor — having the relationships off the floor, because then they trust you and you have that connection. Then you go on, any emotion that comes on the floor, any conflict that comes on the floor, you can resolve that because of your relationship off the floor. I make a conscious effort to try and talk to all the guys, hang out with all the guys, just be around.”
That conscious effort is appreciated. And it’s helping the Knicks gel.