A Park Hill High School alum is hoping to reach the pinnacle of professional basketball.
Landry Shamet, a Park Hill Class of 2015 graduate and eight-year veteran of the National Basketball Association, has become a key figure for the New York Knicks over the past two seasons. Now, he aims at helping the Knicks end a 53-year drought without an NBA title.
The Knicks have made a deep postseason run for a second straight season, losing last year in the Eastern Conference Finals. This time, the Knicks conquered their conference with a 4-0 sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers, previously sweeping the Philadelphia 76ers 4-0 and eliminating the Atlanta Hawks 4-2 in earlier rounds.
New York got off to a 2-0 lead over the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals, with both wins coming in San Antonio. With the series shifting to Madison Square Garden in New York, Shamet and the Knicks have the opportunity to clinch the championship as soon as June 10 on home court if they win out.
In his second season with the Knicks, Shamet has discovered his role within the team under head coach Mike Brown. The 6-foot-5 guard averaged 9.3 points and 23 minutes per game in the regular season, the highest he’s had since 2020-21.
Shamet was a three-year letterman at Park Hill under head coach David Garrison, earning two district and conference player of the year awards and two all-state selections. He was a finalist for the DiRenna Award, honoring the best basketball player in the metro area, averaging 17.4 points as a senior.
After graduating from Park Hill, Shamet spent three years at Wichita State University before entering the 2018 NBA Draft as a redshirt sophomore. He collected numerous collegiate awards, including Missouri Valley Conference freshman of the year in 2017 and AP All-American honorable mention in 2018.
The 76ers drafted Shamet with the 26th overall pick in the first round of the 2018 NBA Draft.
After a year with the 76ers, Shamet later spent time with the Los Angeles Clippers (2018-19), Brooklyn Nets (2019-20), Phoenix Suns (2021-23) and Washington Wizards (2023-24) before earning a contract with the Knicks in 2024.
Shamet and the Knicks could hoist the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy as soon as June 10 after Game 4. If needed, the series will return to San Antonio for Game 5 (June 13), Game 6 in New York (June 16) and Game 7 in San Antonio (June 19).