Hometown Kid Ryan Ready to Shine for Knicks

Not many hometown kids get to play for the New York Knicks, but Matt Ryan is an exception.

Ryan, 27, signed with the Knicks earlier this week and will have a chance to make his team debut on Friday against the Milwaukee Bucks.

For Ryan, putting on the jersey for the team he grew up watching is exciting.

“It’s extremely special. But at the end of the day, I know playing for [Thibodeau] is going to require a tremendous amount of focus every day, blocking out everything else that’s going on,” Ryan said h/t Posting and Toasting. “It’s very lucky, a unique circumstance to come home, play for the Knicks as a Westchester kid. But I’m locked in.”

Ryan has become a journeyman in the NBA during his four seasons in the league. He started out in 2021-22, appearing in one game for the Boston Celtics before heading out west to join the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2022-23 season. He was waived after 12 games with the Lakers before he signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he spent the rest of the season playing in 22 games.

Last year, Ryan played 28 games for the New Orleans Pelicans, but now finds himself back to where it all started in New York. Ryan is proud for his journey to have come full circle.

“The first thing I’ll say is, from my background to where I am now, for me the NBA wasn’t supposed to be easy,” Ryan said. “I wasn’t a high pick, I went to three colleges, I sat out a year. I’ve kind of bounced around teams here at the beginning of my career. It kind of makes sense for me. It was never supposed to be easy. You’ve got 450 guys in this league, probably 50 guys are rock-solid stars and the other guys got to figure out where to fit in. That’s the category I’m in. But I’ve figured my skill that I can carry from team to team. I figured out my work ethic that no matter what jersey I put on, no matter what city I’m in, I can carry that with me.”

Ryan’s work ethic should be welcomed by coach Tom Thibodeau as he hopes to give the Knicks a spark for their depth.