New York Knicks big man Kyle O’Quinn has made a name for himself as being one of the funniest players in the league.
O’Quinn, who’s loved by his teammates, coaches, and fans in New York, recently detailed a hilarious story to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. The team decided it was time to prank Kevin Seraphin. The prank, which was led by Carmelo Anthony and O’Quinn himself, was nothing short of spectacular.
“Kevin Seraphin is obsessed with social media, so I unfollowed him on all of his accounts during last season,” O’Quinn said with a laugh. “I just didn’t say anything and left him unfollowed for a few days. He was so confused. He really cares about that stuff, so he came to practice and was really concerned. It messed with his head. Carmelo played along and told him, ‘If a teammate unfollows you, he’s lost all trust in you. You need to fix this.’ Other teammates went along with it too. Kevin was confused for a few days and then at a team dinner in, I think, Utah, I gave a big speech in front of everyone. I talked about how mistakes were made, but I was willing to give Kevin a second chance and put my trust in him again and rebuild our bond. He was smiling like a kid in a candy shop. Then, everybody just busted up laughing. Jose Calderon was cracking up, sounding like a little kid. That’s when Kevin realized that I was messing with him the whole time and he started laughing too.
“That was my favorite semi-prank this past year,” he said with a smile. “I haven’t done anything too crazy to teammates in New York. Yet.”
Knicks fans love O’Quinn, one of the few players returning to the team from last season’s roster, and are happy to have him back.
O’Quinn is expected to be the team’s first frontcourt option of the bench this season, with Knicks free agent Kevin Seraphin expected to sign a deal with another ball club, likely the Indiana Pacers.
Not only have the Knicks lost several players from the 2015-’16 campaign, but they’ve also named a new head coach. O’Quinn looks forward to playing under Jeff Hornacek, surely eager to get the season going.
“I think it’s a great hire. … From just hanging out with him for a week down at summer league, he’s very personable, very straightforward and easy to talk to,” O’Quinn told Kennedy.
Teammates have raved about Kyle O’Quinn’s work ethic and sense of humor. Now, it’s time for O’Quinn to translate the massive amount of locker room success to the hardwood, an area he’s been intensely training on all summer long.
