Trey Burke had “it” when he decided to enter the 2013 NBA Draft after two seasons at the University of Michigan. Fresh off a defeat in the NCAA Championship to Peyton Siva, Gorgui Dieng and Russ Smith’s Louisville team, Burke was playing at a level few of his peers could compete with. Just a few of the awards Burke received in his short but outstanding tenure at Michigan include Big Ten Player of the Year, Wooden Award, AP Player of the Year and Naismith Award.
There is a reason he drew comparisons to Kyle Lowry, Ty Lawson and Kemba Walker going into the draft. Trey Burke was that good.
At Michigan, Burke scored with ease in many ways. His most daunting trait as a scorer was his range. Burke could knock down the long ball off the dribble, out of the pick-and-roll and in catch-and-shoot situations. Moving past his 3-point shooting, Burke’s characteristics continued to display him as an elite prospect. He was a great distributor, as he led the Big Ten in assist percentage in the 2012-13 season at 37.3 percent. He was extremely efficient, and most importantly, he won.
Although Burke started and contributed in 68 games for the Jazz in his rookie season, the consistency at which produced at Michigan was not there, as he shot just 38 percent from the field and 30 percent from the 3-point line. Burke’s second season saw him in a diminished role as he started in just 43 of the 76 games he appeared in with Utah. Burke’s third and final season in Utah was his best. While he played fewer minutes per game than he did in his previous two seasons, his efficiency rose and he showed glimpses of becoming an effective NBA player.
Following the 2015-16 season, the Jazz traded him to the Washington Wizards. Burke averaged just 12 minutes per game but was efficient and effective in his playing time. He shot 45.5 percent from the field and 44.3 percent from the 3-point line. With John Wall, Thomas Satoransky and even Brandon Jennings limiting playing time for Trey Burke in his tenure with the Wizards, he did not return for this season.
After a deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder fell through, Burke was signed and quickly waived by the New York Knicks in early October. This was done to procure his G League rights. Burke bet on himself through the G League that he would return to the NBA in a situation where he could thrive. Burke performed at the highest level he had ever played at with the Westchester Knicks. in 26 games with them, Burke averaged 26.6 points on 48.9 percent shooting from the field and 41.8 percent from the 3-point line.
Exactly three months after he was waived by the Knicks, he agreed to a multi-year contract with New York.
While the path was shaky, Burke credits his return to the NBA with a refound passion for religion.
From Ian Begley of ESPN:
“It started this summer when I looked myself in the mirror, and I was kind of like, ‘I’ve got to start over,'” Burke said. ” … I bumped heads with my agent this summer because he didn’t understand [the decision to sign a G-League deal with the Knicks]. He pretty much called me and said, ‘OKC tomorrow for training camp. I’m going to call them back right now and say yeah, right?’ I said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Why?’ I said, ‘I want to go to New York. And I wanted to do that for the Lord. … I wanted to come to New York because I feel like this is a city where I can help a lot of people.”
Now, 17 games into his career with the Knicks, Burke is excelling and helping brighten a dark season for New York as Kristaps Porzingis recovers from a torn ACL in his left knee.
Burke has averaged 10.5 points and 3.4 assists per game in just about 16 minutes per game off the bench for the Knickerbockers. Since the All-Star Break, Burke has been on a complete tear. Jeff Hornaceck is playing Burke more (24.9 minutes per game) and Burke is rewarding Hornaceck for his trust. The fifth-year guard has averaged 20.5 points and 5.3 assists in his last four games. His shooting numbers have taken a slight hit, as in said span he is shooting 52 percent from the field and 39 percent from deep. He has scored 26 points in a game twice since the break and has dished five or more assists in three of the Knicks’ last four games.
This move by Allen Iverson…I mean Trey Burke was so nice Kevin Durant gave him props for it pic.twitter.com/sQzeRivK9Q
— David Astramskas (@redapples) February 27, 2018
Another intriguing development that has risen since Burke’s arrival is Frank Nitilikina’s potential as a shooting guard. Since the All-Star Break, a two-man lineup of Burke and Ntilikina possesses a 120 offensive rating and 108.7 defensive rating. good for a net rating of 11.3. The pairing has played 77 minutes together since the break, the fourth-most-used pairing for New York.
Will Trey Burke ever be Kemba Walker, Ty Lawson or Kyle Lowry? The odds are stacked against that happening. Nonetheless, Burke is playing the best basketball of his young career and is proving that he is an NBA-level point guard and can be a big contributor to a team.
“To me, I’m not worried anymore. I don’t want to deny him(God) anymore. I’m at a point now where I want people to know who the real Trey Burke is.”
People are starting to know Trey Burke, and the way he has been playing will make it hard for people to forget who Trey Burke really is.
