Can New York Knicks rookie Tyler Kolek read? Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson aren’t entirely sure…
They will have to ask their new teammate to prove his literacy upon arrival to the Big Apple!
Kolek was drafted No. 34 overall by the Knickerbockers in the NBA Draft last month after an extremely successful college career. He was the A-10 Rookie of the Year at George Mason in 2021, was later named the Big East Player of the Year at Marquette in 2023. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound point guard also earned First-Team All-Big East honors by averaging a career-high 15.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game during a senior season that was hindered by injury in 2024.
Not only did Kolek have a phenomenal two-year run with the Golden Eagles, he wore his emotions on his sleeve and was the perfect college basketball heel. Opposing crowds loved to hate him. He thrived off of the negativity.
The villain status reached its peak in late December when Marquette head coach Shaka Smart posted a graphic to celebrate his team’s 3.2 GPA. 11 guys carried a GPA of 3.4 or greater.
Kolek was not one of those players so Providence fans started a rumor that he cannot read. Other Big East fanbases ran with it, which set off a truly hilarious chain of events and lit a fire under him!
Whether he likes it or not, Kolek will always be attached to the illiteracy claim.
Can Tyler Kolek read?
Josh Hart was not sure what to believe about his new teammate. He and Jalen Brunson discussed the Kolek gossip on their podcast Roommates Show. The former is very curious whether Kolek is literate.
Brunson laughed it off and reminded his backcourt counterpart that the rookie went to Marquette. Hart, a Villanova grad, quipped that Marquette is not that good of a school.
The entire exchange couldn’t be funnier. Even though they were mostly joking, neither Hart nor Brunson were/are fully convinced that Kolek can read. They’re going to have to ask him.