The Knox Files, Vol. 3: The Return

Preface: Kevin Knox, rookie for the New York Knicks, reached out to Posting & Toasting to have Drew Steele help pen his journal entries as an exclusive series. You can find the previous journal entry here. These are the Knox Files, written by Kevin Knox and totally not made up by Drew.

Journal Entry Three. Star Date 303963.19 BJK. It’s been awhile since I could hold my head up high wrote for the fine folks of Posting & Toasting. I apologize for the lack of content. See, life comes at you fast. You have this idea of what you intend to do all in your head. The plan is elaborate and lofty, without any doubts of if it’s practically feasible to pull off completely thrown to the wayside. The reason: you’re only thinking about the end results and not the process of the day-to-day dedication needed to reach that fulfilled vision.

All I thought about with this journal, shared on the greatest blog in the multiverse, is the fame and acclaim of the end product. Hell, I even have an outline of what my last journal entry is going to discuss. Never once did I think about the lack of free time I would have as a professional athlete, especially one recovering from an injury. This certainly isn’t college where I could just blow off classes to hang out with friends. I wasn’t paid to half-ass being a student — I was paid to play for Kentucky for one season. Am I not supposed to say that publicly? Sorry, Cal!

When you do finally do have some down time after a game, practice, or a media event, all you want to do is decompress. Shower, eat some food, watch some Full Metal Alchemist and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (best TV out right now and it’s not particularly close!), and get some sleep. I know this is just a journal, but it is mentally draining to be “on point” in an entry I write for the public to read. Well, I at least try to be on point with these entries. There is a constant fear of writing something that’s completely mediocre. If I just don’t have it in me to write something, I think it’s best to not force the content out. I never want to be thought of as anything less than excellent.

Speaking of excellent, YOUR MANS IS THE ROOKIE OF THE MONTH! That’s right! It took me a while to find my feet again after the ankle injury, but hot damn was my December good. A whopping 17.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game that month. Was I inefficient? Yeah, a 50.2 true shooting percentage is not good, but someone has to take the shots, right? It’s not like Frank is gonna shoot the ball, and someone needs to keep Timmy from taking those heat checks when he isn’t on fire. (They can handle being roasted, don’t worry.)

And I gotta say, it’s nice being recognized for your craft, even if you’re shooting inefficiently and playing crappy defense. Good thing folks don’t really start complaining about stuff like shooting percentages, assist numbers, and defense until a player is at least in his second year. Rookies get a pass for many things, so I gotta take whatever praise I can get now because it may be the last. I doubt it because I’m fucking amazing, but fans and the media be fickle.

Being able to bounce back like this was no easy task. I had to effectively start from square one because of the ankle injury. It completely threw me off. Not only that, Coach has been playing me so many minutes, especially in the first and third quarters. And Big Daddy Fiz wonders why I don’t have my legs under me when I shoot or why I can’t always get a good lift when attacking the rim. C’mon Davey, give me some rest! I know you’d rather not play Mario, but I’m only 19 but my mind is older and I have that rookie stamina. Can you not Thibs me? Thanks.

No matter the crazy minutes, you know how I start off the 2019 year?

Okay, technically this is in the third game of 2019, but it doesn’t matter. I hit Embiid with “the James Harden” to cap off a 31-point performance. I had to help avenge the UniKornet because Joel is a punk. He should have been ejected after headbutting Luke.

Well, I don’t want to keep you guys too long. I know I need to be more consistent with these entries, but I don’t think I can guarantee it. Until next time.