Immanuel Quickley talks to GQ about life in the NBA

(Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

It’s hard to believe that a year ago, Immanuel Quickley’s SEC Player of the Year campaign was just picking up steam. Now, the former Cat is the darling of New York City, shining bright in his rookie season with the Knicks. Through 22 games, Quickley is averaging 11.8 points, 2.7 assists, and 2.3 rebounds per game and drawing praise from Magic Johnson, Paul George, and new teammate Derrick Rose. Yesterday, GQ’s Will Leitch published a lengthy interview with Quickley, — whom he dubs “The Greatest Knicks Hope Since Jeremy Lin” — which includes several reminders of why we love him so much. You can read it all here, but a few highlights…

— Quickley is currently living in White Plains, NY, not New York City. Quickley said he prefers the suburbs to the city, choosing to reside in White Plains, which is near the Knicks’ practice facility in Tarrytown, NY. “This is probably best for me, all told. I’m a basketball rat, and all I want to do is play and practice.” A true suburbanite, the first thing Quickley wants to do when the pandemic is over is go to the mall.

— He’s only been to one NBA game as a fan (Wizards/Kings), and that was with John Calipari and his staff while Kentucky was recruiting him. Come to think of it, that was probably the exhibition in Rupp Arena back in October 2016, the same weekend as Big Blue Madness and one of Quickley’s recruiting visits.

— He and Derrick Rose are already bonding. “We both played for Cal first, and then both had Thibs our rookie years, so we were talking a lot how they’re really similar: If you don’t defend, you’re not going to get on the floor.”

— Due to COVID restrictions, his aunt and grandmother haven’t been to a game yet.

“I get to see them, but they haven’t been to a game yet. My aunt and my grandmother, they act like I scored 30 every game, so it’s just like college. But my mom is more the subtle one, she’s like, “You still stink if you go and play basketball, so you still need to shower,” or whatever. She’s like, “You ain’t nobody,” basically. My mom’s kind of the one that keeps me grinding. But yeah, my grandmother and aunt, if they let family in, there’s no question you’re going to hear them. And if there’s only 2000 people there, all you’re going to hear is my family. It’s their worldwide trademark. We’ll end up playing the Lakers, and LeBron will probably be like, “Who is that making all that noise?”

The Quickley women, that’s who! Arenas in New York can re-open at 10% capacity starting Feb. 23, so hopefully Aunt Meechie and Ellen can come see Immanuel play soon.

[GQ: Immanuel Quickley Is the Greatest Knicks Hope Since Jeremy Lin]