The New York Knicks made a sizeable splash early in free agency, giving free agent guard Donte DiVincenzo a four-year, $50 million contract. But the move does more than give the team a solid backup guard.
DiVincenzo won two NCAA championships as a member of the Villanova Wildcats. As it happens, the Knicks have two other members of those teams: Jalen Brunson, who was there for both the 2016 and 2018 titles, and Josh Hart, who was a part of the 2016 team.
As a result, fans have come up with a not-so-brilliant nickname for the Knicks – the Villanova Knicks, or Nova Knicks for short.
The Nova Knicks pic.twitter.com/i8AZpXsNfF
— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) July 2, 2023
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The Villanova Knicks 😤 pic.twitter.com/iLgCil1SQI
— FanDuel (@FanDuel) July 2, 2023
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The Villanova Knicks. pic.twitter.com/IKumQ25QQR
— College Basketball Report (@CBKReport) July 2, 2023
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The Nova Knicks. pic.twitter.com/kllX30wAhG
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) July 2, 2023
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Donte DiVincenzo was a first-round pick in the 2018 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks and appeared in 27 games as a rookie. But by the 2020-21 season he was a starter for the Bucks and started three of their postseason games en route to winning an NBA title.
The following year he was traded to the Sacramento Kings in the middle of the season and last year he signed with the Golden State Warriors, where he started 36 of 72 games.
Will the “Nova Knicks” find as much success in the NBA as they did in college?