The emotional return of Reggie Bullock
Reggie Bullock of the New York Knicks reacts after hitting a three-pointer during the second half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 1, 2020. Credit: Jim McIsaac
It was eight minutes and eight seconds into the game — and 34 games into the season — when Reggie Bullock finally got to step onto the Madison Square Garden floor as a member of the Knicks.
A strange path brought him to this moment. He agreed to a two-year, $21 million deal on the first day of free agency in July before a physical revealed a cervical disc herniation that would require surgery. He reworked a deal with one year guaranteed at $4 million, had the surgical procedure and began a long rehabilitation process.
During that lonely time, Bullock’s life was upended by the murder of his sister, the second time that tragic event had happened to his family.
Eventually he returned to the team and continued his road to recovery, finally arriving Wednesday night in uniform. And his introduction almost sounded like an afterthought, an appreciative greeting on a night in which the spotlight was on former Knick Carmelo Anthony back at the Garden as a Portland Trail Blazer.
But after he entered the game, it took only 64 seconds for Bullock to drain his first shot. He continued to pile it on until he had 11 points in 15 minutes, helping the Knicks to a 117-93 win and finally feeling as if he were home.
“It’s just great to be back out there seeing the ball go through the hoop and playing out there with my teammates,” Bullock said. “I signed here for a reason, and I knew what the guys that we signed were capable of doing. I’m glad to be out there playing with them. It felt good to be out there.”
In his debut with the team, Bullock leapfrogged Damyean Dotson, Allonzo Trier and Wayne Ellington on the depth chart, becoming the first shooting guard off the bench as he stepped in for RJ Barrett.
Bullock, 28, provided a boost to the Knicks from his play on the court and also from his path to join them. His debut came at a fortuitous time as the Knicks (10-24) recorded a season-best third straight win before heading out on a four-game western swing.
With six years in the NBA behind him, it might not seem like such a special event to get on the court, but after what he’d been through, he had family join him in New York to commemorate the occasion.
“My family, we’ve really been through a lot,” Bullock said. “Go out there with family there behind my back, just trying to do something for the rest of the family and take the negative things away and do something positive.”
“It was amazing. It’s crazy,” teammate Marcus Morris said. “I was just thinking some things are just bigger than basketball. He’s been through a lot with surgery and things he had going on with his family. He’s been through a lot.
“It was special to see him out there. It was great to have his energy around this locker room. I think he’s going to come back and he’s going to be really big for us.”
Notes & quotes: Elfrid Payton (personal reasons) and Dennis Smith Jr. (strained left oblique) are listed as questionable for Friday night’s game in Phoenix.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
