Quietly, Kyle O’Quinn has been a key part of the New York Knicks‘ surprising 16-13 start. The reserve center is averaging career highs in assists, rebounds and field goal percentage. His net rating of plus-7.5 is the best among the Knicks who have played at least 400 minutes.
“That’s the engine,” Knicks forward Michael Beasley said of O’Quinn. “He gets in and he’s loud, he’s ferocious. He gets more blocks than he’s supposed to. Defense, offensive rebounding. He’s the energy guy on this team; he’s the one that keeps it all going.”
But for a few Saturdays during his tenure in New York, O’Quinn has taken on an entirely different one: bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah entertainer.
“The parties are crazy,” he said. “I did one, did two, and the next thing you know, I was just Bar Mitzvah Man.”
O’Quinn is one of the bigger comedians in the Knicks’ locker room, so it makes sense that he would thrive as the headline act at a party filled with 13-year-olds. The 6-foot-10 center spends most of his time at the parties socializing, dancing, joking around with families and — of course — taking plenty of selfies.
“A lot of times, I go and I stay longer than I’m supposed to because it’s so much fun,” O’Quinn said. “The food’s always good. The only thing that gets a little overwhelming is the kids; sometimes they don’t listen to the structure of the party and it just gets loose.
Read the full article by Ian Begley at ESPN.