Evan Fournier returned to MSG still a Knicks 3-point record holder but bracing for Donte DiVincenzo to eclipse the mark.
“To be honest, it’s going to be beaten,” Fournier said. “During that season, I understood that I could break the record like late in the season. So Donte is a heck of a shooter. I’m pretty confident he will break it, for sure.”
Fournier’s disappointing stint in New York was highlighted by a 3-point accumulation in 2021-22 that became the franchise’s single-season record with 241 treys.
However, DiVincenzo is on pace to top that mark with 172 heading into Monday’s matchup against the Pistons. If he doesn’t miss another game, DiVincenzo’s average of 3.1 made 3s will give him 248 for the season.
DiVincenzo entered Monday shooting 41.5 percent from beyond the arc, better than Fournier’s 38.9 percent clip while setting the record. Julius Randle’s 218 treys last season ranks second in Knicks history, one above John Starks’ mark from 1994-95.
The record was one of two positive Knicks moments Fournier cited Monday before his return game with the Pistons.
The other was dropping 32 points in his debut against the Celtics, a dramatic double-overtime victory that prompted raucous celebrations outside of MSG.
But Fournier’s stint was mostly downhill after that. Benched during his second and third seasons with the Knicks because Tom Thibodeau wanted better defense, the Frenchman wasn’t shy about his desire for a relocation to salvage the prime of his career.
“I’m 31,” he said Monday. “Not 40.”
Fournier said he found out about the deal with the Pistons while inside the steam room at the Knicks practice facility, when Josh Hart came rushing in with the news.
On paper, the Pistons are an ill-fit for a veteran with the worst record in the NBA and a roster full of players in their early 20s. But Fournier has been getting playing time — certainly more than he did with the Knicks — entering Monday with averages of 21.5 minutes and 11.5 points through four appearances.
Despite some contentious feelings about his circumstances while he was still with the Knicks, Fournier said there wasn’t extra motivation for Monday’s matchup.
“I want to play well, obviously. At this point in my career, I truly don’t care,” he said. “Just play well. Feel like I’m being myself again. Help these young guys and grow.”
And it wasn’t all bad in New York. He enjoyed the living, including the commute to MSG on a scooter, and setting a record.
“Obviously it was one of the hardest times of my career. But, as a person, it was probably my best moments,” Fournier said. “My second son was born here. We always wanted to live in New York, my wife and I. We did. We had the time of our lives in the city.”