New York Knicks center Jericho Sims may be fighting for his NBA life in the upcoming season.

Sims, who turns 26 next month, is entering the final year of his deal before he becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer.

When Sims was drafted with the No. 58 overall pick by the Knicks in the 2021 NBA Draft out of Texas, he was viewed as a developmental project. Now, it’s time for the project to stop developing and start performing.

The Knicks are in dire need of some production from the center position after Isaiah Hartenstein left in free agency for the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Knicks didn’t sign a replacement that wasn’t on the roster last season, believing the in-house centers can fill in the gaps.

Mitchell Robinson will be the primary contributor that needs to step up, but injuries limited him to just 90 games in the past two seasons. If that trend continues, Sims will be called upon at times to step in and contribute in a big way.

Sims has made 138 appearances for the Knicks in his first three NBA seasons and he has made 32 starts, including 11 last season. He’s only averaged 2.6 points per game throughout his career, but that will have to change if he wants to stay with the Knicks and the NBA beyond the 2024-25 season.

Perhaps Sims has been a victim of a lack of opportunity in New York. He’s only been called upon in relief, but he saw what Hartenstein was able to do last season when Robinson went down. Sims doesn’t have to perform on that same level, but he needs to be able to gain trust with coach Tom Thibodeau in order to stay out there for longer periods of time.

If Sims can earn Thibodeau’s trust and fill in the void that the center position needs, he could be due for an extension from the Knicks in the summer.

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