We’re through seven games in the Knicks’ title defense campaign and it’s certainly been a grind for the team. They won on Monday, but they’re still a game under .500 at 3-4.

Andre Drummond was signed in the offseason to replace Mitchell Robinson as the team’s backup center and there’s definitely been moments of good and bad. The good news is that my plea for him to stop shooting threes has come to fruition this season.

With that said, we ranked his seven games played this season from best to worst to see how much his performances have varied thus far.

1. Oct. 27 vs. Pistons

Against his former team, Andre Drummond put together a solid performance off the Knicks’ bench to help the Knicks win their first game vs. the Pistons since the 2025 postseason. He had 10 points (5-of-7 shooting) with eight rebounds in the game.

In a game that became the Knicks’ first win of the season after losing the first three games of the season, Drummond’s +16 was only beaten by Josh Hart’s +19 for the game.

The Knicks had a 105.9 offensive rating, 109.0 defensive rating, and -3.1 net rating in the 33:46 that Drummond wasn’t on the floor. In the 14:14 he played in the win, the Knicks had a 139.3 ORTG (67.2% TS%), 82.8 DRTG (38.1 TS% against), and +56.5 NETRTG. That’s why he was singled out as one of the team’s big winners from that game.

2. Oct. 20 vs. 76ers

With Karl-Anthony Towns in immediate foul trouble to start the season, Drummond made an immediate impact in his Knicks’ debut on Opening Night. He helped the Knicks go into halftime with a four-point lead, playing 17:24 of the 24 possible first-half minutes.

He had 10 points and 12 rebounds—a first-half double-double performance—and the Knicks won his minutes by seven points. They lost KAT’s minutes by three points in that half.

However, Drummond couldn’t put together a full game of greatness and was 1-of-5 from the field in the second half, seeing the Knicks get outscored by 13 points. It wasn’t totally his fault, as he kept them afloat in the first half, but it’s probably not great that his second-best performance of the season is one where there were clear negatives.

3. Nov. 2 vs. Nets

In the Knicks’ most recent win, the Knicks’ defense was superb with Drummond on the floor, sporting a 100.0 DRTG in his minutes. However, there were definitely some moments in the game that made you cringe—like when he airballed a floater near the rim.

Andre Drummond had Walt Frazier in pure disbelief 😭😭😭 https://t.co/FcRX7BZlkn pic.twitter.com/glED7gtoqY

— Gio (@jsmove7) November 3, 2026

There are two reasons why this game qualifies as a top three game of the Andre Drummond Era.

For starters, they won his minutes by three points! Secondly, after KAT went to the bench to get some rest after the Knicks started the fourth quarter on a 20-to-5 run, Drummond came in and carried the torch at center. The Knicks didn’t allow a single point in the 2:53 that he was on the floor in the fourth quarter. Foot stayed on the gas, that’s all that matters.

4. Oct. 28 at Bulls

Drummond got the chance to get major run in the third quarter for the Knicks during their comeback win over the Bulls on October 28. He played seven minutes in that quarter and that’s when the Knicks’ offense really found itself. They scored 19 points on 14 offensive possessions (135.7 ORTG) and won those minutes by four.

Overall for the game, the Knicks’ defense once again performed well with Drummond on the floor, sporting a 103.1 DRTG in the 15:08 he played, compared to a 132.4 DRTG in the 32:52 that he sat. He managed to bring down 11 rebounds, but he missed four of his six shots from the field on the night, committed two fouls and a turnover, and it didn’t feel like smooth sailing at all times with him.

5. Oct. 25 vs. Magic

The Knicks’ third consecutive loss of the season featured Andre Drummond’s second consecutive benching. He played 7:09 in the first half, but he was immediately hooked in the second quarter when Wendell Carter Jr. beat him down the floor for a bucket.

It’s not like it was an overall bad game from Drummond. The Knicks’ offense wasn’t doing much of anything anyway for the game after the first few minutes of the game—but when you get benched in back-to-back games, you stick out like a sore thumb. That allowed the backup center problem to become an issue again.

6. Oct. 30 at 76ers

The Knicks’ offense performed well in Drummond’s 12:05 on the floor in their second of two defeats to the Sixers to open the season, posting a 123.8 ORTG, but they still lost those minutes (barely; by one point). This game is all the way near the bottom because the defense that Drummond was providing in the first half of this game was atrocious.

Not much more really to it... just as one good half can carry a lot of weight, so can a bad one.

7. Oct. 23 at Celtics

The Knicks’ second game of the season was easily Drummond’s worst of the season, when it looked like he didn’t belong on the floor against the Celtics. It was the first of two times where Mike Brown decided to bench Drumond in favor of James Wiseman.

On the night, Drummond played just seven minutes, committed three fouls, and the Knicks lost his minutes by eight points. Keep in mind: They lost the game by four points.

With Drummond off the floor in the game (40:55), the Knicks had a 118.2 ORTG and +6.6 NETRTG. With him on the floor (7:06), they had an 80.0 ORTG and -62.9 NETRTG.