Donte DiVincenzo spent only one season with the Knicks, but to him, it felt like multiple.
That’s how memorable he found the 2023-24 campaign in which he played alongside college teammates Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart; set the Knicks’ single-season record for 3-pointers; and delivered a pair of postseason game-winners that live on in franchise lore.
“It was one year, but it was a really good year, and they became family,” DiVincenzo, now of the Minnesota Timberwolves, told the Daily News on Monday night at Barclays Center.
When DiVincenzo takes the floor for Wednesday night’s meeting between the Wolves and Knicks at Madison Square Garden, it will mark his first regular-season game there since the October 2023 trade that sent him and Julius Randle to Minnesota for Karl-Anthony Towns.
DiVincenzo, 28, missed Minnesota’s lone regular-season game at the Garden last season with a sprained toe, and although he was in attendance that night, he was disappointed not to play in it.
He has appeared in a pair of preseason games at MSG with the Wolves, including one less than two weeks after the trade, at which the Knicks honored him and Randle with a video tribute.
But Wednesday’s game is the first that counts in the standings.
“I always go back to the fans,” DiVincenzo said. “There’s that love and respect and appreciation for, I guess, the way I played the game and the interaction I’ve had with them. That’s what I cherish: Coming back to the city and getting love and interacting with all the fans. That’s kind of what I get out of it.
“Business is business at the end of the day, but the fans are always going to have a special part in my heart.”
DiVincenzo signed a four-year, $50 million contract with the Knicks before the 2023-24 season, reuniting him with Brunson and Hart. That trio won a national championship together with Villanova in 2016, and DiVincenzo and Brunson led the Wildcats to another two years later.
DiVincenzo quickly ingratiated himself to the Garden faithful with his toughness and sharp-shooting as Knicks fans embraced the “Nova Knicks.”
His 283 3-pointers that season shattered Evan Fournier’s previous franchise record by 42.
And despite a rash of injuries, the Knicks made it to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, thanks in large part to DiVincenzo’s go-ahead 3-pointers in Game 2 of the first round against the Philadelphia 76ers and in Game 1 of the semis against the Indiana Pacers.
In what proved to be his final game with the Knicks, DiVincenzo scored 39 points and made nine 3-pointers in their Game 7 loss to Indiana.
Less than two months later, the Knicks acquired Mikal Bridges in a blockbuster trade with the Nets, adding yet another member of the 2016 and 2018 Villanova title teams to their roster.
But the Knicks traded DiVincenzo and Randle less than three weeks before the start of the 2024-25 regular season, paying a hefty price to acquire a perennial All-Star in Towns and fill their void at center.
“Me and Julius are in a great situation here,” DiVincenzo said. “We have a great team. We have a great core, and we’re trying to win a championship. And they have a great player and person in KAT, and they’re trying to win a championship as well.
“It makes it easier when you’re in different conferences. You’re only playing each other twice. There’s a lot of respect. It’s over, and I think all of us have put that away.”
Towns and the Knicks advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals last postseason, while DiVincenzo and the Timberwolves made it to the Western Conference Finals.
DiVincenzo’s demeanor has been similarly well-received with the Timberwolves, for whom he is playing point guard this season. His grittiness was on full display in Monday’s 125-109 win over the Nets, as he scored 25 points with a face mask covering his broken nose.
“Donte’s one of those guys where I don’t think you ever, ever challenge his toughness. He’s tough all the way around. He’s feisty,” Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch said.
“He’s really tough to screen. He has a knack for getting into the ball, staying connected, and he’s just, like, a 50/50 guy. He gets all the 50/50 balls.”
DiVincenzo remains in touch with former staffers and teammates with the Knicks. That includes Brunson, whose wedding DiVincenzo served as a groomsman in.
And while DiVincenzo says he won’t be playing Wednesday’s game with a chip on his shoulder, he does always enjoy facing one of his former teams.
“I’m looking forward to guarding everybody,” DiVincenzo said. “I love playing against Deuce [McBride], OG [Anunoby]. It’s always fun to compete against your former teammates, but also your friends.”
