The New York Knicks found themselves needing to replace a key member of last season’s championship team after Mitchell Robinson left for the Boston Celtics via free agency. To address their backup center position, the Knicks turned to a veteran in Andre Drummond. And if opening night was any indication, the veteran big man is going to be a major boost for the team.

In his official Knicks’ debut, Andre Drummond was filling up the stat sheet by halftime, already with a double-double in hand of 10 points and 12 rebounds. He also had three assists and two blocked shots as the Knicks held a slim lead over the 76ers at the half.

The No. 9 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons, Drummond is now in his 15th season in the NBA, and first with the Knicks. He had played four preseason games with the Knicks at a little over 14 minutes per game, and was rather solid.

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He averaged 8.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.8 blocked shots while shooting 55 percent from the field. Last season, Drummond appeared in 63 games for the 76ers, including 25 starts, at a little over 19 minutes per game. He averaged 6.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists with splits of 47.2 percent shooting from the field, 35.6 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 63.1 percent shooting from the free-throw line.

One of the biggest eye-openers regarding the former UConn standout’s game is his 3-point shooting. Prior to last season, he had taken a total of 186 3-point attempts in 13 years with only 23 makes. Last year alone, he took 90 attempts and connected on 32 of them.