Ntilikina made 57 appearances, with 26 starts, during the 2019-20 season with the Knicks, his third season in the Association. The guard averaged per-game career highs in points (6.3) and steals (0.9). His also posted 3.0 assists, 2.1 rebounds and 0.3 blocks per contest. Ntilikina shot a career-high 39.3 percent from the field, a career-high 32.1 percent from three and a career-high 86.4 percent from the charity stripe. He set new single-game career highs in points (20) and blocks (three). His other single-game season highs were 10 assists, seven rebounds, six steals and four three-pointers. The 21-year-old had his best month of the season in November, when he started all 14 games and averaged 8.1 points, 4.2 assists and 1.9 steals over 31 minutes per game. On Mar. 10, Ntilikina posted a double-double on the road versus the Wizards. In the loss to Washington, he delivered 20 points (6-9 FG, 3-5 3Pt, 5-6 FT), 10 assists, two rebounds and two steals. Ntilikina posted 11 games with double-digit points, five games with at least five rebounds and 11 games with at least five assists. He also recorded at least three steals in six games and at least one block in nine games.

Nitilikina appeared in 46 games during the 2018-19 season, his second year in the Association. Of those 46 appearances, he started 16 games and averaged 21.0 minutes per game splitting his playing time between three positions: point guard, shooting guard and small forward. On Oct. 26, Ntilikina posted 17 points, two assists, one rebound and one steal during a home loss to the Warriors. On Dec. 9, the young guard scored a career-high 18 points during a home loss to the Hornets. Twice Ntilikina dished a season-high seven assists, including a seven-point, seven assists start on Nov. 7 in a win at Dallas. Ntilikina was considered New York's best defensive wing and often was assigned to guard the opponent's top scorer. Over the season, the former first-round pick averaged 5.7 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Ntilikina cut his turnovers down from 1.7 per game as a rookie to 1.3 this season, while chipping in 0.7 steals and 0.3 blocks per game defensively. Ntilikina missed games due to ankle and groin injuries, the latter forced the young guard to miss 32 games at the end of the season.

Just 18 years of age when he was selected eighth overall in the 2017 NBA draft by the Knicks, Ntilikina was viewed as a project offensively with a league-ready defensive skill set. Having previously played limited minutes for SIG Strasbourg in Europe, the Frenchman found himself in an improved role in New York, averaging 22 minutes per game as a rookie. The Frenchman became the youngest Knick ever to appear in an NBA game when he debuted on Oct. 19 at OKC at 19 years, 83 days old. Ntilikina finished with averages of 5.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists while dressing for 78 games and starting nine. His 3.2 dimes per contest ranked ninth among NBA rookies. He also chipped in 0.8 steals and 0.2 blocks per game on the defensive end. Ntilikina performed well as an on-ball defender.The Knicks used Ntilikina as both a point guard and off-ball swing man, with the highlight of his season coming in a Jan. 15 win over the Nets. Ntilikina recorded his first career double-double in that game, with 10 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. He was the second-youngest active player in the league behind Ike Anigbogu and was selected to participate in the Rising Stars Challenge as a representative for Team World.