Jalen Brunson’s Knicks Teammate Takes Unpaid Job After Signing $24 Million Contract

Back in 2024, Landry Shamet spent the opening week of the US Open working a job unrelated to basketball. He shot photos for the USTA as an unpaid volunteer just months after signing with the Knicks. He impressed enough that summer to get invited back for the tournament's final weekend the following year. Now, months after winning an NBA championship and signing a fresh multi-year contract, he's back at Arthur Ashe Stadium for a third straight year, still not collecting a paycheck.

Shamet was spotted in the photo pit during Tuesday's quarterfinal match between Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro. He continued his unpaid photography role with the USTA just months after helping the Knicks win the 2026 NBA Finals and signing a four-year, $24 million contract to stay in New York.

Shamet has been consistent about why he keeps coming back. "I think since I picked the camera up I don't really foresee a day where I put it down," he said.

"My friend was like, 'You should get a camera,'" Shamet recalled. "I said, 'No one uses cameras anymore — you've got your phone.' But once I bought one, I couldn't put it down."

USTA photographer Jen Pottheiser, who's worked alongside him, praised the quality of his eye. "His action shots are tremendous," Pottheiser said. "He's curious, he asks great questions, and he's a real teammate. He's taken this seriously."

Shamet appeared in 50 games for the Knicks during the 2024-25 season. He averaged 5.7 points on 46% shooting from the field and 40% from three, before playing a role in New York's run to the 2026 championship, the franchise's first title in 53 years.

Shamet isn't the first professional athlete to make this kind of pivot into sports photography during or after their career. He's been compared to Baseball Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr. and Randy Johnson, along with NFL star Marshawn Lynch, all of whom similarly developed real credibility behind the camera at major sporting events after building reputations as elite athletes first.

He said the experience has also deepened his own appreciation for tennis as a sport. He noted that on his first trip to the Open years ago, he only recognized the biggest names like Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, whereas now he's built real familiarity with the players and the tour through his access in the photo pit.

Shamet noted that walking around the grounds has gotten harder since New York's deep playoff run brought him a level of local recognition he didn't have during his first Open appearance.

Still, that hasn't stopped him from returning for a third straight year.