Quentin Grimes understood why Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau pronounced Evan Fournier as the team’s likely starter at shooting guard at the start of training camp. But Grimes, the 2021 first-round draft pick, still hoped he would have enough time to change the coach’s mind.

So far, Grimes has been slowed throughout camp by a foot injury. He missed the first two preseason games, and he believes that likely has cost him any chance to win the starting job, at least when the regular season opens Oct. 19 at Memphis.

“I think I knew that coming in, because Evan, he earned it, really. It’s his 11th year. … Thibs said you have to come in and earn it,” Grimes said after participating fully in practice Monday in Tarrytown. “That’s what I kind of expected coming into training camp, but then I kind of got hurt, so it kind of derailed that.

“But I felt like [Fournier] earned it. He was the guy that had it coming in. And I had to prove myself. I didn’t get the opportunity to do that.”

The 22-year-old Grimes also made a point to note that Fournier “has been my guy since Day 1.” He added that Fournier and departed former All-Star Kemba Walker were “my vets” during his rookie campaign, providing advice on and off the court.

“It would’ve been a great competition because me and Evan, he’s a great competitor,” Grimes said. “I wanna go out there and compete. So, I feel it would’ve been really good to just battle for that spot, but he’s been helping me every day, for sure.”

The 6-foot-5 Grimes said he “hopefully” will play in at least one of the Knicks’ final two preseason games — Wednesday at Indiana and Friday against the Wizards at the Garden. He believes the foot soreness came from “probably just wear and tear from pounding it the whole summer.”

“I want to see where he is [Tuesday]. I’ll wait [for] the trainers. He’s followed a plan that they laid out, and it seems to be working pretty well,” Thibodeau said, adding that he believes that Grimes’ conditioning is not an issue. “No, no one’s close to putting in the amount of work that he puts in. He’s in phenomenal shape.”

Grimes, the 25th-overall pick in the 2021 draft out of Houston, averaged 6.0 points and 17.4 minutes while shooting 38.1 percent from 3-point range over 46 appearances as a rookie. Thibodeau consistently lauded Grimes’ perimeter defense, something the second-year player believes helped him earn the trust of the Knicks’ coaching staff.

“Thibs … gets on everybody. But yeah, I feel like once you kind of earned his trust and he believes in you, and you believe in the way that he’s preaching to us every day, I feel like that goes a long way with him in the long run,” Grimes said. “Just me coming in, he’s a defensive-minded head coach, and I take pride in defense, we can come together [on that].”

Grimes added that he didn’t pay much attention to rumors that had Donovan Mitchell and others coming to the Knicks over the summer. He was made aware, however, of reports that the Knicks tried to exclude him from any potential offers for Mitchell, a three-time All-Star. Mitchell ended up being dealt from the Jazz to the Cavaliers in early September.

“I’m big on loyalty, so I feel like it kind of showed how invested they were just seeing me every day, just working and working,” said Grimes, who worked out for a few weeks this summer with University of Memphis coach and former NBA All-Star Penny Hardaway. “Even when my name was in the trade rumors last year at the trade deadline, they called me and were like, ‘Thibs love you, blah, blah, blah. We love your work ethic.’

“So just having that trust and that belief in you goes a long way with your confidence, when you go out there on the court and know they believe in you and they’re putting everything into you and they’re not worried about maybe just somebody coming in for an instant, instant success. … I feel like that goes a long way with how I see things in the future with the Knicks and everybody, really.”