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Eleazar Gonzales discusses the top ten players who wore the New York Knicks jersey
Not winning a championship in decades doesn't make one a bad team. After all, basketball isn't just about winning and losing. Basketball is also about the culture and impact of certain players.
The New York Knicks, despite one of the NBA's most storied franchises, haven't won the NBA title since 1973. And while they have enjoyed more playoff success as of late -- reaching the 2024 Eastern Conference Semifinals before losing to the Indiana Pacers, the Knicks have their share of great players who brought glory to New York basketball.
Let's take a look at who I have selected as the Knicks' top ten players of all time.
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Patrick Ewing
Patrick Ewing is synonymous with New York in the same manner that Michael Jordan is with Chicago.
His only flaw was he played at a time when Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls were at the top of their game and Ewing's Knicks couldn't get over the hump. He didn't even play in the 1999 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs -- the last time the Knicks reached the championship round.
Even though Ewing didn't win a ring, he certainly carried New York on his shoulders, and if you look at the franchise leaderboards, Ewing currently tops the Knicks in almost every statistic. He averaged 22.8 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.4 blocks, and 1.4 steals during his stint in New York.
Ewing is an 11-time All-Star and a one-time All-NBA First Team member. His jersey number 33 hangs in the rafters of Madison Square Garden.
This Day in Knicks History: Patrick Ewing was named the 1986 NBA Rookie of the Year.
🏀 20.0 PPG
🤲 9.0 RPG
🚫 2.1 BPG pic.twitter.com/9c7T3U3uG5— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) May 19, 2020
Walt Frazier
Even though he only spent a decade in New York, Walt Frazier has both the numbers and the accolades that earned him a spot in the Knicks' top players of all time.
And yes, Walt Frazier is a member of the last two Knicks champion teams.
Aside from leading the Knicks to two NBA championships in 1970 and 1973, Walt Frazier's resume includes seven All-Star selections, four All-NBA First Team selections, and seven All-Defensive First Team selections as a point guard.
He averaged 19.3 points, 6.3 assists, 5.9 rebounds, and two steals during his run in New York.
This Day in Knicks History: Walt Frazier's jersey was sent to the rafters.
No one like Clyde 🏆🏆 pic.twitter.com/uZE3VhPxwM
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) December 15, 2020
Willis Reed
The older generation would remember how the crowd inside the Madison Square Garden erupted when Wills Reed walked out of Game Seven of the 1970 NBA Finals between the Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers with a leg injury and the NBA championship.
That's an iconic moment in Knicks basketball history.
In that series against Jerry West and the rest of the Lakers, Reed averaged 23 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists.
In ten years with the Knicks, he won a season MVP and the Finals MVP awards in 1970, earned seven All-Star selections, five selections to the All-NBA Teams, and one selection to the All-Defensive Team. He was also the Rookie of the Year in 1965.
RIP Wills Reed! Passed Away At Age 80. One of the greatest Knicks/basketball players of all time! #newyorkknicks #knicks #newyorkforever #willisreed #ripwillisreed #NBATwitter #NBATwitterLive pic.twitter.com/UAo4eT742i
— Justin Paden (@JPFranchise57) March 21, 2023
Earl Monroe
Hailed as one of the best guards in league history, Earl Monroe was a member of the 1973 Knicks champion team alongside Frazier and Reed. He had two seasons with New York, where he was named an All-Star by averaging 19.9 points, 4.3 assists, and 1.2 steals.
He also revolutionized the "shake and bake," which became one of the most-used moves in basketball.
Earl Monroe was responsible for being the first of those flashy point guards. He also earned two All-Star selections with the Baltimore Bullets before forming a dynamic backcourt duo with Frazier.
The great Earl Monroe aka Black Jesus was traded from the Baltimore Bullets to the New York Knicks 49 years ago today.
Jake Shuttlesworth: "The Knicks put shackles on him & his whole game. They locked him up in a straitjacket." pic.twitter.com/8BOOL9ff1n
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) November 10, 2020
Dave DeBusschere
One of the few players to win two NBA championships with the Knicks, Dave DeBusschere played a total of 435 games in New York after starting his career with the Detroit Pistons.
With the Knicks, he was a five-time All-Star and five-time member of the All-Defensive Team. He averaged 16 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in a Knick uniform.
He also played for the Chicago White Sox in the MLB.
Team Chemistry is a Difference Maker.
Knicks great Dave DeBusschere said, "The best teams have chemistry. They communicate with each other, and they sacrifice personal glory for the common goal."
How do you develop Team Chemistry?
Here are the 5 C's of Team Chemistry
1.… pic.twitter.com/wi8YK7Pnt1
— Greg Berge (@gb1121) March 4, 2024
Carmelo Anthony
While he only suited up for the Knicks in 412 games, there are reasons why many people Carmelo Anthony deserves a spot on this list.
Melo averaged 24.7 points, seven rebounds, and 3.2 assists with the Knicks. He shot 36.9% from the three-point territory in a Knick jersey while winning the scoring title in 2013 when he averaged 28.7 points per game.
In his seven seasons with the Knicks, Anthony was a seven-time All-Star and earned two All-NBA selections.
It's safe to say Melo in a New York jersey was a different animal.
Carmelo Anthony's Knicks MSG Debut (2011)
27 PTS
10 REB
2 STL pic.twitter.com/MssJjA4xI9— ThrowbackHoops (@ThrowbackHoops) October 7, 2023
Bernard King
Bernard King may have been a Knick for only four seasons but those were some of the best of his career.
As a Knick, he took home the 1985 scoring title by averaging 32.9 points per game. He also earned two All-Star selections for New York.
Bernard King averaged 26.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.8 assists. He led the Hubie Brown-coached Knicks squad to two playoff appearances and won two playoff series.
In 1984, Bernard King took the NBA playoffs by storm when he dropped four 40-point games in the 1st round, thereby upsetting Isiah's Pistons.
Boston's Cedric Maxwell took notice, and prior to to the 2nd round matchup between the Celtics and Knicks, laid down the gauntlet:… pic.twitter.com/QbxbLGlFkz
— The NBA Realist (@nbarealist23) February 10, 2024
Bill Bradley
Bill Bradley was many things for the United States: a former senator, a former reservist in the US Air Force, and a New York Knicks legend.
Bradley, selected by the Knicks as a territorial pick in the 1965 NBA Draft, became one of the best Knicks under Coach Red Holzman. In a decade in the New York uniform, Bradley averaged 12.4 points, 3.4 assists, and 3.2 rebounds -- playing for 30 minutes per game.
Bradley was a member of the two Knicks champion teams, a one-time All-Star, and saw his jersey number 24 retired by New York.
🔶🔷
Happy Birthday to our hall of famer, two time champ and legend, Bill Bradley!!!#Legend #Knicks #NewYork #HallOfFamer #Champ #DollarBill #MadisonSquareGarden #OnceAKnickAlwaysAKnick #GoNyGoNyGo #NewYorkForever #KNG #AusDirwirdUns!#onefamily
🌎 pic.twitter.com/fEvsfr9pU0— Knicks Nation Germany (@knicksgermany) July 28, 2024
Allan Houston
Allan Houston played in New York from 1996 to 2005 -- a period people thought was tough for the Knicks and the NBA. Nevertheless, Houston made a name for himself in the nine years he played as a Knick.
In the 1998-1999 season, Houston averaged 17 points while helping carry New York to the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. In his lone NBA Finals trip, Houston averaged 21.6 points.
As a Knick, Allan Houston averaged 18.5 points and shot 39.9% from rainbow distance. His 921 threes made him rank second in the franchise's all-time leaderboard.
February 16, 2003: Allan Houston of the New York Knicks scores a career-high 53 PTS (18-29 FG/4-5 3P) in a 117-110 win over the Lakers in Los Angeles. pic.twitter.com/JYVq4Im6Xi
— NBA Cobwebs (@NBACobwebs) February 16, 2024
Charles Oakley
Many consider Charles Oakley as one of the greatest rebounders and defenders in the NBA.
For a decade in New York, Oakley was a walking double-double machine -- averaging 10.4 points and ten rebounds. He earned an All-Star selection and two nods to the All-Defensive Teams.
Oakley also played for four other NBA teams and briefly served as an assistant coach of the Charlotte Hornets.
May 6, 1994: Charles Oakley with a left-handed putback dunk in New York's 102-92 Game 4 win at New Jersey in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Oakley averaged 16.3 PTS/14.3 REB in 41 minutes over the four games of the Knicks' series against the Nets. pic.twitter.com/TQvrO7DWjt
— NBA Cobwebs (@NBACobwebs) May 6, 2024
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