New York City loves the Yankees and the Mets. The Jets and the Giants are also beloved despite playing their home games in the New Jersey swamp. But at its heart, New York is a basketball town. The city just feels different when the Knicks are contending. That hasn’t been the case recently.
Over the last quarter century, Knicks fans have endured the Scott Layden era, the Isiah Thomas era, and the Phil Jackson era. They have seen disastrous free agent signings (Jerome James, Joakim Noah, Amar’e Stoudemire), lopsided trades (Eddy Curry, Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis), misguided extensions (Allan Houston, Curry, again), and draft busts (Kevin Knox, Frank Ntilikina, Jordan Hill, and many more). But times have changed.
On March 2, 2020, about two weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the world, controversial Knicks owner James Dolan made his best decision since taking over the team in the late 1990s: He hired Leon Rose, then-CAA Sports co-head, to run basketball operations. Since then, Rose has made one shrewd move after another and the Knicks are in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.
WIth the Knicks on the verge of their first NBA Championship since the Nixon administration, it’s time to celebrate the best and most beloved players in franchise history.
These are the 25 Best Knicks of All Time.
Jeremy Lin
Season(s): 2011-12
Finals Appearances: 0
Championships: 0
Accolades: —
The Knicks’ 2011-12 season was going nowhere—the team had won seven of 22 games to start the lockout-shortened campaign—when embattled head coach Mike D’Antoni inserted an undrafted walk-on from Harvard named Jeremy Lin into the rotation. Immediately, the backup point guard provided a spark. Lin dropped 25 points in the Knicks win over the Nets on February 4. Two nights later, he scored 28 points on 10–17 shooting in another Knicks win. And with that, Linsanity was born.
Though it lasted less than two months, Linsanity transcended hoops. Lin brought joy to long-suffering Knicks fans, electrified Madison Square Garden and the city, and became an inspiration to a legion of young Asian-American hoops fans. The movement peaked on February 10 when Lin outdueled Kobe Bryant and scored 38 points in the Knicks’ fourth straight win. It would prove to be short-lived, however. Lin departed for the Rockets that summer as a free agent and would never match his 2012 run, though he did win an NBA championship as a member of the Toronto Raptors in 2019.—Thomas Golianopoulos
J.R. Smith
Seasons: 2011–2015
Finals Appearances: 0
Championships: 0
Accolades: 2013 6th Man of the Year
JR Smith was already a seven-year vet when he shimmied his way to the Knicks, after stints with the New Orleans Hornets, Denver Nuggets, and unexpectedly the Zhejiang Golden Bulls in China. He was an unbelievable bucket getter, especially in that 2012–13 season where he was a third option masquerading as a second one. Those first two years with the Knicks really encapsulates the ups (back-to-back game winners while Melo was sitting, taking home the 6th Man of the Year award) and the downs (tweeting a pic of Tahiry's butt, the "you trying to get the pipe" DM) of the JR Smith experience. —Dimas Sanfiorenzo
Stephon Marbury
Seasons: 2003–2008
Finals Appearances: 0
Championships: 0
Accolades: —
There was palpable excitement in the city when the Suns essentially gave Marbury, who had just been named Third Team All-NBA, to the Knicks in an attempt to clear cap room for Kobe Bryant that summer. (Phoenix settled on Steve Nash—not too shabby.) Marbury at times was a good Knick, with a sprinkle of great moments (including a heroic, if ultimately futile, playoff series against the New Jersey Nets). But the four years and solid numbers never translated into playoff success. His tenure is best remembered for feuding with his coaches (Larry Brown and Isiah Thomas, who had brought him in as GM) and unprofessionalism—most notably having sex with a team intern in his truck—than for anything he accomplished with his hometown team. —DS
Bill Cartwright
Seasons: 1979–1988
Finals Appearances: 0
Championships: 0
Accolades: 1x All-Star
Cartwright is best known for his stint with the Michael Jordan Bulls, but the 7-foot-1 California native spent his first nine seasons in the NBA with the Knicks. The only All-Star game he made in his entire 16-year career came in his first NBA season, with the Knicks in 1979-80. Cartwright averaged a career-high 21.7 points and 8.9 rebounds that season. But he became expendable after the Knicks drafted Patrick Ewing in 1985 and he was traded to the Bulls for Charles Oakley in 1988. Cartwright and Ewing would then go head-to-head in those early 1990s Bulls-Knicks playoff series.—Matt Burke
Anthony Mason
Seasons: 1991-96
Finals Appearances: 0
Championships: 0
Accolades: 1995 6th Man of the Year
A 6-foot 8-inch 250 lb. bruiser from Queens, Anthony Mason’s toughness, defense, and tenacity helped define the Pat Riley Knicks of the early 1990s. Mason was well-travelled—he’d done stints in the Turkish League, the CBA, and the New Jersey Nets—by the time he arrived in NYC in the fall of 91. But he quickly became a fan favorite for his energy off the bench and also for the designs buzzed into his hair. Riley’s departure in the summer of ‘95 sparked the beginning of the end of Mason’s run in New York. New head coach Don Nelson envisioned running the Knicks offense through Mason as point forward, much to the chagrin of Patrick Ewing. The Knicks struggled and Nelson was fired with 23 games left in the season. A few months later, Mason would be traded to Charlotte for Larry Johnson.—TG
Mark Jackson
Seasons: 1987–1992, 2001–2002
Finals Appearances: 0
Championships: 0
Accolades: 1x All-Star; 1988 Rookie of the Year
Who is more “New York” than Mark Jackson? “Action” Jackson was born in Queens and played high school ball at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Brooklyn. He then went on to play point guard at St. John’s before being drafted in the first round (18th overall) in 1987 by the Knicks. Jackson was a throwback—a pass-first floor general who prioritized getting his teammates involved over his own scoring. But the Knicks sought out better perimeter shooting and more frontcourt depth and traded Jackson to the Los Angeles Clippers for Charles Smith and Doc Rivers. Jackson returned to play for the Knicks in one of his final seasons as an NBA player (2001-02).—MB
Michael Ray Richardson
Seasons: 1978–82
Finals Appearances: 0
Championships: 0
Accolades: 3x All-Star
The 4th overall pick of the 1978 NBA Draft (two slots ahead of Larry Bird!) became a sensation during his sophomore campaign in the NBA when he led the league in assists and steals. Richardson was ahead of his time. Nicknamed Sugar, he was a big, athletic point guard who excelled on the break but could also get a bucket when needed. Richardson was also an elite defender. But the Knicks tired of his inconsistent play and constant efforts to renegotiate his contract. After just four seasons in Blue and Orange, he was traded to the Golden State Warriors for Bernard King. Richardson’s off-court troubles soon got the best of him; NBA Commissioner David Stern banned Richardson from the NBA in February 1986 after Richardson’s third positive test for cocaine.—TG
Carl Braun
Seasons: 1947–1950; 1952–1961
Finals Appearances: 1
Championships: 0
Accolades: 5x All-Star
It's only right that the first great New York Knick was a homegrown product. Carl Braun grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn, attended Colgate University, and joined the Knicks in only the NBA's second season. He showed he could hoop out the gate, dropping 47 points in a game—a record at the time!—in his rookie year. He would lead the Knicks in scoring for his first seven seasons. Braun was also known for a free throw form dubbed the "flamingo", where he'd lift his right knee and toss the ball one-handed, a technique so batshit it makes Rick Barry's “Granny Shot” look sexy. —DS
Latrell Sprewell
Seasons: 1998–2003
Finals Appearances: 1
Championships: 0
Accolades: 1x All-Star
The Knicks have a mixed record when it comes to reclamation projects. But easily their most successful one was when they traded maybe the most popular Knick in the city, John Starks, for a talented but volatile shooting guard who not only had to adapt to becoming an undersized small forward, but who also carried the baggage of just choking out his coach.
Within a span of several months, he became the heart of the Knicks—one of the driving forces behind that '99 playoff run where they went to the NBA Finals as an eighth seed. The New York "8" jersey would become ubiquitous in the city, and while the '99 team were underdogs, the 2000 team—led by the tandem of Sprewell and Allan Houston alongside a washed Patrick Ewing—had championship ambitions, before being cut down by the hated Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. —DS
Julius Randle
Seasons: 2019–2024
Finals Appearances: 0
Championships: 0
Accolades: 3x All-Star, 2021 Most Improved Player
For all their suffering, Knicks fans could have short memories: case in point, Julius Randle. Ask any current Knicks fan about him and you'll mostly hear about frowns and playoff disappointments (and there were plenty of both). But Randle sparked the current Knicks renaissance. When the Knicks signed Randle as a free agent, the team was coming off a new franchise nadir, a 17-win season where Tim Hardaway Jr. was the leading scorer. Randle was a highlight of the bubble season but the Knicks were still the Knicks. It wasn't until 2020-21, the first season under Coach Thibs and featuring exciting prospect RJ Barrett and vet Derrick Rose, that things clicked; Randle dragged the Knicks to the playoffs, with career highs in points, assists, and rebounds, before flaming out against the Atlanta Hawks and Trae Young. —DS
John Starks
Seasons: 1990–1998
Finals Appearances: 1
Championships: 0
Accolades: 1x All Star, 1997 6th Man of the Year
Back in the '90s, when New York was actually a working-class city, no NBA player embodied that ethos like John Starks, who somehow found himself as an undersized starting guard for one of the NBA's marquee franchises despite going undrafted out of a community college.
For most of the decade, Starks was Ewing’s No. 2 option, which meant they were always going to come up short against a powerhouse Bulls team. But his streakiness, athleticism and toughness gave Knicks fans some of their best moments. His confidence also gave them their most devastating loss—he went 2-18 in Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Houston Rockets. —DS
Bill Bradley
Seasons: 1967-1977
Finals Appearances: 3
Championships: 2
Accolades: 1x All-Star
Bill Bradley made his first big impression on the basketball world as the star player at Princeton in 1965 when he won NCAA Most Outstanding Player for that year’s Final Four. The kid from Crystal City, Missouri had no trouble adjusting to the NBA as he helped power the Knicks to the NBA title in just his third season in the league (1970). Dollar Bill was an even bigger part of the Knicks championship team in 1973, as he made his lone NBA All-Star appearance that season, averaging 16.1 ppg and 4.5 assists. Bradley would famously go on to become a United States senator from New Jersey from 1979 to 1997 and run for president in 2000. —MB
Charles Oakley
Seasons: 1988–1998
Finals Appearances: 1
Championships: 0
Accolades: 1x All-Star
New York appreciates toughness from its athletes, and no player in the history of the NBA was tougher than “Oak.” Whether it was against the rival Bulls, Pacers, or Heat, Oakley was at the center of every scuffle. He was MSG’s king of extracurricular activity in the ’90s. Oakley averaged a double-double (11.8 ppg, 11.8 rpg) in his lone NBA All-Star season of 1993-94. He also made NBA All-Defensive First Team in 1994, and NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 1998. —MB
Harry Gallatin
Seasons: 1948–1957
Finals Appearances: 3
Championships: 0
Accolades: 7x All-Star
Last month Mikal Bridges extended his consecutive games played streak to 638 when he suited up for a measly 23 seconds against the Atlanta Hawks. It was a cheap move to inflate a streak—one that the original Knick “Ironman,” Harry Gallatin, would have laughed at. Gallatin, who died in 2015 at the age of 88, played 610 consecutive games as a Knick during a time when chartered planes couldn't even be imagined. In the process he was a rebound machine; to this day he sits No. 4 on the franchise's all-time rebound list. —DS
Allan Houston
Seasons: 1996–2005
Finals Appearances: 1
Championships: 0
Accolades: 2x All-Star
The Knicks entered the summer of 1995 with cap space and dreams of pairing Patrick Ewing with one of the many, many free agents on the market such as Shaquille O’Neal, Gary Payton, Alonzo Mourning, Reggie Miller, Steve Smith, Juwan Howard, Tim Hardaway, and Michael Jordan. (Seriously, over a third of the league were without a contract.) But they ended up with Chris Childs and Allan Houston, a sweet-shooting two-guard by way of the Detroit Pistons. At first, Houston struggled to find his rhythm in the Knicks offense. But he came into his own once Ewing regressed from age and injuries and he went on to lead the Knicks to the 1999 Finals while notching back-to-back selections to the All-Star Team. Houston retired young due to chronic knee injuries but ended his career fourth all-time in points scored in franchise history. Not bad for a consolation prize.—TG
Dick Barnett
Seasons: 1965–1973
Finals Appearances: 3
Championships: 2
Accolades: 1x All-Star
Barnett made his lone NBA All-Star appearance in 1968 as he averaged 18.0 points per game. The Gary, Indiana native was a member of both Knicks championship teams. He averaged 14.9 ppg in the 1970 title season, but served more of a leadership role during the 1973 championship season. Barnett will always be remembered for his unique shooting style, dubbed the “fall back baby” jumper. He was a lefty, and when he would shoot he would kick his legs back and jump as high as possible. When he shot his J, he would often taunt his opponent and shout out, “Too late, fall back, baby.” Barnett was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024, and passed away in April of 2025.—MB
Earl Monroe
Seasons: 1971–1980
Finals Appearances: 2
|Championships: 1
Accolades: 2x All-Star
Whatever you called him—"Earl the Pearl," "Black Jesus," or "Black Magic"—if you saw Earl Monroe hoop, you were watching one of the purest bucket getters. (Lionel Hollins famously said guarding Monroe was like "guarding a Black ghost.") By the time he landed with the Knicks in 1971, he was a six-year vet who smartly sacrificed numbers and minutes for the greater good of what would become an NBA champion. And he still got his championship moment. In Game 5 of the 1973 NBA Finals, he scored a team-high 23 points to clinch the series over the Los Angeles Lakers and bring another title back to New York. —DS
Bernard King
Seasons: 1982–1985, 1986–87
Finals Appearances: 0
Championships: 0
Accolades: 2x All-Star; 1985 Scoring Champ
Bernard King arrived in New York prior to the 1982-83 season with a lot to prove. A recovering alcoholic and drug addict, King had resurrected his career in Golden State. But he was now returning home to where the Brooklyn native first honed his game. Over the next three seasons, King would be the most dominant scorer in the NBA, averaging 26.6 points per game on 54 percent shooting. Opposing defenses were helpless against his devastating post moves and midrange jumper. He dropped 60 on Christmas Day and finished second to Larry Bird in the 1984 MVP voting.
Everything changed on March 23, 1985 when he suffered a torn ACL, torn meniscus, and fractured his femur during a game against the Kansas City Kings. Though his Knicks career was essentially over—he missed all of the 1985–86 season and played just six games the following season before leaving in free agency—his legacy was settled and he remains a beloved presence at MSG.—TG
Richie Guerin
Seasons: 1956-1963
Finals Appearances: 0
Championships: 0
Accolades: 6x All-Star
Richie Guerin was one of the Knicks’ first star players as he made six straight NBA All-Star teams. A tremendous scorer and playmaker, Guerin was a do-it-all guard for the Knicks. His top season in New York came in 1961-62 when he scored 29.5 points per game, 6.9 assists per game, and 6.4 rebounds per game. He finished seventh in MVP voting that season. The Bronx native is still kickin’ at 93-years-old. —MB
Dave DeBusschere
Seasons: 1968–1974
Finals Appearances: 3
Championships: 2
Accolades: 5x All-Star
Every championship team has a “glue guy” that makes all the pieces of the puzzle fit. DeBusschere was that heart-and-soul piece for the two Knicks title teams in the 1970s as he made his name as a shutdown defender. DeBusschere averaged a double-double for his career as he scored 16.1 points and pulled down 11.0 rebounds per game. Later as a Knicks executive, DeBusschere was present for one of the most notable moments in franchise history. He represented the team at the first-ever NBA Draft Lottery in 1985, where the Knicks won the rights to draft Patrick Ewing—kicking off another unforgettable era of basketball in Manhattan.—MB
Carmelo Anthony
Seasons: 2011-2017
Finals Appearances: 0
Championships: 0
Accolades: 6x All-Star, 2013 Scoring Champ
It's sad to think that one of the most talented Knicks of all time won only one playoff series. Yet that is the story of Carmelo Anthony. During his six-plus seasons with the franchise, the most gifted pure scorer in Knicks history was cursed with feeble management, a thin supporting cast, and an insurmountable rival; LeBron’s Heatles were snuffing out any Carmelo-led Big Three in a best-of-seven.
Still, Melo gets props for bringing a superstar aura back to the Garden. And he had great moments—like that magical 2012-13 season when he dragged the Knicks to a two seed and the Garden crowd chanted “M-V-P” each time he stepped to the free throw line. Where were you when he dropped 62 at the Mecca? —DS
Jalen Brunson
Seasons: 2022–Present
Finals Appearances: 1
Championships: 0
Accolades: 3x All-Star; 2025 Clutch Player of the Year
Does June 30, 2022 ring a bell, Knicks fans? It’s only one of the most important dates in franchise history. On that day, the team agreed to terms with free agent Jalen Brunson. At the time, many, many hoops pundits criticized the Knicks for “overpaying” for Brunson, the undersized point guard who had averaged 16.3 points and 4.8 assists in his final season with the Dallas Mavericks. Turns out, it was the ultimate bargain. The Knicks have improved their win total in every season since Brunson arrived on the scene. Brunson is the Knicks’ unquestioned leader, an All-NBA level talent, and the engine of the first Knicks team to make the NBA Finals since 1999.—MB
Walt Frazier
Seasons: 1967–1977
Finals Appearances: 3
Championships: 2
Accolades: 7x All-Star
Most modern day Knick fans know Walt Frazier for two things: his clothes and the whimsical language he uses during broadcasts. It's wildly disrespectful. There is a strong argument that Clyde is the GOAT Knick—the point guard anchor for two championship teams, a pure demon on both sides of the court.
He could drop 44 on your head, like he did against the Jerry West-led Lakers in 1973, but was also a lockdown defender, earning a spot on the All-NBA First Defensive Team for seven consecutive seasons. Unlike a lot of players on this list he also had the mythical clutch gene; he delivered one of the great title-clinching performances of all time, dropping 36 points, 19 assists, and seven rebounds in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals to defeat the Lakers. It was Walt's third year in the league. —DS
Willis Reed
Seasons: 1964–1974
Finals Appearances: 3
Championships: 2
Accolades: 7x All-Star, 1965 Rookie of the Year, 1970 MVP, 1970 and 1973 Finals MVP
Willis Reed has a strong claim to the title of the Greatest Knick of All Time. He’s the only New York Knick to win a regular season MVP. He’s the only New York Knick to win not one but two Finals MVPs. The most celebrated moment in Knicks history is called the Willis Reed Game.
A little background on that last one: 1970 NBA Finals, Game 7. Knicks-Lakers. Wilt the Stilt, Mr. Clutch, and Elgin Baylor were in the building—The Mecca. It was do-or-die for all the marbles. Reed wasn’t supposed to suit up. He’d torn a thigh muscle in Game 5 and missed Game 6 entirely, but minutes before tip-off there he was in the tunnel in his warm-ups. Shortly after tip-off, Reed sank two jumpers to pace the Knicks to the first championship in franchise history.—TG
Patrick Ewing
Seasons: 1985–2000
Finals Appearances: 2
Championships: 0
Accolades: 11x All-Star, 1986 Rookie of the Year
Who else but Patrick Ewing? The Big Fella is the franchise leader in games, minutes played, field goals, field goal attempts, free throws, rebounds, steals, blocks, and disrespect; Ewing was one of the most unappreciated superstars in sports history during his playing days. Why? For the unforgivable sin of getting outplayed by Hakeem Olajuwon over seven games in June 1994. He also couldn’t get past that Jordan guy and was surly with the media. That doesn’t diminish his greatness.
Ewing was already a superstar when he arrived in New York as the first overall pick in the 1985 NBA Draft after four years of terrorizing the Big East at Georgetown. The expectations were tremendous—the Hoya Destroya was hailed as a savior. But he lived up to the hype. The numbers don’t lie: Ewing averaged 23 and 10 over 15 seasons while playing All-NBA caliber D. He has six Top 5 MVP finishes. And he accomplished all of that while playing with just four All-Stars (Mark Jackson, 1989, Charles Oakley 1994, John Starks 1994, Allan Houston 2000) during his Knicks career. Blame Charles Smith for not going up strong in ‘93. Blame John Starks for going 2-for-18 in Game 7. Blame management. But don’t blame the best Knick of all time.—TG
