Five Favs

A few days ago I wrote a post that challenged the idea that Lebron would be able to win me over as the greatest knick right away. The first ring since 1973 would go a long way in doing that, but if there’s one thing I pride myself on it’s my sense of NBA history. I love how story lines and narratives develop in this league. I love reading about rivalries and players’ journeys to the pros. The storylines are what make the NBA great. With that said I’ve decided to list my top five favorite Knicks of all-time. As I am still relatively young this list will be slanted to the more recent Knicks who I have seen play (sorry Pearl and Clyde). These are the guys who Lebron will have to compete against to win my heart over.

5. Larry Johnson

No player has ever been more defined by one play in my eyes. After a decade of torturous losses at the hands of Reggie Miller and the Indiana Pacers (the most dramatic are shown in the great ESPN documentary Winning Time) the Knicks finally pulled off a dramatic last minute miracle play of their own. I was in fifth grade when the 1998-99 Knicks made their run to the finals, and they are still the only 8^th seed to ever reach the NBA finals. On no day of school that I can remember were my classmates and I united in a single gesture. The day after Larry Johnson’s amazing four-point play every single kid in school put his left fist on his right elbow to make the “L” symbol that LJ flashed to the crowd after every big shot. LJ may have been overpaid and he may have been a disappointment considering his potential, but he was an undersized cubby power forward with a sweet stroke who shined in one of the most memorable moments of my basketball watching career.

4. Charles Oakley

Everyone loves hockey for the fights. The bruisers and bashers and goons are always my favorite players. Charles Oakley was a goon. If anyone messed with Gretzky they would have to answer to Dave Semenko when the Bad Boy Pistons implemented the Jordan rules Oakley was there to serve and protect. It’s safe to say that Oakley was one bad motherfucker. Just a few random thoughts on why I love Charles Oakley.

• the only NBA player I’ve ever heard be compared to Shaft.
• best friends with Michael Jordan.
• At age 44 he was still playing hardball with teams. Trying to make an NBA comeback, he said he’s "not coming back cheap." He called out specific teams in 2007 (Dallas,New York) saying they need him to solve their softness issues.
• The only guy who stood up to Shaq and who I would take in a cage match between the two.
• One of the best mug shots of all-time.

3. Patrick Ewing

Out of all the great players never to win a ring (Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Elgin Baylor) I feel the worst for Ewing. None of those other players had to deal with the same scrutiny or the same level of blame that Ewing had to deal with. Part of it was that he didn’t have as charismatic a personality as Barkley, and part of it was that next to Philadelphia, New York is the hardest city to play in. If he didn’t have the injury problems, or if John Starks hadn’t sucked it up so bad in game 7 of the 94 finals, we would be looking at his career much differently. Patrick Ewing in his prime could stand next to any center in NBA history. He had great moves around the basket, a great face up game, and was one of the best defenders of the 1990’s. His biggest problem was this guy who wore #23. His roles in Space Jam and the Exorcist 3 are two of the great NBA cameos. I’ll leave you with this.

2. Willis Reed

The Captain is the only player on this list who I have not actually seen play in a real time game. But like I said I have a deep love for NBA history, and anyone who knows anytime about Knicks history has to appreciate the Captain. He was the MVP of the only two Knicks titles ever, and he was at the center of the greatest moment in NBA finals history, limping out on the court scoring the first basket of the game and then shutting down Wilt for the rest of the game. Willis Reed is probably the greatest Knick of all-time and it’ll take Lebron at least three rings to oust him from that position.

1. John Starks

Starks is far from the greatest Knick of all-time, but he is by far my favorite. He had to work for everything he got. Despite his legendary horrid shooting in game 7 of ’94, which probably cost Ewing his ring, he still gets my vote as my favorite Knick. No one ever played harder or had more fire. He was bagging groceries in Oklahoma for years before he played basketball at community college. He went undrafted, played in the CBA and the WBL, and the only reason he didn’t get cut from the Knicks was because Ewing laid him out and the team was legally forced to keep him. He was one of the best at guarding Jordan and The dunk will go down as one of the great Knicks playoff moments. He wasn’t as skilled as the other players on this list, he just wanted it more, and that’s something I respect.