Ranking The Top 75 Knicks in Franchise History - Part Two

Derek Harper averaged 17.8 points, 6.2 assists, 3.0 rebounds, 2.7 steals and 2.5 made three-pointers over the final six games of the 1994 NBA Finals.

Earlier this week, I posted the first installment of the "The Top 75 Knicks in Franchise History" series with players 75 through 50. Today we continue with the second installment…

49. Max Zaslofsky

Zaslofsky helped lead the Knicks to two consecutive NBA Finals in 1950-51 and 1951-52. He was named to the All-Star team in the 1951-52 season and led New York in scoring with 14.1 points per game (13th in the league).

48. Mitchell Robinson:

Drafted with the 36th overall pick in the 2018 draft, Robinson greatly exceeded expectations in his first pro season, when he led all rookies in blocks (2.4) and FG percentage (69.4%). As a sophomore in 2019-20, Robinson made 74.2% of all field goals he attempted, setting the all-time NBA record for the highest single-season FG percentage ever, passing Wilt Chamberlain. Over his first two years in the league, Robinson had more blocks (280) than missed FGA (177) and turnovers (72) combined. Unfortunately for New York, Mitch Rob has stagnated slightly over the past two years, as injuries and inconsistency have bedeviled him. Robinson will hit free agency this summer, and it will be fascinating to see what team president Leon Rose is willing to offer to keep the big man in the Big Apple. 

47. Bud Palmer

Palmer is widely credited with popularizing the jump shot in the late 1940s. He was the Knicks' first captain and their first leading scorer. Palmer played three seasons in New York, averaging 11.7 points per contest. He increased his scoring to 14.4 points in 14 playoff games. According to his NYT obit, “Palmer gained fame as a sports telecaster, covering everything from the Olympics to dog shows. He was Mayor John V. Lindsay’s official greeter, welcoming dignitaries to the city. He was the first writer of Glamour magazine’s ‘Ask Jake’ column, offering women advice from a man’s viewpoint. (‘Don’t show up drunk for a dinner date.’) … But perhaps his most consequential role was in helping to change the game of basketball in a fundamental way: if he did not invent the jump shot, Palmer was one of the first to shoot one... Palmer could remember no eureka moment, although at age 6 he was so small and weak that he had to launch his shots with a leap. He knew he had shot them regularly as a student at Phillips-Exeter Academy in the late 1930s. He realized, he said, that “if I dribble, and stop, and jump, I will have an advantage.’”

46. Jamal Crawford

Crawford was an incredibly gifted scorer. He appeared in a total of 299 games for the Knicks, averaging 17.6 points and 4.4 assists. Crawford would later find his groove coming off the bench in subsequent NBA stops. He won the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award in 2010, 2014 and 2016, becoming the first three-time winner of the award in NBA history.

45. Kristaps Porzingis

Figuring out where to place Porzingis on this list is difficult. He played only 186 games in New York but posted some eye-popping numbers and infused much-needed hope into a depressed fanbase (before tearing his ACL and getting traded to Dallas). Believe it or not, Porzingis ranks seventh all-time in franchise history in blocked shots. He knocked down at least three three-pointers and blocked six shots in the same game three times as a Knick. No other player in New York franchise history has done that even once. 

44. Cazzie Russell

Few players arrived in New York with higher expectations than Cazzie Russell. The Knicks selected Russell with the first overall pick in the 1966 draft after a standout career at the University of Michigan. However, Cazzie never quite lived up to the hype, averaging a solid, if unspectacular, 13.3 points and 3.7 rebounds during his five seasons as a Knick.

43. David Lee

Not much was expected of Lee after the Knicks took him with the last pick in the first round of the 2005 draft. However, he would go on to post some incredible stats during his five seasons in New York. In his final year, 2009-10, Lee averaged 20.2 points, 11.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. He's one of only four Knicks to average at least 20/11/3 over an entire season. The other three are Patrick Ewing, Bob McAdoo and Walt Bellamy. Lee's stats benefited greatly from playing in Mike D'Antoni's high-octane offense.

42. Gerald Wilkins

Which is a worse fate: Sisyphus being forced to roll an immense boulder up a hill for all of eternity, or being tasked with guarding a young Michael Jordan in his prime over an entire playoff series??

41. RJ Barrett

Knicks fans were furious when New York fell to No. 3 in the 2019 lottery, missing out on a chance to draft Zion Williamson or Ja Morant. However, Barrett is off to a promising start in his young career. He's one of only eight players in league history to tally more than 2,000 points, 500 rebounds and 300 assists before turning 21. The other seven players in this exclusive club are Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady, Carmelo Anthony and Luka Doncic.

40. Derek Harper

One could make a powerful argument that Derek Harper would have been named MVP of the 1994 NBA Finals had Hakeem Olajuwon not gotten a fingertip on John Starks' three-point attempt in the closing seconds of Game 6. Harper averaged 17.8 points, 6.2 assists, 3.0 rebounds, 2.7 steals and 2.5 made three-pointers over the final six games of that series. He also hit a ton of clutch shots and played spectacular defense, locking up Kenny Smith.

39. Spencer Haywood

Compared to his days as a superstar in Seattle, Haywood's numbers in New York are not nearly as impressive. Nonetheless, he still averaged 17.1 points and 8.6 rebounds during his four-year stint with the Knicks. Also, he enjoyed his time in NYC. According to Haywood's bio on NBA.com: "In the Big Apple, he led the life of a star. He married glamorous fashion model Iman, and the celebrity couple were regulars on the social scene."

38. Phil Jackson

Action Jackson earned NBA All-Rookie Team honors in 1967-68, along with two other Knicks: Walt Frazier and Bill Bradley. He was a key contributor on the 1972-73 championship squad, averaging 8.1 points and 4.3 rebounds in 17.4 minutes. The following season, 1973-74, Phil averaged a career-high 11.1 points. He ranks fifth on the all-time Knicks career list in games played. As you may have heard, he's done some other stuff in the NBA since retiring as a player.

37. Kenny Sears

Drafted in 1955, Sears led the Knicks twice in scoring. He poured in 18.6 points per game in 1957-58 and averaged a career-high 21.0 in 1958-59. Sears also led the league in field goal percentage in back-to-back seasons, 1958-59 (.490) and 1959-60 (.477). He made two All-Star teams.

36. Johnny Green

Green spent his early 20s in the Marine Corp and was 26 when the Knicks selected him fifth overall in the 1959 draft. He became a full-time starter in 1961-62 and averaged 15.9 points and 13.3 rebounds. "Jumpin' Johnny" bumped those averages up to 18.1 and 12.1 the following year. He was named to the All-Star team both seasons. In February 1962, he set a Knicks team record by grabbing at least 20 rebounds in three consecutive games. Walt Bellamy, Willis Reed and Tyson Chandler are the only other Knicks to have matched that streak.

35. Charlie Ward

Ward, who won the Heisman Trophy and a national championship for Florida State in 1993, appeared in 580 games over ten seasons in New York. That's the most by any player since Patrick Ewing arrived. He was a gritty, steady point guard for some quality Knicks teams. He ranks fifth in franchise history in made three-pointers, fifth in steals and seventh in assists. Amazingly, Ward is the last Knick draftee to sign a multi-year contract extension after his rookie deal expired.