New York Knicks: Top 5 point guards of all-time
By Nick Ziegler
Apr 5, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Knickerbockers honor the 40th anniversary of the 1972-73 World Championship team at halftime of the Knicks and Bucks game at Madison Square Garden. those honored were Dick Barnett, Henry Bibby, Bill Bradley, Dave DeBusschere, Walt Frazier, John Gianelli, Phil Jackson, Jerry Lucas, Dean Meminger, Earl Monroe, Willis Reed, Harthorne Wingo and head coach and general manager Red Holzman New York Knicks defeat the Milwaukee Bucks 101-83. Mandatory Credit: Jim O
Before the dual point guard sets were common in basketball, the Knicks used two point guards at the same time with Walt Frazier and Earl Monroe. Nobody thought the two would be able to co-exist, but they proved the critics wrong, and showed that two true point guards could play together. Monroe was listed at shooting guard, but he would also do the ball-handling along with Frazier, as the guard positions would blend.
Monroe wouldn’t start out with the Knicks like Frazier did, as he got his start with the Baltimore Bullets. Monroe would take the NBA by storm with a magnificent rookie season. In his rookie season, Monroe would average 24.3 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 4.3 APG. With stats like those, Monroe was an easy choice for the Rookie of the Year in the 1967-68 season.
Early on in the 1971-72 season, the Knicks would pull off the blockbuster trade to acquire Monroe for Mike Riordan, Dave Stallworth, and cash in one of the Knicks’ best trades in franchise history. After one season of adjusting to being in New York, Monroe would help the Knicks win the NBA Championship in the 1972-73 season.
Monroe would go on to play nine seasons with the Knicks, averaging 16.2 PPG, 3.9 APG, and 3.0 RPG. Three years after Frazier made the Hall-of-Fame, Monroe would join his long-time backcourt mate in Springfield.
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