New York Knicks: Ranking the top 15 Hall of Fame Players

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Patrick Ewing, New York Knicks. (Photo by MARK D. PHILLIPS/AFP via Getty Images) /

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In this ranking of the top fifteen of the Knicks’ Hall of Fame players, these last five were the hardest to do.

5. Bernard King (2013)

Bernard King had New York Knicks fans shouting from the rafters of Madison Square Garden. He was a magician on the court scoring baskets seemingly out of nowhere. In his third Knicks season (1984-85), King averaged 32.9 points per game.

He set the team’s single-game scoring record in 1984 with 60 points against the Nets on Christmas Day. A record that stood for almost 20 years until Carmelo Anthony broke it with a 62-point game in 2014.

In his four years with the Knicks, King averaged 26.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. He is a two-time All-NBA defensive first and a two-time All-Star.

4. Dave DeBusschere (1983

Dave DeBusschere, also known to me as Dave “the Butcher,” was the last piece the Knicks needed for their 1970 championship run. He came to New York at a pivotal time. Red Holzman had built what he believed was a championship team, and for him, Dave was the man he needed to put it all together. Holzman was right, and the Knicks won their first title soon after DeBusshere’s arrival.

In six seasons, DeBusschere averaged 16.0 points and 10.7 rebounds. He was an all-star in the last five.

3. Patrick Ewing (2008)

In 1985, Patrick Ewing became the Knicks first number one overall draft pick in 19 years. No other New York Knicks player has scored more points or pulled down more rebounds than the “Hoya Destroya.” In his 1985-86 Rookie of the Year campaign, Ewing led all first-year players in points and rebounds.

Ewing averaged 22.8 points, 10.4 rebounds, and made 11 All-Star Games. In 1996 he was voted as one of the 50 Greatest NBA Players of All-Time.

2. Walt Frazier (1987)

It has always been hard for me to decide whose the greatest Knick between Walt Frazier and Willis Reed. In that all-important seventh game of the 1970 Championship series, Reed’s emergence from that tunnel unmistakably propelled the Knicks to the victory. But it was Clyde’s 36 points and 19 assists that won the game.

In 759 games, Frazier averaged 19.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and three blocks. A Four-time All-NBA First-Team, seven-time All-NBA Defensive First-Team, and seven-time NBA All-Star, Clyde could have easily topped this list.

1. Willis Reed (1982)

More from Knicks All-Time Lists

Willis “The Captain” Reed, played 10 incredible seasons with the New York Knicks. Healthy or on the bench, he was the team’s leader. During his decade in New York, the Knicks won two championships and went to the playoffs every season. Reed averaged 18.7 points and 12.9 rebounds in 650 games.

Although he only had four points that night, when he walked on the floor during the seventh game of the 1970 NBA Finals, he won the game and the title for his team.

Reed was the 1970 league MVP, two-time Finals MVP, All-NBA First-Team, All-NBA Defensive First-Team, 1964-65 Rookie of the Year, and seven-time NBA All-Star.

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These are some of the greatest players to ever don the heavy jersey of the New York Knicks. Others are hoping to be inducted, just as many others are hoping to have their jerseys retired. But that’s for another article!

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