Ranking the Top 5 Individual Performances from Knicks 2023-24 Season
The New York Knicks undoubtedly had one of the most overachieving seasons in 2023, reaching 50 wins to clinch the two-seed in the Eastern Conference and battling down to the bitter end of Game 7 in the second round before bowing out early on their latest title run.
For the majority of the way, the Knicks had to deal with unrelenting injuries to key players, including three starters that were never able to make it back on the court consistently. Yet at certain points, each of the ones that remained found their opportunity and created for fans some of the best performances of the unforgettable season for New York.
With each remarkable outing, at least one member of the team showed that classic Tom Thibodeau style of grit that defined the Knicks and drew the constant love of the New York fanbase. They helped keep the franchise within the upper echelon of the league in several offensive and defensive categories and forced the rest of the field to respect their games on a nightly basis.
Above all, they are giving the city a renewed sense of hope that something is brewing. While there are so many that could be put on the Knicks 2023 season highlight tape, here are the top 5 individual performances that defined the dramatic and memorable year.
5. Deuce’s Development Shines in Toronto
It was like the coming out game for Miles “Deuce” McBride in a late March contest in Toronto, one that saw the Knicks throttle their divisional foe and helped him earn his claim to fame in the Big Apple.
On the heels of winning six of their previous seven games, the Knicks were rolling and carried that into the Six behind the unforeseen three-point shooting of a young McBride. In his third season with the team, the former second-round pick had been known for his defense, but it was his offense that took over this game and took the league by surprise for a developing player in Tom Thibodeau’s system.
McBride played 40 minutes in the Knicks 145-101 rout of the Raptors—his fifth straight game earning that much time as a result of injuries to the team’s rotation—and shot an astounding 9-of-14 from the three-point line. The outing marked his season-high from the perimeter and was the second game in just over a week that he made at least six three-point field goals for New York.
The West Virginia product wasted no time getting his scorching performance, splashing six of the nine three-point baskets in the first quarter. The Knicks jumped out to a 45-33 lead in that period and never looked back to blow out the reeling Raptors and create some momentum heading into the final month of the regular season.
McBride would finish 10-17 from the field and add in seven assists to lead all Knicks players and cap his best overall night of the 2023 season. He also established himself as a silent yet potentially deadly weapon on the perimeter and a player that teams could no longer ignore for a few minutes in the Knicks bench lineup.
Along with that game, McBride would have eight games of at least 20 points, including two in the postseasons where he shot at least 66% from the arc to help the Knicks compete in big games with Philadelphia and Indiana. As next year rolls around, he figures to be an option that Thibodeau calls upon for more than just clean-up time and instead to give the Knicks a spark on both sides when they need it from a homegrown guy.