With the New York Knicks making their long-awaited return to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999, and having already laid down a statement win in Game 1 against Victor Wembenyama's San Antonio Spurs 95-105, we asked AI who it thinks are the 10 greatest players to put on the Big Apple jersey.
10 Dick Barnett
Dick Barnett
Entry number 10 on this list is a basketball Hall of Famer held in the highest esteem. The shooting guard started his career in the league at Syracuse Nationals (later renamed the Philadelphia 76ers) as the fourth pick in the 1959 NBA Draft following an incredibly proficient college stint at Tennessee A&I State College, where he won three NAIA basketball championships under the tutelage of John McLendon, often attributed as the founder of the fast break and full-court press.
Joining the Knicks in 1965 from the Los Angeles Lakers after averaging solid points per game returns, that trade turned out to be a stroke of genius for his new team, with a 23.1 scoring average in his first season for "Fall Back Baby." The early '70s were when it really started to come together in New York, culminating in NBA championship wins in 1970 and again in 1973.
With both those wins coming against the Lakers, the LA-based franchise must have wondered why they ever let the No. 12 leave.
9 Earl Monroe
Earl Monroe
NBA fans of a certain era will need no introduction to the next man to grace this list. Earl "The Pearl" Monroe was something of a unique entity in the '70s. Known for an impossible-to-guard spin move that left defenders questioning their profession, the Baltimore Bullets took to their 1968 rookie of the year instantly.
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When its hated rivals, the New York Knicks, came calling with an offer the future NBA champion couldn't resist in 1971, he took that rookie-season productivity to a whole new level, helping secure the 1973 NBA Championship alongside Dick Barnett.
In 2021, the four-time NBA All-Star was selected for the NBA 75th-anniversary team. His showstopping, high-scoring output, and impact on the league, made his inclusion a nailed-on certainty.
8 Bill Bradley
Bill Bradley
Bill Bradley's high-IQ plays were an essential cog in the ever-present 1970 team that won two championships, perhaps even more so than the aforementioned stars.
"Dollar Bill" wasn't flashy, but what he gave to the Knicks in terms of structure and court awareness was worth its weight in gold. His nickname belies that fact, not because he spent his money on fast cars or nights out, but because he was always a sure thing when he played at Madison Square Garden.
Accomplished long before he entered the NBA scene, he captained the US Olympic basketball team to glory at Tokyo 1964. He even put his league aspirations on hold to attend Oxford University, where he studied economics and history, and won a EuroLeague title on the side with Olimpia Milano.
The two-time champion and 1973 NBA All-Star's No. 24 jersey now proudly hangs in the rafters of the arena where he achieved so much.
7 Carmelo Anthony
Carmelo Anthony
Now switching our attention to a more modern player, watching Carmelo "Melo" Anthony was a joy. Making his way into the league in 2003 in a draft class that had no equal (LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade), he left his mark in the NBA with 28,289 points, placing him just outside the top 10 on the all-time scoring list.
A decorated Olympian, he also played a contributing factor in three consecutive gold medals for Team USA in 2008, 2012, and 2016. While he never obtained a ring during his 19-year NBA career, his stats speak for themselves.
6 Dave DeBusschere
Dave DeBusschere
An all-around athlete, DeBusschere was always destined for greatness, but that greatness could have been found outside the NBA court if things had turned out differently.
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Long before Michael Jordan took up Major League Baseball at the peak of his prowess, another man had already made a similar decision, choosing to focus his future on basketball. A talented pitcher in his own right, DeBusschere signed for the Chicago White Sox in 1962, with his last appearance coming a year later.
Around this time, the NBA came calling for this defensive 6-foot-6 powerhouse, who averaged 11.0 rebounds per game across his illustrious career with the Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks from 1962 to 1974, making him a vital cog in the Knicks' championship-winning team.
5 Bernard King
Bernard King
A menace on the fast break, Bernard King was the model of what a small forward should strive to be.
A 4x NBA All-Star who consistently shot above 50% from the field in an era more focused on strength and size than on scoring productivity, King helped change the game of basketball in the 1980s.
Inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012, few could argue against that. 19,655 points (22.5 PPG) and a scoring champion in the 1985 season with a dizzying 32.9 average. It begs the question: just how much greater would his productivity have been in the modern era?
4 Jalen Brunson
Jalen Brunson
A few may think it's premature to add Jalen Brunson to this list as an active NBA player, but when you consider the transformative journey the New York franchise has been on since Brunson arrived, it makes a whole lot of sense.
Once seen as the basement dwellers of the NBA, the league's landscape began to change when "The Brunson Burner" came to town. From finishing 11th in the East in 2021-22 to consecutive postseason appearances, the landscape in NY has changed, thanks in no small part to Brunson's stat line. 2025-26 was proof of that, with 26.0 points, 6.8 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game.
And having made their way to the NBA Finals off the back of a convincing sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Brunson and co. will be hoping to guide the organisation to its first NBA Championship since 1973, a sentence that would have been alien to fans just a short time ago.
3 Willis Reed
Willis Reed
Captain, leader, legend. Those are just some of the words that would best describe Willis Reed.
"The Captain" was a certified great who lifted his franchise to greatness. Spending the entirety of his NBA career with the New York Knicks, dominant and combative in equal measure, he won the NBA Rookie of the Year despite being selected in the second round of the NBA Draft of 1964.
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Despite being a glass operative, his scoring average in that first year in the league was seventh overall with an even better rebound proficiency (14.7 rpg). In the 1969-70 season, it all clicked together. The Knicks, having recruited well, enjoyed a franchise-record 60-game record.
But it is that famous Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals on the 8th of May 1970 that Reed will be most remembered for. The regular-season MVP, who had injured himself in Game 5 and missed Game 6 with a thigh injury, was expected to be out of action for the final match. Reed had other ideas and produced one of the NBA's most iconic moments as he took to the court to nullify Wilt Chamberlain's output and secure the Knicks' first NBA championship.
2 Walt Frazier
Jerry West Walt Frazier
Widely regarded as one of the greatest point guards in Knicks' history, Walt "Clyde" Frazier's performance in the aforementioned Game 7 was as legendary as Willis Reed's shock appearance.
Carrying the brunt of the weight on the night, Frazier delivered 36 points, 19 assists, and seven rebounds. A floor general who could defend the rim and score at will, he was a monstrous talent that many opponents, including that legendary LA Lakers team, had little answer for.
Making seven consecutive NBA All-Defensive First Team appearances from 1969-1975, he would repeat the feat once more in 1973. His legacy as one of the greats was secured when he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987.
1 Patrick Ewing
Patrick Ewing Supersonics
Who else could have been number one on this list?
The first overall pick of the NBA Draft of 1985 lived up to every one of his sizeable billing. An 11-time NBA All-Star, the center spent 15 of his 17 NBA seasons as a certified Knicks fan-favourite.
Leading the Knicks to the NBA Finals in the '90s (1994 and 1999), during the era of Shaquille O'Neal and Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls, he gave New Yorkers hope that anything was possible.
Often listed as one of the best players to never win an NBA ring, Ewing proved that a legacy can be cemented even without one. Despite leaving the Knicks in 2000, his record as the franchise's all-time leader in points, rebounds, steals, and blocks has stood the test of time.