The New York Knicks franchise is a storied franchise that has been around since the beginning of the league. It’s the largest market in the world. For decades, players have loved the opportunity of playing at Madison Square Garden. For those that donned the Knicks uniform, it was a treat to play half of their season in the big apple.
While it’s been almost 50 years since the Knicks won an NBA championship, it does not disregard what they have accomplished in their franchise history. The Knicks have produced some talented players. Among those players feature champions and fan favorites. Maybe, one day, we will see the Knicks make their return to the NBA Finals. For now, let’s celebrate some of those players that got the team there.
These are the New York Knicks franchise awards.
GOAT Of The Franchise - Willis Reed
This is a rather simple assessment. No other player in the history of the Knicks has won two Finals MVP Awards. Reed won the 1970 and 1973 Finals MVP Awards. He also won the regular-season MVP Award in 1970. Reed was a seven-time All-Star and an All-Star Game MVP. He made the All-NBA Second Team four times, as well as one All-Defensive First Team.
Reed owns the third-most points and second-most rebounds in franchise history. One could make an argument that Patrick Ewing deserves to be in this spot as Ewing leads the team in both of those categories. Ewing also made two appearances in the NBA Finals but Reed won two championships while Ewing did not. Given his championship status, Reed is the greatest player in Knicks' history.
Rookie Of The Franchise - Patrick Ewing
Three players in team history have won Rookie of the Year. That includes Mark Jackson in 1988. Jackson averaged 13.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 10.6 assists, and 2.5 steals. Reed won Rookie of the Year in 1965 when he averaged 19.5 points, 14.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists. At the time, steals and blocks were not calculated. With that said, this is where Ewing has Reed beat as his rookie season in 1985-86 was superior.
Ewing averaged 20.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.1 steals, and 2.1 blocks per game. Ewing also shot 47.4% from the field and made an All-Star appearance. Ewing was named Rookie of the Month two times. That included averaging 23.8 points and 8.3 rebounds in January.
Offensive Player Of The Franchise - Patrick Ewing
The Knicks have had some successful offensive players in their team history. That includes Bob McAdoo, Bernard King, and Carmelo Anthony. While Ewing’s 22.8 career average with the Knicks is fourth-best, there is no doubt that the best offensive player in the history of the Knicks is Ewing. In his long career, Ewing is the all-time leading scorer with 23,665 career points, which is nearly 10,000 career points more than Walt Frazier.
Ewing also owns the most field goals, specifically making over 9,200 career two-point field goals. Ewing also leads the franchise with 5,126 made free throws. While one could look at longevity for Ewing’s success, you cannot discount the fact that Ewing had 13 straight seasons with the Knicks where he averaged over 20.0 points per game. He also shot over 50% from the field in all but three of those seasons.
Defensive Player Of The Franchise - Walt Frazier
Ewing leads the team in rebounds, steals, and blocks but the best defensive player in team history was Walt Frazier. With the Knicks, Frazier made the All-Defensive First Team seven years in a row from 1969 to 1975. No other player in Knicks history has accomplished that. It’s not fair to discredit Frazier for being 10th in franchise history for steals because steals were not counted as a stat until the 1973-74 season.
By that time, Frazier had played in the league for six seasons. Once steals were calculated, Frazier averaged over 2.0 steals two times and then averaged 1.8, 1.7, and 1.5 steals the next three seasons. Had steals been counted, Frazier might have had over 1,000 steals. After all, he had 589 steals, which included years that were past his prime.
Coach Of The Franchise - Red Holzman
From 1948 to 1956, Joe Lapchick recorded 326 wins with the Knicks but the most successful coach in team history was Red Holzman. In 14 years, Holzman won 613 games and won 55.9% of the games he coached. That also included a 54-43 record in the playoffs. The two championships that the Knicks have featured Holzman as the coach in 1970 and 1973.
Holzman was the Coach of the Year in 1970 and coached the All-Star Game two times in 1970 and 1971. When the NBA ranked their all-time greatest coaches, Holzman made the Top 10 and Top 15 Coaches in NBA History. The Knicks retired the No. 613 in his honor in 1990.
Fan Favorite - Patrick Ewing
There are some tough competitors for this winner. When Carmelo Anthony played for the Knicks, he helped the Knicks come out of the gutter and win their first divisional title in 2013 since 1994. With that said, Ewing has not played for the Knicks in over 20 years and you can still see fans wearing Ewing’s jersey around New York. Most fans these days do not remember Walt Frazier or Willis Reed. Ewing led New York to their most success since those players.
The Knicks have made the NBA Finals four times in franchise history. Two of those times came with Frazier and Reed. The other two times came in 1994 and 1999 with Ewing leading the way. The Knicks also won three divisional titles with Ewing on the team. Casual basketball fans even know the name Patrick Ewing, which proves how well-known he is in the world.
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