The Knicks are back. Finally. For the first time since the world worried about the Y2K bug, Madison Square Garden is hosting the NBA Finals. New York is losing its collective mind. The city wants a parade, and they want it now, hoping to end a championship drought stretching back to 1973.
Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns have woken up the ghosts of Eighth Avenue. Riding an 11-game playoff win streak, they face the San Antonio Spurs. Naturally, the hype machine is in overdrive. Stephen A. Smith is already screaming that a ring makes Brunson the greatest Knick ever. Let’s pump the brakes. Before we crown the kid, we need to remember the men who actually spilled blood on this hardwood when it mattered most.
Sure, we can talk about the near-misses. John Starks clanging his way through Game 6 in ’94 still hurts. Latrell Sprewell’s manic energy in ’99, Charles Oakley’s bruised knuckles, and Carmelo Anthony’s brief scoring outbursts all deserve a nod. But they don’t make the cut.
Here are the real five.
5. Bernard King
In 1984, Bernard King put on a scoring clinic that remains the gold standard. He did it on a ruined knee. He did it with almost no help. King averaged 34.8 points per game, absolutely torching the Detroit Pistons before dragging the powerhouse Boston Celtics to seven games. Older fans still talk about his back-to-back 46-point games against Detroit. He won Game 5 on the road with a broken finger. That isn’t just grit. That is lunacy. King scored from everywhere, lived at the stripe, and refused to die quietly.
4. Willis Reed
Everyone has seen the clip. Game 7, 1970. Willis Reed limping out of the tunnel on a torn thigh muscle. He hit his first two jumpers, the Garden erupted, and the Lakers were mentally finished before the first whistle. It is the ultimate franchise moment. But Reed was more than a theatrical entrance. He was the physical anchor of both championship teams in ’70 and ’73. He battled Wilt Chamberlain in the trenches and took a beating every night. When modern players talk about playing through pain, they are chasing Reed’s shadow.
3. Allan Houston
He doesn’t have the gaudy career stats of the others, but Allan Houston owns the most cold-blooded shot in modern franchise history. Game 5 in Miami, 1999. His running floater rattled home in the final seconds, slaying the top-seeded Heat. That single shot cleared the runway for an improbable run from the eighth seed to the Finals. Houston was the quiet assassin. In that ugly, lockout-shortened season, he averaged 21.6 points per game, carrying a sluggish offense on his back. He was Brunson before Brunson, just operating in a much slower, uglier era.
2. Patrick Ewing
He never got his ring. That is the tragedy of Patrick Ewing. Yet, no one carried the weight of this franchise longer or heavier. Through the dog days of the ’80s and ’90s, Ewing was the wall. He fought Jordan’s Bulls, Miller’s Pacers, and Mourning’s Heat. He averaged 20.2 points and 10.5 rebounds in the postseason, anchoring the defense and giving those 90s teams their brutal identity. His 24-point, 22-rebound masterpiece in Game 7 of the ’94 Eastern Conference Finals is the definition of carrying a city on your back.
1. Walt “Clyde” Frazier
Willis Reed got the applause in Game 7 of the 1970 Finals, but Clyde Frazier won the game. Frazier dropped 36 points, dished out 19 assists, grabbed 7 rebounds, and completely locked down Jerry West. It is, without question, the greatest single-game performance in Knicks history. Frazier was cool personified, averaging over 20 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds during their championship years. He didn’t just survive the pressure; he wore it like one of his custom suits. If Brunson wants the crown, this is the man he has to dethrone.
