New York Knicks: Top 5 worst and best draft picks of all time

The New York Knicks have an up and down history of draft picks that changed the course of the franchise or never quite panned out.

The New York Knicks and the new brain trust will make a franchise-altering decision on Thursday during the NBA Draft. Scott Perry, Steve Mills, and David Fizdale are hoping they strike gold. But the feeling of impending doom is always lingering. Always.

For every Kristaps Porzingis, there’s a Frederic Weis. Knicks fans tend to focus on the bad more than the good. It’s something that’s embedded in the DNA of any Knicks fan.

That’s part of the reason why Frank Ntilikina was given such a hard time during his rookie year. It was the perfect storm for the fans. He was clearly a project, had his ups and downs as a rookie, and did we mention he’s from France? The perfect storm for a harsh mix of negativity with some optimism sprinkled in.

But it’s important to remember the good while reflecting on the bad. We all remember Porzingis getting booed by the New York faithful after he was drafted. Within the blink of an eye, he was the apple of New York’s eye.

There were tons of options for best and worst draft picks in Knicks history. Here are the best of the rest.

Dishonorable Mentions

These guys just barely missed the cut, but unfortunately, we have to mention them in this section.

Who could forget Channing Frye? He’s gone on to reinvent himself and have a nice career. He even won a championship with LeBron James in Cleveland in 2016. But as a Knick, Frye was a big disappointment. The eighth overall pick in 2005 only played two seasons in New York and he had yet to develop his consistent three-point shot that has allowed him to stick around in the league.

What about Andy Rautins? He was the Syracuse sharpshooter who Knicks fans somehow tricked themselves into thinking he would turn into a Madison Square Garden favorite. He only played five games in New York, but he was only a second-round pick so it’s not as if he was expected to be some kind of savior.

How about the throwbacks for the Knicks fans who’ve watched this team screw up picks for decades? How about Larry Demic with the ninth pick in 1979. He was playing in the Philippines by 1983. How about eighth overall pick Tom Riker in 1972. Brendan McCann way back in 1957 who only managed to score double digits once during his tenure with the Knicks.

These guys were bad for sure, but they aren’t quite up to snuff for the top five.

Honorable Mentions

These are the guys that you may have forgotten, but when mentioned, you remember just how good these guys were. They weren’t the type of players who could change the course of the franchise, but they should not be forgotten.

Frank Ntilikina and Tim Hardaway Jr. could work their way into the conversation regarding great Knicks draft picks. But for now, the jury is still out on these two. They’ve both shown upside in their time in New York so they deserve to be on the list of honorable mentions rather than the dishonorable mentions.

If we travel back in time to the mid-2000s, who could forget David Lee? He was taken with the 30th pick in the same draft where dishonorable mention Channing Frye went in the top-10. But Frye never made an All-Star appearance. Lee averaged 20.2 points and 11.7 rebounds per game in 2009-10 en route to his first of two career All-Star appearances—only one of which was in a New York Knicks uniform.

The hometown kid Mark Jackson had two stints in New York and was a highly productive point guard in Madison Square Garden. Beloved by Knicks fans and feared by opposing teams. He really bounced around the league, so he doesn’t quite make the list of franchise-altering draft picks, but he’s notable all the same.

Gerald Wilkins is oft-forgotten by Knicks fans. Taken in the same draft as Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing and brother of Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins, Gerald was overshadowed in more ways than one. But the second-round pick was a key cog in New York for seven years. He averaged double digits every year and played 80 or more games every season but one—he played 68 games in 1990-91.

And the Hall of Famer Bill Bradley just misses out on our top five. He was taken in 1965 with the Knicks’ territorial pick and boy did he live up to expectations and then some. He won two championships in New York. The man did something most other guys couldn’t do—put the Knicks over the hump and bring home multiple championships.

No. 5 Worst: Kenny Walker

Winning the dunk contest in 1989 was the best thing Kenny Walker did in a Knicks uniform. The fifth overall pick in 1986 was supposed to join Patrick Ewing and create a formidable, youthful front line in Madison Square Garden.

But Walker never really panned out in New York like he was supposed to. Expectations were sky high for the University of Kentucky product and that may have been what ultimately doomed him. Back in 2008, Walker told Mark Lelinwalla of the New York Daily News, “I was a guy that was supposed to replace Bernard King.”

It’s not necessarily Walker’s fault that he didn’t live up to King’s legend, but it was a disappointing pick all the same. The teams of the 90s led by Ewing surely would have been put over the top if Walker lived up to the hype that he came into the league with.

No. 5 Best: Richie Guerin

We didn’t forget about the old-timers. Richie Guerin is sneakily one of the best draft picks the Knicks ever made. The second rounder from way back in 1954 would go on to play on six All-Star teams, make three All-NBA teams, and eventually get inducted into the Hall of Fame. If you’re looking at all-time statistics for the franchise, you can bet that Guerin is close to the top in a litany of offensive categories.

Guerin was born and raised in the Bronx, played his college ball at Iona, and had the best years of his NBA career in New York. He redefined what it meant to be New York tough.

Guerin’s only knock is that he played on some absolutely brutal teams. Despite his individual success, the Knicks only finished with a record above .500 once during his tenure in New York.

No. 4 Worst: Mike Sweetney

A big man from Georgetown—what’s not to like? Well, actually a whole lot. Sweetney was taken with the ninth overall pick in 2003 and his time in New York—and the NBA for that matter—was exceptionally short.

Sweetney struggled with depression during his rookie year and even admitted to a failed suicide attempt. He struggled with the loss of his father just prior to beginning his career with the Knicks and he never gained his footing in New York.

He struggled to maintain his weight and couldn’t stay on the floor for extended minutes because of it. Highly touted out of Georgetown, Sweetney averaged a double-double in college and looked to be destined for success in the NBA. Patrick Ewing was a not-too-distant memory for Knicks fans and while no one was expecting Sweetney to become the player Ewing was, fans expected much more than they got.

Sweetney was out of the NBA after four years and was yet another failed pick soon to be forgotten by the Madison Square Garden faithful.

No. 4 Best: Kristaps Porzingis

Sure, he’s young and this might be a little high for Kristaps Porzingis, but he’s already shown what he’s capable of. After making his first All-Star game, he’s shown the flashes of a superstar. But can he stay healthy? If the answer to that question is yes, then Porzingis has the potential to take this Knicks team back to the promised land.

After being booed on draft night, Porzingis took everyone by surprise his rookie season. He averaged 14.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. And he’s only getting better. This season, before his ACL injury ended his season, he was leading the NBA in blocks with 2.4 per game. He’s showing the ability to be a dominant force on the offensive and defensive end of the floor.

It isn’t too early to declare Porzingis as No. 4 on this list. He’s as talented as any Knicks player in the last two decades and after years upon years of missing out on that All-Star talent in the draft, they finally found their man.

It seems like a distant memory that fans were lamenting the fact that the team had just missed out on can’t miss prospects like D’Angelo Russell and Jahlil Okafor. Or even worse, they had passed on the stud point guard Emmanuel Mudiay. It’s funny how quickly things change.

No. 3 Worst: Renaldo Balkman/Mardy Collins

This pair was just too good bad to separate. Isiah Thomas worked his magic in the latter half of the first round to draft Balkman with the 20th pick and Collins with the 29th pick. During his first two seasons in New York, Balkman averaged 4.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. Balkman would return to the Knicks to end his career but his return was only a prelude to his exit from the NBA.

In four total seasons with the Knicks, Balkman never showed the same tenacity that he exuded during his NIT Championship run with South Carolina. Isiah Thomas’ biggest issue was that he saw a winner in Balkman, but he forgot that the NIT means absolutely nothing.

Collins wasn’t much better than his counterpart. He only played two seasons and a few games in New York as he was shipped off to the Clippers after playing in nine games during the 2008-09 season. He averaged a measly 3.7 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game during his stint with the Knickerbockers.

The real issue with these two was that Balkman was taken the pick before the Celtics snagged Rajon Rondo out of Kentucky. A few picks later, Kyle Lowry went to Memphis.

And Collins was Isiah’s only chance at salvaging the 2006 NBA Draft. But rather than take a guy like Paul Millsap, Daniel Gibson, P.J. Tucker, or for God’s sakes even Steve Novak, Thomas decided to take Mardy Freaking Collins.

No. 3 Best: Walt 'Clyde' Frazier

You may know Walt ‘Clyde’ Frazier as the broadcaster with the extensive vocabulary when you tune into the Knicks game on MSG. But the man was dishing and swishing long before he was timing his rhyming from the analyst chair.

After being taken with the fifth pick in 1967, Clyde lived up to all the expectations and then some. The six-time All-Star brought two championships to New York in what was the golden age of the New York Knicks. The Hall of Famer had the individual accomplishments in addition to playing on winning basketball teams year in and year out.

He averaged 193 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game in New York. He still leads the franchise in assists with 4791 in his career with the Knickerbockers. Over 50 years later, his track record speaks for itself.

A legend on the court, a friendly voice on the broadcast, and most of all, a fashion icon. We don’t deserve Clyde.

No. 2 Worst: Frederic Weis

The first rounder who never even made it across the pond to play in a single NBA game. Weis’ name alone will elicit nausea among Knicks fans who remember hearing his name called in 1999. Despite not playing a game with the Knicks, Weis’ presence is still felt in New York. After Porzingis was taken, the comparisons were immediate. Ntilikina wasn’t spared either considering he and Weis are countrymen.

Weis’ story is a sad one. He never seemed to be truly wanted by anyone in New York and he was well aware of that when he arrived. After a lackluster showing during the summer, he decided to continue playing in France. But when the time came for him to eventually make his way over to the NBA, it just never happened.

He stayed in France and the Knicks kind of just left him alone. A pick that was truly wasted in every sense of the word. Weis did nothing to help the Knicks and to be fair, the Knicks did nothing for him. Frederic Weis is a name that will live on in infamy.

No. 2 Best: Patrick Ewing

Was the envelope frozen by David Stern so he would make sure the Knicks got Patrick Ewing with the first pick? Who cares? The Knicks got lucky in the lottery and cashed in with a Hall of Famer in Ewing. The 11-time All-Star would be an immediate impact guy, winning the Rookie of the Year.

The Georgetown Hoya was a force inside and he brought an edge to the team that New York was craving. The man holds the franchise records in games played (1039), points (23665), rebounds (10759), steals (1061), among a number of other categories he overtook during his 15-year career with the Knicks.

Really, the only reason why Ewing isn’t at number one is because he could never bring home a title. He did everything within his power to try, but nonetheless, the Knicks have not won an NBA Championship since 1973. A drought that even Ewing wasn’t capable of ending.

No. 1 Worst: Jordan Hill

Frederic Weis may have had the distinction of never playing a game for the Knicks, but Jordan Hill was so bad that the Knicks traded him before he could even spend a full season in New York. He averaged 4.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per game during his 24-game tenure as a Knick.

Hill ended up hanging around in the league for longer than anyone thought he would—even appearing in games as recently as the 2016-17 season. But Hill’s mere presence in the NBA was another cruel reminder of the most frustrating draft pick in the history of the franchise.

With Stephen Curry and his father Dell making it clear that he wanted to be chosen by the Knicks, it seemed like the Madison Square Garden faithful may be experiencing some newfound luck. But despite his desires to land in New York, the Golden State Warriors drafted Curry with the pick prior to the Knicks. Fast forward nine years later and Curry is the greatest shooter in the history of the sport, a two-time MVP, three-time NBA champion, and revolutionizing the way teams play the game.

There wasn’t much the Knicks could do once the Warriors decided that Curry was their man, but that’s not the only painful part. They passed up on four-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan who the Toronto Raptors scooped up with the 10th pick.

Jordan Hill was sandwiched between one of the greatest players of all time and a player who has developed into a perennial All-Star. Woof.

No. 1 Best: Willis Reed

The man, the myth, the legend: Willis Reed. He’s at the top of this list for one main reason. Reed got it done when it counted the most. The two-time NBA Finals MVP led the way for the Knicks in 1970 and 1973.

Not to mention, Reed had one of the most iconic moments in sports history when he hobbled onto the floor for Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals with a torn right thigh muscle. He couldn’t stay in the game, but he scored the first two buckets for the Knicks and gave his team the energy it needed to take down the Lakers in Game 7.

This is the most iconic moment in the history of the Knicks. There is no doubt about it. It’s not even an argument worth having.

The Hall of Famer was an excellent regular season player, averaging 18.7 points and 12.9 rebounds per game during his career, but that’s not what New Yorkers care about. New Yorkers crave championships and in that respect, Willis Reed delivered more than any other Knick. His place among the All-Time Knicks greats is clear and his place as the best draft pick in the history of the organization is indisputable.