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Westchester Knicks: Top 3 Moments Franchise History

By Chris Priczak

Jan 7, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; New York Knicks guard Langston Galloway (2) looks to pass as Washington Wizards forward Drew Gooden (90) defends during the fourth quarter at Verizon Center. Washington Wizards defeated New York Knicks 101-91. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 7, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; New York Knicks guard Langston Galloway (2) looks to pass as Washington Wizards forward Drew Gooden (90) defends during the fourth quarter at Verizon Center. Washington Wizards defeated New York Knicks 101-91. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /
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2. The Inaugural Season, Part II

In addition to the Expansion and D-League Draft, the New York Knicks took advantage of their affiliate team by adding their two 2014 second-round picks to the roster. Thanasis Antetokounmpo, the No. 51 overall  pick, spent the 2014-15 season in Westchester.

Cleanthony Early, the No. 34 overall pick, first appeared in Westchester on January 30, 2015. He only appeared in three games.

In those three games, the Wichita State product averaged 21.0 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.3 steals per contest. On the other hand, Antetokounmpo spent the 2014-15 season in the D-League.

The Greek wing averaged 13.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game.

The first Westchester Knicks game took place on November 16, 2014. That night, the Oklahoma City Blue defeated the Knicks 91-84. Westchester played their first game at the Westchester County Center three days later, as the team hosted the Canton Charge.

The Knicks suffered another loss at the hands of the Charge, 88-84. Westchester’s first victory in the NBA D-League came against the Grand Rapids Drive on November 21, as the Knicks defeated the Drive, 97-83.

Even though Westchester was an average team record-wise through the first 10 games (5-5), the season went downhill from there. The Knicks started losing countless games. While losing was a negative part during their inaugural season, Westchester had a bright moment on January 7, 2015.

On that day, Langston Galloway became the team’s first call-up. On the day of his call-up, Galloway recorded seven points, two rebounds, three assists and one steal.

When his first 10-day contract expired, the Knicks offered the St. Joseph’s product a second 10-day contract. After looking good during those short contracts, the 6’2″ guard received a partially guaranteed, two-year deal.

Even though Galloway left the Knicks, he is the poster child for the Westchester Knicks.

Galloway went undrafted and had to prove his value in the D-League. He made his way into the NBA via a 10-day contract. Then he proved he could contribute to an NBA team and received a multi-million dollar deal from the New Orleans Pelicans.

Following Galloway’s call-up, the Knicks went 5-35, which included losing 10 games in a row on two separate occasions. In the midst of losing their last 10 games, Westchester made a coaching change. The Knicks let Kevin Whitted go and named assistant coach Craig Hodges as their interim coach.

In the final four games under Hodges, the Knicks went 0-4.

The Westchester Knicks weren’t a good team during their inaugural season. In fact, the Knicks finished with the second-worst record in D-League history. Only the 2009-10 Springfield Armor, now the Grand Rapids Drive, posted a worst record (7-43).

The 2010-11 Sioux Falls Skyforce finished the season with a 10-40 record, which was the same record the Knicks finished the 2014-15 season with.

A few of the players (Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Cleanthony Early, Jordan Bachynski, and Ben Strong) returned to the team the following season.

Next: No. 1

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