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New York Knicks: Top five point guards in franchise history

By Rob Wolkenbrod

NEW YORK - 1973: Walt Frazier #10 of the New York Knicks shoots a layup against the Boston Celtics during the Eastern Conference Finals played in 1973 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. Copyright 1973 NBAE (Photo by Dick Raphael/NBAE via Getty Images)
NEW YORK - 1973: Walt Frazier #10 of the New York Knicks shoots a layup against the Boston Celtics during the Eastern Conference Finals played in 1973 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. Copyright 1973 NBAE (Photo by Dick Raphael/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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UNITED STATES – CIRCA 2000: New York Knicks’ Mark Jackson surveys the situation in the third quarter of game against the Sacramento Kings at Madison Square Garden. In his first start as a Knick, Jackson scored six points and had one assist in 27 minutes as the Knicks pulled out an 88-86 come-from-behind win over the Kings. (Photo by Andrew Savulich/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)
UNITED STATES – CIRCA 2000: New York Knicks’ Mark Jackson surveys the situation in the third quarter of game against the Sacramento Kings at Madison Square Garden. In his first start as a Knick, Jackson scored six points and had one assist in 27 minutes as the Knicks pulled out an 88-86 come-from-behind win over the Kings. (Photo by Andrew Savulich/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images) /

2. Mark Jackson

Long before he became an analyst for ABC and coached the Golden State Warriors for three seasons, Mark Jackson worked as the New York Knicks point guard from 1987-92 and 2001-02, the periods before and after the franchise’s winning run in the 90’s.

Jackson went to the Knicks as the No. 18 overall pick of the 1987 NBA Draft and snagged the starter’s role at point guard immediately. A playmaking ability, which led to 10.6 assists, kept him the job for 80 of 82 games in his rookie year, also finishing with 13.6 points and 2.5 steals.

The success continued into year two, as Jackson’s role in the offense increased with 16.9 points, a number that became a career-high and contributed to his only NBA All-Star game appearance.

By year three, Jackson’s shot attempts and playing time slipped, as the Knicks acquired Maurice Cheeks in a midseason trade and they used Rod Strickland in the first half of the season, and both players averaged at least 20 minutes per game in their stints.

Jackson’s role sunk to 22 starts in 1990-91, but he jumped into 81 games and 81 starts in 1991-92, with 11.3 points and 8.6 assists in a 51-31 season.

A 1992 trade took Jackson away from the Knicks, but he returned in a February 2001 deal and took back the full-time starting point guard role, with 8.4 points and 7.4 assists in the 2001-02 season.

While Jackson found playoff success elsewhere, he still acted as main piece for the early Patrick Ewing teams and contributed towards the end of an era in the early 2000s, before the Knicks transitioned into mediocrity.