New York Knicks: 15 greatest floor generals of all-time

Before he became one of the top head coaches in the NBA, Doc Rivers was one of the better floor generals in the game, who wound up in New York for a little over two seasons.

Standing at 6-foot-4 while weighing 184 pounds soaking wet, Rivers wasn’t exactly the most physically intimidating presence on the court, but he made up for it with his basketball IQ as a terrific passer.

It didn’t matter if Doc was overwhelmed by the physicality of 90’s basketball. Like any fundamentally sound ball handler, he never picked up his dribble. He always kept his head up and on a swivel and was always able to make plays.

Rivers only averaged 5.2 assists per game, but that had more to do with his role on the team than anything. Remember that in his day and age, point guards weren’t called upon to do so much with the basketball. They were simply tasked with setting up teammates in areas where they could go to work, which is what Doc did.

Patrick Ewing was the dominant go-to force in New York, so as long as Rivers fed him the ball where he liked, it he’d be doing a bang-up job.

Rivers wasn’t the prototypical floor general whose skill set single-handedly decided the efficiency of the offense. Rather, his task was a lot simpler, but he did it well. He took care of the basketball with less than two turnovers a night and always seemed to make sure the ball got to where it needed to go.