The 15 greatest bigs in New York Knicks history

Amar’e Stoudemire

After establishing himself as a near-superstar in his early years, a 27-year-old Amar’e Stoudemire chose the New York Knicks in his free agency. This alone is perhaps the most significant contribution that STAT offered to the long history of Knick big men.

The STAT and Melo experiment, which was short lived to say the least, was just a part of what Amar’e contributed to the Knicks, however. As a product and beneficiary of playing next to Steve Nash for so many years, Stoudemire really gambled on the Knicks in the same summer of LeBron James’ famed “decision.”

Truly, he put his career on the line for the fans of New York.

The franchise was struggling mightily at the time to find an identity after the Marbury years had ended with a fizzle, and still, Amar’e was more than happy to don the Knicks hat and exclaim “the Knicks are back!”

One of the last guys to enter the league from high school, Amar’e always had a knack for finishing at the rim. He averaged 17.3 points and 6.7 boards in his four full seasons with the Knicks.

But STAT’s stats aside, the main takeaway was that after years of mediocrity, the Knicks winning percentage went up each season that Amar’e was on the roster.

Ultimately, for both STAT and Melo, the crowning achievement in their tenure’s will be the 2012-13 team that made it to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, ultimately getting beat by the Paul George-led Indiana Pacers.