Which New York Knicks draft picks had the longest careers of anyone selected in franchise history?
Success for the New York Knicks at the NBA Draft has provided mixed results, much like other teams. Drafts often receive the “crapshoot” moniker since there is risk at any part of the process, whether at first, second, third, fifth, 10th, 20th, 30th or 60th.
The Knicks have found sustainable contributors along the way. Some of them stuck with the franchise for most, if not all, of their career. Others were taken, stayed for a few years and played a long time elsewhere.
Five previous draft picks have played 1,000 NBA games. They are the only ones to cross this mark as a Knicks draft choice, including a hall of famer, a pre-merger talent and a current player.
Who has the most games played of any Knicks draft pick in franchise history?
5. Trevor Ariza (2004 NBA Draft, Pick 43): 1,011 games played
Long before he became this coveted two-way veteran who played on NBA Finals teams, Trevor Ariza was a New York Knicks draft pick. He went in the second round, the 43rd overall pick, in the 2004 NBA Draft.
Ariza joined the Knicks after just one year at USC, and they gave him a part-time starter role and a consistent run off the bench due to back-then team circumstances. He had 5.5 points and 3.3 rebounds in 116 games until age 20, until New York made a trade.
With an aged and injured Penny Hardaway, Ariza went to the Orlando Magic in 2006 for Steve Francis, who was on an expensive contract and had a statistical drop-off from his first to second season in Central Florida. While Ariza played two seasons there, this began the merry-go-round of teams he would play for.
As of 2019, Ariza has played for seven teams, including the Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns and Washington Wizards all within the past 12 months. He has two stints with Houston and two with Washington, as well.
Ariza was also part of the 2009 Los Angeles Lakers that won the NBA Championship, featuring a team of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol.
So Ariza found success outside of New York, and with Francis’ limited run after the trade and Hardaway’s drift into retirement, the winner of this deal was clear, and in an era of draft choices moving by the season when Isiah Thomas ran the front office.