New York Knicks NBA Draft History: 1982

The early ’80s were a struggle for the New York Knicks, but they found a role player who fit for much of the next decade.

The 1981 NBA Draft was a miss for the New York Knicks. Their best pick, Frank Brickowski never played for the team, and they moved into a sluggish early part of the 1980s.

There was the 1982 draft, however, that looked to turn everything around. With the sixth overall pick and selections as high as 29 and 34, the Knicks had the opportunity to gain an impact talent for a rebuilding group.

To continue the draft look-back series, let’s evaluate New York’s 1982 class:

Slash Line (with Knicks): .459/.409/.750
Career Averages (with Knicks): 8.6 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.1 BPG

The New York Knicks made Minnesota’s Trent Tucker the sixth pick of the 1982 NBA Draft. He averaged 14.8 points on 50.4 percent shooting in college and looked to fill the shooting guard role upon arrival.

While Tucker started 59 games his rookie season, it resulted no higher than 23.5 minutes per game. In fact, his 23.6 minutes averaged just two years later became a career-high, along with the games started in 1982-83.

Instead, Tucker settled into a reserve role that foresaw occasional starts as his NBA run continued. He was a top three-point shooter for a few years with the Knicks, including campaigns of 41.8 and 42.2 percent — long before almost every NBA player averaged an outside shot.

Tucker spent nine years in Manhattan. He never became a star top-10 player, but someone who held a consistent role as an outside shooter, especially as the Knicks gained more talent through the decade.

Slash Line (with Knicks): .364/.000/.500
Career Averages (with Knicks): 1.1 PPG, 1.8 RPG, 0.4 APG, 0.2 SPG, 0.1 BPG

Scott Hastings lasted 10 seasons in the NBA. He never averaged more than 5.1 points and 4.0 rebounds, but found a spot as big man depth for five teams.

The Knicks were the first team; however, Hastings played just 21 games with them, before a midseason trade in 1982-83 to the Atlanta Hawks for Rory Sparrow.

The Arkansas product actually won a championship with the Detroit Pistons in 1990. It was on just 40 games played that season, but it still counts towards a career-making accolade.

Slash Line: .363/.000/.656
Career Averages: 3.1 PPG, 1.2 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.1 BPG

The 34th overall pick, Vince Taylor, played 31 games as a rookie in 1982-83. It was also the only 31 times he appeared in the NBA.

After this trio of draft choices, the following players never appeared in an NBA game:

• Dan Caldwell (Round 3, Pick 52)
• Craig Tucker (Round 3, Pick 57)
• Norm Anchrum (Round 4, Pick 75)
• Aaron Howard (Round 5, Pick 98)
• Mike Kanieski (Round 6, Pick 121)
• Phil Seymore (Round 7, Pick 144)
• Dan Terwilliger (Round 8, Pick 167)
• Merie Scott (Round 9, Pick 190)
• John Leonard (Round 10, Pick 211)

The Knicks draft class retrospectives continue with 1983.