New York Knicks: What happened to the young core of the 1990s?

Greg Anthony

The Knicks drafted Greg Anthony with the 12th overall pick in the 1991 NBA Draft. Anthony was Pat Riley’s first draft pick as the team’s head coach. His defensive intensity, and occasional hotheadedness, was a stark contrast to the more offensive tailored point guard in Mark Jackson.

After Anthony’s rookie campaign, the Knicks’ traded Jackson, largely due to Riley’s trust in him as a defensive stalwart at the point guard position. Anthony compensated his offensive shortcomings with a penchant for hard-nosed defense against his Eastern Conference counterparts.

However, Anthony was not able to retain the full-time starting point guard role during his Knicks tenure. During the 1992-93 season, Anthony effectively split the point guard duties 50/50 with Doc Rivers.

Rivers started at the beginning of the season until an injury sidelined him near the end of December. After his return from injury, Anthony remained the starter for 36 of the next 37 games until he sprained his right ankle in the middle of March. He partook in the infamous brawl with the Suns which further delayed his return and ultimately returned him back to the bench.

Rivers’ torn ACL in December 1993 put Anthony back in as the starting point guard. He remained the starter for 36 games even after the Knicks acquired Derek Harper. Harper eventually became the full-time starter in March of 1994 and remained that way until the end of Anthony’s tenure with the team.