New York Knicks: All-time starting five, no teammates allowed

What does the New York Knicks all-time starting five look like if no teammates are allowed?

We have reached the point that you have probably read every all-time New York Knicks list that you can possibly think of during this break from real basketball, but I promise you this is a fun exercise that you might not have seen.

What if you had to construct an all-time starting lineup of Knicks greats, but nobody in the lineup could have been teammates with each other?

In other words, if you select Patrick Ewing to play center, that rules out every Knicks player from 1986 until 2000 as a possible selection on this all-time “no teammates” starting five.

It makes it a bit challenging, right? That means you get to pick one player from those great championship teams in the late sixties and early seventies. You get to pick one player during the Ewing Era. You get one player from recent times—granted, less worrisome than other eras.

Before we get into the lineup, a few ground rules to set the stage for how I picked the team.

• Each player was considered for the position where they played the majority of their career with the Knicks. So no cheating by playing two point guards in the backcourt.
• Each player’s accomplishments are based on their time with the Knicks, only.

Lastly, I selected the players in order of their overall ranking in Knicks history. This made things interesting as you get further down the list. I could have made my selections to ensure I get the most balanced lineup at each position, but I thought this would be more fun.

Without further ado, let’s get into it.