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

Knicks All-Time No-Teammates Starting 5: Jamal Crawford, SG

Now things get fun. You are probably thinking, Jamal Crawford?! How does he make the grade as an all-time shooting guard in Knicks history? Well, this is where the “no teammates” qualifier makes things interesting.

The most obvious choice to play shooting guard would be Earl “the Pearl” Monroe, but he played next to Walt Frazier, so he is disqualified. Dick Barnett falls into the same category as Monroe. Hall-of-Famer Richie Guerin is a great choice, but the star two-guard was teammates with Harry Gallatin for the 1956-57 season. Allan Houston is another option, and a more modern one, but he was teammates with Patrick Ewing. John Starks also suited up next to the Big Fella

So where does that leave us?

You could make a case for Michael “Sugar Ray” Richardson who played both point guard and shooting guard in New York, but I consider him more of a point guard, and his star quickly faded.

And that brings us to Jamal Crawford, who played 299 games in New York over parts of five seasons. People think of him on a lot of different teams, but he started more games in New York than with any other franchise, and he has only played more games with the Clippers over his career.

Crawford averaged 17.6 points, 4.4 assists, and 1.1 steals for the Knicks. He also had some incredible nights scoring the basketball, putting up 52 points against Miami in 2007, and reaching at least 40 points three other times.

Not an obvious selection, but given the restrictions, not a bad choice either.