New York Knicks: Which players had the most surprising seasons?
The New York Knicks won their final game of the season to secure the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference and home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. They finished the regular season at 41-31, their second-best record over the last 20 years.
Many experts and Knicks fans alike predicted that the team would likely be in the lottery or contending for the play-in tournament, instead they’re currently preparing to host a playoff series.
A huge amount of credit will deservedly go to head coach Tom Thibodeau, whose grinding defensive style worked perfectly in the city that has always appreciated effort and toughness.
However, the praise shouldn’t stop with the head coach. The Knicks weren’t huge players in the 2020 free agency market, so their contributors would have to heavily outplay the circumstances of how they arrived on a formerly dreadful team.
This article is going to focus on players who have been unexpectedly great. R.J. Barrett had an excellent sophomore year and looks like a future franchise cornerstone, but fans were already expecting him to improve from his rookie season so he’ll be omitted from consideration here.
Instead, let’s take a look at 4 players who have completely blown any and all expectations out of the water.