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4 Former New York Knicks That Would Thrive In Today’s NBA

By James Ryder

LANDOVER, MD - CIRCA 1992: Anthony Mason #14 of the New York Knicks looks on against the Washington Bullets during an NBA basketball game circa 1992 at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. Mason played for the Knicks from 1991-96. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Anthony Mason
LANDOVER, MD - CIRCA 1992: Anthony Mason #14 of the New York Knicks looks on against the Washington Bullets during an NBA basketball game circa 1992 at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. Mason played for the Knicks from 1991-96. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Anthony Mason /
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Patrick Ewing, New York Knicks. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

A popular conversation constantly revolving around not just the New York Knicks but the whole NBA is how some of basketball’s all-time greats would fair in different eras.

Part of what makes the topic so interesting and fun to speculate about is the fact that every era of the game is so incredibly different. The NBA today is nothing like it was during its inception in the mid-1940s. Heck, it is very different now from what it was like even 10 years ago.

Sure, it is a bit unfair to compare players to each other when they played years apart. But, the history of basketball has such a rich history of ridiculously versatile players regardless of the time period. So, it is hard to not dream about how much better some players would fit in if they stepped into a time machine.

But let’s not get carried away talking about only the best of the best.

You don’t need to be a Hall of Fame player to be an “NBA legend.” Every team’s fan base has players of the past who are still beloved today and held in high regard for their impact, no matter how big or small it may have been.

And that’s what I want to get into in this article*.

Which former New York Knicks would thrive today?

It is easy to assume that the greatest players of each era can have similar success across the league’s history because of how talented or dominant they are playing the game. What about other players who were a tier below? The players known for being high-level role players or low-level stars? The ones who were super skilled but didn’t average 25 points and make multiple all-star games?

With each era being so different, it isn’t crazy to think those types of guys could have elevated status in a period of the NBA that better fit their skillset.

So, are there former New York Knicks whose game would thrive in today’s NBA? Let’s look at our four candidates.

*Honorable Mentions: Of course I believe Walt Frazier and Patrick Ewing among others could be great in today’s NBA. But again, this article is not for the superstars of New York Knicks history.

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