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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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New York Knicks
Allan Houston, NY Knicks. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) /

New York Knicks Player #3: Allan Houston

When we asked a week ago on Daily Knicks Twitter which former Knicks would play well in the NBA today, Allan Houston was the most popular response, and for good reason.

The 2-time All-Star was a key component of the NY Knicks contending teams in the late 1990s and was the franchise’s driving force during the early 2000s. Houston is undoubtedly one of the greatest New York Knicks of all time, but he was just a step below the NBA’s greats.

This is in no way selling Houston’s career, impact, or talent short. It is simply the truth that Houston was not a mainstay among the best of the best in the NBA during his time in the league.

However, he was certainly good enough that perhaps a “change of scenery” would have done wonders for Houston’s stats, accolades, and league-wide perception.

During his Knicks tenure, “H20” put up 18.5 PPG, shooting 44.4% from the field and, more notably, 39.9% from three on 3.8 3PA. His nickname is incredibly fitting, as his initial and jersey number combined perfectly described his jumper: wet like water.

Now imagine how great Houston would be shooting like that in 2021?

In today’s NBA, Houston would definitely be taking double the attempts he launched before and after the turn of the century. Allan’s shooting percentages and attempts were extremely consistent across his career.

Arguably his best shooting season (2002-03) saw him take 5.5 three-pointers a game and canning 39.6% of them. By the way, he took an insane 450 attempts that year, just six more than Joe Harris (league leader in 3P%) did this past season.

In 1994-95, Houston shot 42.4% on 4.9 attempts with the Detroit Pistons, the best single-season 3P% of his career. Had he done that during the 2020-21 season, that would have ranked him 16th in the NBA.

That would’ve put him ahead of Stephen Curry, Zach Lavine, Khris Middleton, and Paul George.

If he played in this era, Houston would have certainly gotten more looks from deep and therefore would have averaged even more points per game. The numbers prove that H20 would have greatly benefitted from the present play style and he would have been on par with the league’s premier shooters.

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