New York Knicks all-time draft bust starting 5
New York Knicks all-time draft bust starting center: Tom Riker
In 1972 the New York Knicks were riding high, in the midst of the best run of basketball in the history of the franchise. After two trips to the NBA Finals and one title, the Knicks would win a second championship the following season. The 1972 NBA Draft afforded a chance to inject some youth into the squad as they tried to continue competing.
The opportunity was certainly available to them. They had the eighth pick, and future stars Paul Westphal, Ralph Sampson, and Julius Erving would go from 10-12 in the draft. Instead of landing a star, however, they picked a center out of South Carolina named Tom Riker to be the heir apparent to Willis Reed.
He was the heir to nothing but a spot on the bench, however, as Riker reportedly showed up to training camp overweight and was never able to regain his college production. The New York native played in 82 games over three seasons with the Knicks, averaging just 2.7 points and 1.7 rebounds per game. Given who was available when the Knicks picked, it was one of the worst draft decisions in franchise history.
Unfortunately for the Knicks, you could build an entire second team of horrifying draft busts they wasted top picks on. The past few years have landed some gems, and certainly throughout history that has been the case, but there have been some shocking lows as well.
