9 Players the New York Knicks gave up on way too soon

2. Dolph Schayes

The New York Knicks have certainly made a long list of mistakes in the past few decades, but for the penultimate entry on this list we are going way, way back to 1948. The Knicks played not in the NBA but in the BAA, which was soon to merge with the NBL to become the NBA. At the same time, he was drafted by the Syracuse Nationals of the NBL.

Schayes grew up in the Bronx and went to NYU; playing for his hometown Knicks was probably something he would have loved to do. The problem was that the Knicks didn’t want to pay him; they offered him a contract for just $3,750. When Syracuse offered twice that, he signed with the Nationals instead.

Schayes went on to become one of the early superstars in the NBA. He averaged 16.8 points as a rookie, then led the league in rebounding as a sophomore with 16.4 rebous per game. He averaged a double-double for 11 straight years, making 12 All-Star Games and 12 All-NBA teams. He led Syracuse to the 1955 NBA Championship and was an easy induction into the Hall of Fame.

Schayes played his entire career with Syracuse, one of the best scorers and rebounders in the league. If the Knicks had simply offered him a decent contract, he very likely would have amassed all of those points, rebounds and accolades for the Knicks.