4 Best undrafted talents the New York Knicks put on the map
1. John Starks, G, 1998 (undrafted)
Career achievements: NBA All-Star (1994), Second-Team All-Defense (1993), 1997 Sixth Man of the Year
It’s no surprise (or shouldn’t be one) to see John Starks on this list. He is one of the most popular undrafted success stories in NBA history and one of the few undrafted players that would ever go on to make an NBA All-Star team. Starks defied the odds of being an undrafted player and would go on to make an NBA All-Star Game in 1994. He would also win the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award in 1997.
Before blowing up with the New York Knicks, Starks played 36 games with the Golden State Warriors in 1989. But it was a tryout with the Knicks in 1990 that would change the course of his career trajectory. Ultimately, Starks would become a starting shooting guard (for three seasons) for the Knicks. In his best season in New York, Starks averaged 19 points, six assists, and three rebounds on 42 percent shooting from the field.
Starks played 13 seasons in the NBA and eight of them in New York. Starks is one of the best stories in league history and has become one of the greatest Knicks of all time. It goes to show what hard work and perhaps even a little luck can do.
It’s hard to tell the entire story of the 1990s New York Knicks without John Starks.
