We're several weeks past the height of free agency, though LeBron James had everyone on hold before he decided to sign with the Sixers. There are still several players left on the free-agent market, ones who will be signed before the season starts, and many who won't. That list includes a few former New York Knicks players whom you might've forgotten about.
Once A Knick, always a Knick, though, right? Of course. These four players can take pride in having suited up for the New York Knicks, even though their stints were brief - so brief that they could've slipped your mind.
Thanasis Antetokounmpo's NBA future is uncertain
Chances are, when you think of Thanasis Antetokounmpo, you don't think of New York. You don't even think of an NBA team, just his brother, Giannis, but it was the Knicks that drafted the forward with the No. 51 pick in the 2014 draft.
Antetokounmpo played for the Knicks in summer league that year (and the year after) before the team signed him to a deal in 2015, after he spent the prior season in Westchester. He appeared in two games for New York in the 2015-16 season, averaging 3.0 minutes per contest, so, quite literally, if you blinked, you might've missed it.
Several years passed before Antetokounmpo played in an NBA game again; he did so in 2019-20 after Milwaukee signed him. He spent the past six years with the Bucks organization, averaging 4.4 minutes across 34 games this past season.
Now that Giannis is in Miami, Thanasis is on the lookout for his next NBA home. Unlike the Bucks, the Heat aren't taking on Giannis' brothers. Alex Antetokounmpo has already signed with a team in Greece, and maybe Thanasis will follow in similar footsteps.
MarJon Beauchamp is a former first-round pick
MarJon Beauchamp, Milwaukee's No. 24 pick in the 2022 draft, signed a two-way contract with New York in March 2025. That wasn't long ago, so you might not have needed a refresher on his stint with the team, or maybe you did, considering he appeared in only six games for the Knicks to end the season, averaging 2.8 minutes.
He signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Sixers last year, and at the end of December, they signed him to a two-way contract. He averaged 6.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game in 14 minutes across 14 games, the most Beauchamp played for a single team since he was with the Bucks.
The 25-year-old is still available as an unrestricted free agent and is certainly worth another team taking a flier on. Maybe that team will end up being Milwaukee, where it all began for Beauchamp.
Trevor Keels is still trying to prove himself
In the same draft that Milwaukee took Beauchamp, New York selected Trevor Keels out of Duke with the No. 42 pick, and he signed a two-way contract with the Knicks. He spent most of his time in Westchester, though he did appear in three games for the team in 2022-23, averaging 2.7 minutes per contest.
It feels like it was forever ago that Keels was in New York, though it was just a few years ago; so much has happened since his departure. It's wild to think his lone season with the Knicks was Jalen Brunson's first.
In September 2023, Westchester traded Keels' rights to the Iowa Wolves, Minnesota's G League affiliate. He spent the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons playing in Iowa before spending this past season with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the Heat's G League affiliate.
His play led to Miami signing him to a two-way contract this past February, and he appeared in eight games for the Heat, averaging 1.9 minutes per contest. It was the first time Keels played in an actual NBA game since his time with the Knicks.
Keels is just 22 years old (he'll turn 23 later this month), so time isn't working against him, but as he's already learned over the past few years, getting back on an NBA roster is quite the uphill battle.
Doug McDermott could still be a solid shooting addition
If there is one player on this list you should remember watching play for the Knicks, it's Doug McDermott, and not just because he was part of the Carmelo Anthony trade. He played 55 games for New York in 2017-18 before New York traded him to Dallas midseason. He averaged 7.2 points per game, shooting 38.7% from three.
The 2014 lottery pick has hopped around to several teams since leaving the Knicks, spending the past two seasons with the Kings. McDermott played 29 games this past year, averaging 15.1 minutes per contest.
At 34, McDermott can still serve as a solid veteran addition for a team, so while you may think this shouldn't be the end of the road for him, it could very well be.
Out of the four former Knicks on this list, it feels like McDermott and Beauchamp have the highest chance of being on a roster by the time training camp rolls around. Time will tell who gets another shot and who doesn't.
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