The New York Knicks are one of the most storied organizations in the NBA, and basketball is better when the team is good. After years of incompetent front offices, the Knicks have clawed their way back to relevance under Leon Rose.
For the first time in a long time, fans have geniune hope for the future. When you have a player like Jalen Brunson as your starting point guard, how could you not?
Rather than dream about what's to come, though, it's time to take a not-so-pleasant stroll down memory lane. Just remember, at least New York is no longer a dumpster fire!
People who turned their backs on the New York Knicks
Eddy Curry
It’s been almost 15 years since Eddy Curry played his last game as a Knick. He arrived in New York via Chicago, the organization that drafted him with the No. 4 pick in 2001.
The Curry trade and the six-year, $60 million contract he signed were two of a string of disastrous decisions made by Isiah Thomas.
The only reason Curry was available to be traded was because he refused to take a DNA test so Chicago could learn more about the irregular heartbeat that sidelined him to end what ended up being his final season with the Bulls. Thomas seized the opportunity to acquire Curry and had the support of head coach Larry Brown, who said Curry’s “best basketball is in front of him.”
Unfortunately for Curry and the Knicks, that wasn’t the case. He did average a career-high 19.5 points in 81 contests in his second season, but after that, his career started to go downhill. In his final three seasons with the Knicks, he played in only 10 games because of his weight and off-court issues. He didn’t play at all in 2010-11, although he was on the roster.
It isn’t Curry’s fault that New York traded for him and signed him to a new deal, but he did let the organization and city down in his final few years with the Knicks.
Since retiring, Curry has spoken publicly about the battles he faced in New York and throughout his entire career. He now works as a consultant to current NBA players, helping them avoid the situations he once found himself in.
Mike D'Antoni
In 2008, Mike D'Antoni became the third-highest paid coach in the NBA when he signed a four-year, $24 million deal to lead the Knicks. D'Antoni arrived in New York after team president Isiah Thomas and head coach Larry Brown had left, leaving the Knicks in disarray.
D'Antoni had reached the playoffs in his previous four years in Phoenix, so there were high hopes for what he could accomplish in New York.
He had a 267-172 coaching record before he took over the Knicks, and when he abruptly stepped down in 2012, he had added 145 more losses to that list and only 121 wins. In his “best” season in New York, the team finished two games above .500. He wasn’t what the Knicks envisioned he’d be when they hired him, which certainly wasn’t all his fault. However, it’s not as if he didn’t have the talent.
Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire were the Knicks’ stars, but in their first season in NYC (2010-11), the team was swept by the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. D’Antoni quit before the 2011-12 season ended, which was another first-round exit.
To avoid being fired, he ditched the Knicks. His contract was going to be up at the end of the season, but it was still a bad look. He walked away with only one postseason appearance in New York.
James Dolan
To the dismay of Knicks fans, James Dolan is still the owner of the organization. Luckily, he’s taken a step back, allowing president of basketball operations Leon Rose to run the show. As long as Dolan’s around, though, he’ll be considered a stain on the franchise.
Dolan is a poor representation of the Knicks. He’s made too many bad decisions to keep track of, but in this case, let’s focus specifically on LeBron James in 2010. New York was reportedly LeBron’s top choice as an unrestricted free agent, but his meeting with the Knicks was a “disaster,” according to The Ringer’s Bill Simmons.
"Dolan was Dolan. they didn't have anything prepared. It just couldn't have gone worse by all accounts. It was a disaster. I think at that point, combined with the decade the Knicks just had, I think those guys were just like 'f--k it,'" Simmons said."Bill Simmons
A top-of-the-line superstar who is one of the best to do it wanted to be in New York. LeBron James wanted the Knicks. Instead, he went to Miami, where he helped the Heat hang two banners. Dolan and the front office let the organization, city, and fans down. Unfortunately, that was nothing new.
New York’s current front office is far more competent than the front office in 2010. If only Dolan weren't still in a position of power.
Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant went from being a future Knick to the top of the list of stars Knicks fans despise the most. Like the LeBron saga in 2010, the assumption was that KD would help revive New York. He took a similar route but opted to do so in Brooklyn, not Manhattan.
Since Durant signed with the Nets in 2019, he said that he didn’t join the Knicks because he didn’t want to be “the savior of the Knicks or New York.” He shied away from the pressure and spotlight. That was enough for Knicks fans to turn against him, but how he talked about New York afterward did fans in.
"I think a lot of fans look at the Knicks as a brand and expect these younger players who, in their lifetime, don't remember the Knicks being good," Durant said. "... I've seen the Knicks in the Finals, but kids coming up after me didn't see that. That whole brand of the Knicks to them is not as cool as let's say the Golden State Warriors or even the Lakers or the Nets now. The cool thing right now is not the Knicks."Kevin Durant, via Bleacher Report
In a recent conversation with his agent, Rich Kleiman (who is a Knicks fan), Durant admitted that he might’ve “embellished” or “lied” about the comments he made about the Knicks brand after he signed with the Nets. He added that the Knicks are “popping now.”
It’s too little, too late. In retrospect, New York greatly benefitted from not getting Durant and Kyrie Irving in 2019 free agency. That duo (plus James Harden) was supposed to win Brooklyn its first NBA title but did the opposite. While Knicks fans can thank KD for that, what he said about the best team in New York will never be forgotten!
Jeff Van Gundy
In 1989, Jeff Van Gundy joined the Knicks as an assistant coach. After Don Nelson was fired in March 1996, Van Gundy took his place. When Van Gundy took over, New York was 34-25, and he guided the team to a 13-10 record to close out the regular season.
Under Van Gundy, the Knicks made the playoffs yearly and even went to the NBA Finals in 1999. In 2001, New York reached the Eastern Conference Finals but came up short against Indiana. The 2001-02 season didn't yield as much success, as the Knicks were ousted in the first round of the playoffs. In the following season, everything started to fall apart.
At that point, New York was 10-9 and had won five of its last six games, so it’s not as if the Knicks were struggling and Van Gundy was feeling the pressure. Instead, he said the team had lost their intensity and that he had “lost focus” as their leader.
Van Gundy has since admitted that quitting was the wrong decision and that he regrets it.
"I quit the Knicks so I know what quitting is," Van Gundy said in an interview with "The Michael Kay Show." "I did. I quit. And it's something I regret to this day. I live with it every day and I regret it. And I let my emotions come into it. And I was just emotionally spent. I made a bad decision and I quit."Jeff Van Gundy, via ESPN
His departure marked the beginning of a dark period for New York. The Knicks went from being a regular face in the postseason to the laughingstock of the NBA. Van Gundy doesn’t deserve the sole blame for that, but turning his back on the Knicks did contribute to the organization hitting rock bottom.
Unfortunately for Van Gundy, he was laid off by ESPN in 2023. He now works as a senior consultant for the Celtics, one of the Knicks’ most hated rivals. The betrayal continues!
Tim Hardaway Sr.
Tim Hardaway Sr. was well-known by Knicks fans before he took a job with the organization in 2021-22 as a scout. During the 90s, he played for the Heat and was part of the infamous New York-Miami duels, which fueled his hatred for the Knicks. He's most famous for saying:
"I hate them with all the hate you can hate with."Tim Hardaway Sr.
He had to put that hatred to the side when New York drafted his son, Tim Hardaway Jr., in 2013. Hardaway Sr.’s relationship with William Wesley and his connection with the organization led to him being hired as a scout a couple of years after his son was traded to Dallas.
Toward the end of his first season working for the Knicks, Hardaway Sr. quit. Why? So he could take a broadcasting job on FS1’s “The Carton Show.” He spoke to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel about why he resigned (subscription required) shortly after he did so.
"I quit two weeks ago because I couldn’t go on TV and talk about basketball, and I love talking about basketball, and I couldn’t do that working for the Knicks. I couldn’t talk about different teams. I couldn’t talk about different players. I’m ecstatic and enjoying myself each and every morning on Fox Sports 1. It didn’t have anything to do with anything else but me being happy.""Hardaway Sr., South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Hardaway Sr. was under fire because he quit a few days before the Knicks and Heat squared off in the second round of the playoffs. The move was viewed as one that would allow him to root (and talk about) the Heat.
His back had already been turned against the Knicks well before he took the scouting job, but stepping away from his scouting role proved that he and New York don't go together.
Phil Jackson
The Knicks drafted Phil Jackson in the second round of the 1967 NBA Draft. He didn’t play in New York’s championship season in 1969-70 due to an injury, but he did play a vital role in the 1973 title. Jackson joined the New Jersey Nets in 1978 and spent two seasons with the organization before retiring in 1980.
In 2014, Jackson returned to the Knicks as team president. At that point, he had won 11 championships as a head coach, so hopes were high that he'd be able to carry that same mentality over to New York. Instead, the exact opposite occurred.
He signed a five-year, $60 million contract but lasted only three years in the front office. Jackson made many bad decisions, from hiring Derek Fisher (and catching a tampering fine in the process) to doing everything he could to force Carmelo Anthony out of New York. He even talked about trading Kristaps Porzingis, who, at the time, was the Knicks’ young star. He turned a 50+ win team into a disastrous one. Let’s not forget about the triangle offense!
Soon after Jackson opted into the final two years of his contract, he and the Knicks “mutually agreed to part ways.” Jackson pushed for the organization to buy out Melo’s contract, something New York didn’t want to do. That was the final nail in the coffin for Jackson and the Knicks.
As a former Knick, fans hoped that Jackson would keep the team on the right track. Boy, they couldn’t have been more wrong. He will always be appreciated for his role in 1973, but he led New York astray as a front office member, which fans will never forget.
Brandon Jennings
Brandon Jennings’ stint in New York was short and not very sweet. The point guard signed a one-year, $5 million deal with the Knicks in free agency ahead of the 2016-17 season.
Jennings landed in New York from Orlando, where Detroit traded him in a midseason deal. He averaged 7.0 points per game in 25 contests with the Magic and 6.8 points per game in the first half of the 2015-16 season with the Pistons. Before then, he had averaged at least 15 points per game since entering the league in 2009.
His stint with the Knicks started full of positivity. It seemed to be a good fit for him, and fans were happy to see him there, too. Oh, how quickly things changed.
Jennings’ lone season in NYC coincided with Phil Jackson’s last. Like other players on the Knicks, the guard wasn’t a fan of the triangle offense. It got to the point where, at the end of February, he told New York he wanted to be released to sign with a playoff team.
Jennings closed out the regular season with the Wizards, averaging 3.5 points and 4.7 assists per game. Washington made it to the second round of the playoffs before coming up short to Boston in seven games. In the postseason, he averaged only 2.8 points and 1.8 assists per game.
The Knicks brought Jennings on so he could be Derrick Rose’s backup, so it’s not as if he was ever supposed to play a big role. Even then, he still managed to be a disappointment. New York’s a tough place to play in, which Jackson made worse. Jennings didn’t do himself any favors, though. He thought he was too good to hang around for the whole season, so he ditched the Knicks.
Scott Layden
Scott Layden was named New York’s GM in 1999, right after the No. 8 seed Knicks made it to the NBA Finals. He’s yet another person who joined the front office and propelled the organization backward instead of forward.
In his first season at the helm, the Knicks made it back to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight year, but that wasn’t because of Layden. It’s painful to say that 2000 was the last time fans watched New York in the ECF.
Under Layden, the Knicks went from being a top team in the conference to a lottery-bound team, which is impressive, but for all the wrong reasons.
Layden is most remembered for the Patrick Ewing trade and his disastrous transactions, including the sign-and-trade involving Shandon Anderson, who had signed a six-year, $40 million contract. Anderson was bought out by New York less than a year after Layden left after he started in only 46 of the 215 games he played.
In 2003, Dolan fired Layden and replaced him with Isiah Thomas, who was terrible in his own right but did inherit a dumpster fire.
Stephon Marbury
Stephon Marbury returned to New York in 2004 when the Suns dealt him to the Knicks in a midseason trade. Marbury, Penny Hardaway, and Cezary Trybanski were Isiah Thomas’ first significant move since being named Knicks president. The blockbuster trade involving one of the NBA’s top point guards was supposed to push New York back to contention status.
Marbury spent a few seasons with the Knicks before things turned for the worst in 2007-08. He played in only 24 games that season. During the 2008 offseason, New York hired Mike D’Antoni, under whom Marbury didn't play a game. In November of that season, D’Antoni offered the starting shooting guard spot to Marbury, but he declined it, which resulted in a fine.
The guard said several times that he couldn’t trust D’Antoni, nor could he trust his teammates. He made it clear he wanted out of New York. Tensions ran so high that Marbury was prohibited from contacting the team as of Dec. 1 that season. He wasn’t waived by New York until two months later, which allowed him to sign with Boston. The 23 games he played with the Celtics to close out the 2008-09 regular season and the 14 he played in the 2009 playoffs were his last in the NBA.
The Marbury-Knicks breakup was ugly, as there was a lot that went into it. New York wasn’t in a good place then, but Marbury’s ego didn’t help. His time with the Knicks was disappointing, with only a first-round playoff exit in 2004 to show for it.
Joakim Noah
The four-year, $72 million free agency deal Joakim Noah signed in 2016 is regarded as one of the worst signings in Knicks history. That says a lot. He played in only 53 games for New York across two seasons.
Noah was "banished” from the Knicks in Jan. 2018 after a physical altercation with head coach Jeff Hornacek at practice. At that point, he had played in only seven games in 2017-18. New York tried to trade him but wasn't successful.
Noah didn’t play in another game for the Knicks after that. He didn’t work out in New York in the 2018 offseason but spoke with new head coach David Fizdale. The two sides agreed that the Knicks weren’t the right team for him.
New York waived Noah in Oct. 2018 with $37.8 million left on his deal. The Knicks stretched his contract to clear salary for the 2019 free agency class. He didn’t get off New York’s books until the 2022 offseason.
Noah arrived in the city as a two-time All-Star and the 2014 Defensive Player of the Year and left as a disgrace. In his lone “full season” in New York (which was disrupted in Feb. 2017 because of a 20-game suspension for violating the league’s anti-drug program), he averaged 5.0 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Thanks, Phil Jackson!
Rick Pitino
Rick Pitino is no stranger to controversy, so it’s no surprise his stint with the Knicks ended badly. Like many others on this list, Pitino doesn’t deserve all the blame, as the front office’s mismanagement played a role in his departure.
In 1987, New York hired Pitino after he led Providence to the Final Four. He wasn’t expected to be the next head coach of the Knicks, mainly because he had signed a five-year extension with the Friars a couple of months before. He dreamed of playing for the Knicks growing up in New York and said that coaching the team was “the next best thing.”
Unfortunately for Pitino and New York, his time with the Knicks wasn't quite the fairytale he dreamed of. The team was coming off a 24-58 season, so Pitino was tasked with pulling New York out of a hole. In his first season, Pitino guided the Knicks to a 38-44 finish. New York made the playoffs in 1987-88 for the first time in four years but fell to Boston in four games.
The following season, he got the team above .500 with a 52-30 record. The Knicks swept the Sixers in the first round of the playoffs but lost to the Bulls in the second round. That was an achievement on its own, considering New York hadn’t made it past the first round in five years.
Pitino didn’t spend another season with the Knicks. He and GM Al Bianchi didn’t see eye to eye on New York’s future, so he left his first NBA head coaching job for Kentucky. The Knicks slipped back down the standings the next couple of seasons after Pitino’s departure but climbed their way back up in the early 1990s, no thanks to Pitino.
Bobby Portis
It hasn’t been long since Bobby Portis was in New York. He spent the 2019-20 season with the Knicks after he signed a two-year, $31 million deal as an unrestricted free agent. New York declined his 2020-21 option after he averaged 10.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.
In 2021, Portis signed with Milwaukee. He went from an overpaid role player to a key contributor to the Bucks’ first NBA championship.
Knicks fans didn’t have much reason to dislike Portis until he talked down on the season he spent in New York. In 2022, he was asked which former team he’d go back and play for, to which he surprisingly answered the Knicks. He clarified his response on social media, saying that he was “just trolling” and that it was “the most miserable year” of his career.
Portis did say that he was thankful for the season he spent with New York, but only because it made him “come back stronger.”
It’s good that the forward has turned into a fan favorite in Milwaukee because he doesn’t have too many fans in New York!
Kristaps Porzingis
Knicks fans booed when Kristaps Porzingis was drafted No. 4 overall in 2015, and they still boo him to this day when he returns to MSG as a visitor. Even though he’s apologized for how he handled his situation in New York, he’ll never be able to come back from it.
Porzingis’ rookie season was a hit; he averaged 14.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game. He upped his point-per-game total the following year when he averaged 18.1 points per game, which should’ve given New York fans reason to be hopeful for his third season in the NBA. However, he skipped his exit interview at the end of the 2016-17 season, something the Knicks didn’t expect. Porzingis did so to express his displeasure with the current front office (Phil Jackson and Steve Mills).
KP didn’t make it through the full 2017-18 season. A few weeks after being named a first-time All-Star, he tore his ACL. The Feb. 2018 game against the Bucks was his last as a Knick.
The following season, his brother (also his agent) met with the Knicks brass a week before the trade deadline and told them that if his brother wasn’t traded, he would return to Europe to continue rehabbing. Porzingis’ brother was bold enough to give New York a list of four teams the center wanted to be traded to, but Dallas wasn’t on that list. KP’s Knicks stint ended the next day.
In Jan. 2023, Porzingis admitted he regrets how things ended in New York. He said he “enjoyed” playing for the Knicks and that he shouldn’t have listened to others about how to handle his career.
Porzingis had to learn that the grass isn’t greener on the other side. It’s fitting that after spending time in Dallas and Washington, he’s now in Boston, New York’s hated rival.
Pat Riley
It’s been almost 30 years since Pat Riley faxed his resignation to New York, shocking the entire city. The four years he spent as head coach of the Knicks were successful, and just like that, his stint ended.
New York hired Riley before the start of the 1991-92 season. Following a first-round playoff sweep to the Bulls in 1991, Riley guided the Knicks to the second round of the postseason in 1992 (another loss to Chicago). The following season, New York made it to the Eastern Conference Finals before coming up short to Chicago once again. Finally, in 1994, the Knicks beat the Bulls in the second round and went on to the NBA Finals, where they were ousted by the Rockets. In what ended up being Riley’s final season, New York lost to Indiana in the second round.
Riley racked up 223 wins with the Knicks. He turned the team into a legit contender like he promised he would, so why would he leave? In his fax, he cited his desire for more responsibility, something that wasn’t granted to him by New York. It turns out he had already agreed to go to the Heat, which resulted in a tampering charge for Miami.
He guided the Heat to a championship as a head coach in 2006 and added two more rings to his collection in 2012 and 2013. Riley's still Miami’s president and is fresh off a 2023 NBA Finals appearance.
Charles Smith
When most Knicks fans think of Charles Smith, they think of Game 5 of the 1993 Eastern Conference Finals. With the series tied 2-2, Smith had a chance to win it for the Knicks in the final seconds. Instead, Smith missed four consecutive shots under the basket. Chicago went on to win the series, 4-2.
Smith joined the Knicks ahead of the 1992-93 season. Like many other players on this list, it was thought that Smith would help New York win its third championship. His Knicks stint was full of promising flashes but ultimately resulted in disappointment.
Before the 1996 deadline, the Knicks traded Smith to the Spurs to clear up cap space, as he was still owed $19.2 million of the $26 million deal he signed.
After Smith arrived in San Antonio, he filed a grievance against the Knicks, saying that he sustained “further damage” to his injured knee in New York because he wasn’t “fully informed” about the injury. The 1996-97 season with the Spurs was his last in the NBA.
Smith is regarded as one of the most disliked Knicks players in franchise history. If only he had dunked the ball in 1993!
Stephen A. Smith
Stephen A. Smith is perhaps the most controversial Knicks fan in the world. His fandom has rightfully been called into question many times by true New York fans.
The ESPN personality has gone on anti-Knicks rants countless times. It isn’t unusual for a fan to call their favorite team out, but SAS went as far as to refuse to attend games at MSG. He even said he was thinking about never going to another game at the Garden, period. Surprise! He has.
Smith has routinely talked down on the current Knicks regime and has been proven wrong every time.
Because he’s loud (and everywhere), what he says is often regarded as the main opinion of Knicks fans whenever it’s typically the opposite.
Smith loves to scream about “orange and blue skies” now that New York is on the rise, but he’s turned his back on the team too many times to count.
Rather than emphasize everything SAS says about the Knicks, let’s focus more on true diehard fans like Ben Stiller, please!
Latrell Sprewell
Latrell Sprewell is far from being a hated Knick. In fact, the five seasons he spent in New York are looked back on with fondness. He was an electric player to watch. He’s a regular fixture at Madison Square Garden. So, why is he on this list?
His time with the Knicks didn’t come without conflict. The conflict started before he even got to New York. In 1999, he was suspended for 68 games for choking then-head coach of Golden State, P.J. Carlesimo. Sprewell didn’t play in another game for the Warriors. His next came with the Knicks.
In 2002, he showed up to training camp with a broken hand, an injury he didn’t let the organization know about. He was hit with a $250,000 fine and ordered to stay away from the team. Sprewell’s response to the ordeal was, “They talk about being a family, but they’re not sticking with me.”
When he was traded to the Timberwolves in 2003 as part of a four-team deal, Sprewell said there was “so much tension” surrounding New York. He was happy to be away from the Knicks. After leaving NYC, he spent two seasons in Minnesota, marking the end of his career.
Rod Strickland
It seemed as if things had worked out perfectly for Rod Strickland. His hometown Knicks selected the guard in the first round of the 1988 NBA Draft. In his rookie season, he averaged 8.9 points and 3.9 assists in 81 games, shooting 46.7% from the field. The youngster was a solid backup for Mark Jackson, who averaged 16.9 points that season after winning Rookie of the Year in 1988.
Strickland didn’t last two full seasons in New York, as he was traded to San Antonio in 1990 for Maurice Cheeks after he made a public trade request on Feb. 8. In his first season, Strickland averaged 16.8 minutes per game, and in his second before he was traded, he averaged 20 minutes per game. He was looking for something more, as in more playing time.
He wasn’t doing much to help his case, though. Strickland was showing up to practices late and becoming a distraction for New York, hence why the Knicks traded the youngster for a 33-year-old.
Strickland wasn’t around in NYC long enough to make much of an impact, but he certainly didn't leave a good impression.
Isiah Thomas
We saved the best for last! Isiah Thomas was already a Knicks villain before he joined New York’s front office. When all was said and done, he was disliked far more than he was as a Piston.
Thomas was hired as head of basketball operations in 2003. He tried to shape New York into a contender with big trades, which didn’t work. From trading for Stephon Marbury and his hefty contract to trading Trevor Ariza, one of Thomas’ successful draft picks, his tenure in New York is rememberable, but for all the wrong reasons (subscription required). He even admitted that the Jerome James signing was a mistake.
The Knicks had one of the league’s highest payrolls under Thomas but nothing to show for it. Of course, Dolan deserves part of the blame. The Thomas-Knicks train wreck continued until 2008 when he was finally fired.
If Thomas planned to step in and set the organization on a far worse path than they were on, he would get an A+!
Add us as a preferred source on Google