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Lists that rank the team's greatest players and coaches, now and throughout history. 

Amar'e Stoudemire

A list of the best New York Knicks of all time. One of the most storied franchises in the NBA, the Knicks were one of the NBA&#39;s original teams. Formed in 1946, the team has had some of the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-top-nba-players-of-all-time">greatest players in NBA history</a> to play in the Big Apple. The Knicks&#39;s early years were successful, with multiple playoff and NBA Finals appearances. But it took the team until 1970 to capture it&#39;s first ever championship. Behind Hall of Famers and franchise icons like Walt &quot;Clyde&quot; Frazier, Dave DeBusschere and BIll Bradley, the Knicks played some of the most entertaining basketball in the NBA. When Willis Reed suffered an ankle injury in Game 6, the Knicks looked done. But against the odds, Reed hobbled out and sank the first two baskets and the team was on its way.

In addition to Reed, Patrick Ewing was another one of the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/greatest-centers-of-all-time">greatest centers of all time</a> to play for the Knicks. Ewing led one of the most successful eras in Knicks history. Those Knickerbocker teams were tough and defensive minded, and featured some of the most famous former&nbsp;Knicks legends ever. During the Ewing years, all time Knick greats like Charles Oakley, John Starks, Anthony Mason, Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell were on the roster. Unfortunately, they were never able to capture an elusive NBA championship due to Michael Jordan&#39;s presence on the Bulls, something that haunts the franchise to this day.

Some of the current Knicks that might move up this list include&nbsp;Allonzo&nbsp;Trier, Noah Vonleh&nbsp;and Mitchell Robinson. All three are considered among the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/top-10-current-nba-players">top current NBA players</a>.

This is a list of the best New York Knicks of all time. If you see someone who is missing from this list, feel free to add him. Vote or rerank this list according to who you think should be considered the greatest New York Knicks player in franchise history.&nbsp;

Basketball

Big fan of New York basketball? Then check out this list of New York Knicks point guards with photos and seasons played with the team.&nbsp;It includes almost every point guard from throughout <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-new-york-knicks-centers/ranker-nba?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">New York Knicks history</a>, including current point guards and past ones. Featuring some of the&nbsp;greatest <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/best-point-guards-currently-in-the-nba?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">NBA point guards</a> of all time,&nbsp;the best Knicks&nbsp;PGs include Walt Frazier, Mark Jackson, Micheal Ray Richardson, and Stephon Marbury.In the 2017-18 NBA season, the current NY&nbsp;Knicks starting PGs and backup PGs are Ramon Sessions, Jarrett Jack, and Frank Ntilikina.&nbsp;Who are the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/greatest-point-guards-in-nba-history?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">best point guards</a> in New York Knicks history? Here is every player who has ever held the position of New York Knicks&nbsp;point guard.

Big fan of New York basketball? Then check out this list of New York Knicks centers with photos and seasons played with the team.&nbsp;It includes almost every center from throughout New York Knicks history, including current centers and past ones. Featuring some of the&nbsp;<a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/greatest-centers-of-all-time?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">greatest NBA centers</a> of all time,&nbsp;the best Knicks&nbsp;Cs include Patrick Ewing, Willis Reed, Bob McAdoo, and Charles Oakley.In the 2017-18 NBA season, the current New York Knicks starting Cs and backup Cs are Joakim Noah, Kyle O'Quinn, Enes Kanter, and Willy Hernangomez.&nbsp; Who are the best centers in New York Knicks history? Here is every player who has ever held the position of New York Knicks&nbsp;center.

Big fan of New York basketball? Then check out this list of New York Knicks shooting guards with photos and seasons played with the team.&nbsp;It includes almost every shooting guard from throughout New York Knicks history, including current shooting guards and past ones. Featuring some of the&nbsp;greatest NBA shooting guards of all time,&nbsp;the best Knicks&nbsp;SGs include Allan Houston, John Starks, Earl Monroe, and Dick Barnett.In the 2017-18 NBA season, the current New York Knicks starting SGs and backup SGs are Courtney Lee, Ron Baker, and Damyean Dotson.&nbsp; Who are the best shooting guards in New York Knicks history? Here is every player who has ever held the position of New York Knicks&nbsp;shooting guard.

Big fan of New York basketball? Then check out this list of New York Knicks power forwards with photos and seasons played with the team.&nbsp;It includes almost every power forward from throughout New York Knicks history, including current power forwards and past ones. Featuring some of the&nbsp;greatest NBA power forwards of all time,&nbsp;the best Knicks&nbsp;PFs include Ken Sears, Dave DeBusschere, Charles Oakley, and Amar'e Stoudemire.&nbsp;In the 2017-18 NBA season, the current New York Knicks starting PFs and backup PFs are Kristaps Porzingis and Michael Beasley.&nbsp; Who are the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-greatest-power-forwards-in-nba-history?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">best power forwards</a> in New York Knicks history? Here is every player who has ever held the position of New York Knicks&nbsp;power forward.

Big fan of New York basketball? Then check out this list of New York Knicks small forwards with photos and seasons played with the team.&nbsp;It includes almost every small forward from throughout New York Knicks history, including current small forwards and past ones. Featuring some of the&nbsp;greatest NBA small forwards of all time,&nbsp;the best Knicks&nbsp;SFs include Bill Bradley, Carmelo Anthony, Bernard King, and Larry Johnson&nbsp;.In the 2017-18 NBA season, the current New York Knicks starting SFs and backup SFs are Tim Hardaway Jr,, Doug McDermott, and Lance Thomas.&nbsp; Who are the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/top-10-small-forwards?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">best small forwards</a> in New York Knicks history? Here is every player who has ever held the position of New York Knicks&nbsp;small forward.

Jeff Hornacek

Everything's bigger and bolder in New York City - and that includes the sports franchises. Just take the New York Knicks, whose coaching staff is almost as storied as the basketball players themselves. The top Knicks coaches come in many forms. Some great leaders&nbsp;prioritized defense, while other former Knicks head coaches developed genius offensive plays. Many of the best New York Knicks coaches once played professionally themselves.Who will you find on this list of famous New York Knicks head coaches? Pat Riley coached the Knicks from 1991-1995, leading them to the finals, but never receiving a championship in New York. He left the Knicks to become the coach of the Miami Heat. Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Rick Pitino was the head coach of the New York Knicks from 1987-1989. Other good Knicks coaches include Red Holzman, Don Nelson, and Kurt Rambis.Do you have a favorite New York Knicks coach? Give the best team leaders a thumbs up, vote down the coaches you consider the worst, and get in on the conversation in the comments section.

These <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-new-york-knicks-of-all-time/ranker-nba?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">New York Knicks players</a> have all had their numbers retired. After making a big impact while playing for the team, players such as Earl&nbsp;Monroe and Willis Reed had their jerseys retired. But not every player in the NBA gets their number retired, it is an honor bestowed upon the best players of a franchise. Which of these athletes are the greatest New York Knicks players? This list is only for New York Knicks players with retired jerseys. Coaches and managers have had their numbers retired as well but we&#39;re here to determine the best New York Knicks players that have had their number retired for all time.

Although these are undoubtedly great players, not all of them have been voted into the Basketball Hall of Fame despite having their numbers honored. The New York Knicks players that have been elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame are noted below. Vote up the New York Knicks players with retired numbers that you think made the biggest contribution to the team.

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The 25+ Best New York Knicks Centers of All Time, Ranked

The Best New York Knicks Centers of All Time

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Patrick Ewing

Patrick Aloysius Ewing (born August 5, 1962) is a Jamaican-American retired Hall of Fame basketball player and current head coach of the Georgetown University men's basketball team. He played most of his career as the starting center of the NBA's New York Knicks and also played briefly with the Seattle SuperSonics and Orlando Magic.
Ewing played center for Georgetown for four years—where he played in the NCAA Championship Game three times—and was named as the 16th greatest college player of all time by ESPN. He had an eighteen-year NBA career, predominantly playing for the New York Knicks, where he was an eleven-time all-star and named to seven All-NBA teams. The Knicks appeared in the NBA Finals twice (1994 & 1999) during his tenure. He won Olympic gold medals as a member of the 1984 and 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball teams. In a 1996 poll celebrating the 50th anniversary of the NBA, Ewing was selected as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. He is a two-time inductee into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts (in 2008 for his individual career, and in 2010 as a member of the 1992 Olympic team). Additionally he was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame as a member of the "Dream Team" in 2009.  His number 33 was retired by the Knicks in 2003.

Willis Reed

Willis Reed Jr. (born June 25, 1942) is an American retired basketball player, coach and general manager. He spent his entire professional playing career (1964–1974) with the New York Knicks. In 1982, Reed was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In 1996, he was voted one of the "50 Greatest Players in NBA History".After retiring as a player, Reed served as assistant and head coach with several teams for nearly a decade, then was promoted to general manager and vice president of basketball operations (1989 to 1996) for the New Jersey Nets. As senior vice president of basketball operations, he led them to the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003.

Amar'e Carsares Stoudemire (Hebrew: אמארה סטודמאייר‎; ; born November 16, 1982) is an  American-Israeli professional basketball player who last played for Hapoel Jerusalem of the  Israeli Premier League and the Basketball Champions League. He won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in 2003 with the Phoenix Suns, who selected him with the ninth overall pick of the 2002 NBA draft. He made six appearances in the NBA All-Star Game and was named to the All-NBA Team five times, including one first-team selection in 2007.
Stoudemire played high school basketball for five different schools, ultimately graduating from Cypress Creek High School in Orlando, Florida, and declaring for the NBA draft as a prep-to-pro player. He won several prep honors, including being selected as Florida's Mr. Basketball. The highly athletic Stoudemire suffered from chronic knee problems during his career and underwent microfracture surgery on both knees. He played for the Suns, the New York Knicks, the Dallas Mavericks, and the Miami Heat before retiring from the NBA in 2016. 
Stoudemire won a bronze medal with the United States national team at the 2004 Olympic Games. His off-court ventures include a record label, a clothing line, acting and a series of children's books for Scholastic Press. In addition, Stoudemire owns a significant share of Hapoel Jerusalem, the team he won a championship with in 2017.

Charles Oakley

Charles Oakley (born December 18, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player. Oakley was a member of the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards and Houston Rockets. A power forward, he consistently ranked as one of the best rebounders in the NBA. In 2017, he was confirmed to both play and coach the Killer 3's for the debut of the BIG3, a new basketball league focusing on 3-on-3 basketball.

Bob McAdoo

Robert Allen McAdoo (born September 25, 1951) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played 14 seasons in the  National Basketball Association (NBA), where he was a five-time NBA All-Star and named the NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1975. He won two NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers during their Showtime era in the 1980s. In 2000, McAdoo was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
McAdoo played at the center and power forward positions. In his 21-season playing career, he spent 14 seasons in the NBA and his final seven in the Lega Basket Serie A in Italy. McAdoo is one of the few players who have won both NBA and the FIBA European Champions Cup (EuroLeague) titles as a player. He later won three more NBA titles in 2006, 2012 and 2013 as an assistant coach with the Miami Heat.

Marcus Camby

Marcus Dion Camby (born March 22, 1974) is a American retired professional basketball player who played 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association. He was named Defensive Player of the Year during the 2006–07 NBA season, leading the league in blocked shots per game. Camby is also a four-time member of the NBA All-Defensive Team and is 12th on the NBA's all-time career blocks list.

Tyson Chandler

Tyson Cleotis Chandler (born October 2, 1982) is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Chandler was the second overall pick of the 2001 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Clippers, then was immediately traded to the Chicago Bulls. He has also played for the New Orleans Hornets, Charlotte Bobcats, Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers. As starting center for Dallas, he played an integral role in the franchise's first NBA championship in 2011. He has been named to the NBA All-Defensive Team three times. While with New York, Chandler was voted the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2012, when he was also named to the All-NBA Third Team. He won gold medals with the US national team in the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Mitchell Robinson

Mitchell Robinson (born April 1, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected with the 36th overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft. Before beginning his professional career, he gained national coverage for withdrawing from his commitment to attend Western Kentucky University to instead dedicate the entire 2017–18 season for training on his own, being the first player to make such a decision.

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Jerry Lucas

Jerry Ray Lucas (born March 30, 1940) is an American former basketball player. He was a nationally awarded high school player, national college star at Ohio State, and 1960 gold medal Olympian and international player before later starring as a professional player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a collegian, Lucas led the Ohio State Buckeyes to the 1960 college national championship and three straight NCAA finals. He remains today the only three-time Big Ten Player of the Year, and was also twice named NCAA Player of the Year. As a professional, Lucas was named All-NBA First Team three times, an NBA All-Star seven times, was 1964 NBA Rookie of the Year, and was named Most Valuable Player of the 1965 NBA All-Star Game among other honors and awards. He was inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980.

Pat Cummings

Pat Cummings (July 11, 1956 – June 26, 2012) was an American professional basketball player.
A 6-foot-9 forward with an accurate shooting touch, Cummings spent the most productive stretch of his 12-year career with the New York Knicks and the Dallas Mavericks of the NBA, averaging better than 12 points and 8 rebounds for four straight campaigns.

Bill Cartwright

James William Cartwright (born July 30, 1957) is an American retired NBA basketball player and a former head coach with the Chicago Bulls. A 7'1" (2.16 m) center, he played 16 seasons for the New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls and Seattle SuperSonics, helping the Bulls capture consecutive championships in 1991, 1992 and 1993. He attended Elk Grove High School in Elk Grove, California, and played college basketball at the University of San Francisco.

Walt Bellamy

Walter Jones Bellamy (July 24, 1939 – November 2, 2013) was an American professional basketball player. A four-time NBA All-Star, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Dikembe Mutombo

Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo (born June 25, 1966) is a Congolese American retired professional basketball player. Mutombo played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Outside basketball, he has become well known for his humanitarian work.
The 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m), 260-pound (120 kg; 19 st) center, who began his career with the Georgetown Hoyas, is commonly regarded as one of the greatest shot blockers and defensive players of all time, winning the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award four times; he was also an eight-time All-Star. On January 10, 2007, he surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the second most prolific shot blocker in NBA history, behind only Hakeem Olajuwon. He averaged a double-double for most of his career, and is 12th all-time in career double-doubles, and tied for second all-time in career triple doubles involving points, rebounds and blocks.At the conclusion of the 2009 NBA playoffs, Mutombo announced his retirement. On September 11, 2015, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Zach Randolph

Zachary McKenley Randolph (born July 16, 1981) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed Z-Bo, the two-time NBA All-Star played college basketball for Michigan State University before being drafted in the 2001 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. He has played for five teams over the course of his professional career, making the All-NBA Third Team in 2011 with the Grizzlies.

Connie Simmons

Cornelius Leo "Connie" Simmons (March 15, 1925 – April 15, 1989) was an American professional basketball player. He was born in Newark, New Jersey.
A 6'8" forward/center from Flushing High School in New York City, Simmons played ten seasons (1946–56) in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Boston Celtics, Baltimore Bullets, New York Knicks, Syracuse Nationals and Rochester Royals.  He averaged 9.8 points per game and 6.2 rebounds per game in his career and was a member of two league championship teams: the 1948 Bullets and the 1955 Nationals. He was the second player to enter the NBA without having played in college, after Tony Kappen.Connie was the brother of professional basketball and baseball player Johnny Simmons.

Kristaps Porzingis

Kristaps Porziņģis (born 2 August 1995) is a Latvian professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) tall, and plays both the power forward and center positions. Born in Liepāja, Porziņģis started out his career with youth teams in his hometown before trying out and making the Baloncesto Sevilla youth squads. Following multiple years with the junior teams of Sevilla and representing them in Nike International Junior Tournaments, he was promoted to the senior squad. There, Porziņģis quickly rose as the figurehead of the team, becoming the youngest ever recipient of the EuroCup Basketball Rising Star award, while also attracting interest from various NBA franchises, ultimately being selected by the Knicks with the fourth overall pick of the 2015 NBA draft.

Enes Kanter

Enes Kanter (Turkish: [eˈnes kanˈtæɾ]; born May 20, 1992) is a Swiss-born Turkish professional basketball player for the Portland Trailblazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected with the third overall pick of the 2011 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz. Kanter is a political activist.

Kurt Thomas

Kurt Vincent Thomas (born October 4, 1972) is an American retired professional basketball player. Thomas is a 6'9", 230 lb. power forward-center known for his hard-nosed playing style and tough defense during his eight year tenure with the New York Knicks. Drafted by the Miami Heat in 1995, Thomas played college basketball at Texas Christian University.

Anthony Mason

Anthony George Douglas Mason (December 14, 1966 – February 28, 2015) was an American professional basketball player. In his 13-year career he played with the New Jersey Nets, Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks, Charlotte Hornets, Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association. He averaged 10.8 points and 8.3 rebounds in his 13-year NBA career. Mason earned the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award in 1995 and led the NBA in minutes played in the following two seasons. In 1997, he was named to the All-NBA Third Team and the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. He was selected to the 2001 NBA All-Star Game. Mason was a member of the 1993-1994 New York Knicks team that reached the NBA Finals.
Mason played collegiately for Tennessee State University and also played professionally in Turkey, Venezuela, the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and the United States Basketball League (USBL).

David Lee

David Lee (born April 29, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Florida Gators before he was drafted 30th overall by the New York Knicks in the 2005 NBA draft. In 2010, Lee was signed and traded to the Golden State Warriors. With the Warriors, Lee became a two-time All-Star and an All-NBA Team member, and won an NBA championship in 2015 in his fifth and final season with the team.
After short stints with three other NBA teams and becoming a free agent in June 2017, Lee retired in November 2017.

John Gianelli

John Arec Gianelli (born June 10, 1950) is an American former professional basketball player. At a height of 6'10" (2.08 m ) tall, he played at the power forward and center positions.

Earl Barron

Earl Daniel Barron Jr. (born August 14, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player and current assistant coach for the Northern Arizona Suns of the NBA G League. He previously played college basketball for the University of Memphis and had stints in the NBA with multiple teams, including the 2006 NBA Finals champion Miami Heat.

Robin Lopez

Robin Byron Lopez (born April 1, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected with the 15th pick in the 2008 NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns, was traded to the New Orleans Hornets in 2012 and was traded to Portland in 2013. He played college basketball for the Stanford Cardinal alongside his twin brother Brook Lopez, who currently plays for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Jim Barnes

Velvet James Barnes (April 13, 1941 – September 14, 2002), also affectionately known as Jim "Bad News" Barnes, was an American basketball player, who was an Olympic Gold Medalist and the No. 1 overall pick of the 1964 NBA draft.

Antonio McDyess

Antonio Keithflen McDyess (born September 7, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player. Listed at  6'9" (2.06 m) and 245 lb (111 kg), McDyess played as a power forward.

Big fan of New York basketball? Then check out this list of New York Knicks centers with photos and seasons played with the team.&nbsp;It includes almost ...