Ranking 10 greatest Knicks of all time after Jalen Brunson wins NBA Finals MVP

The celebrations in New York City are likely to continue throughout the summer. The New York Knicks completed their championship run by registering yet another come-from-behind victory over the San Antonio Spurs and taking the NBA Finals in five thrilling games. Superstar guard Jalen Brunson proved to be the best player on the court as he carried his team in the decisive game and scored 45 points to lead the Knicks to a 94-90 triumph.

Brunson is clearly a hero for all New York Knicks fans because he simply refused to allow his team to give in to the Spurs despite the presence of Victor Wembanyama and that team’s tremendous defense. Whenever the Knicks needed to make a play, the ball was in Brunson’s hands and he delivered. He was especially effective in the fourth quarter, when the Knicks overcame another San Antonio lead and clinched the victory in the final seconds.

Brunson has elevated his status among the team’s all-time greatest players in leading the team to its third NBA title and first since 1973. Here’s a look at the all-time rankings of the greatest Knicks’ players.

10. Allan Houston

Houston was with the Knicks for nine seasons and he was a two-time All-Star for New York. He had his career cut short by a knee injury. He played his first three season with the Pistons before coming to the Knicks as a free agent.

He had his two best seasons in 1999-2000 and 2000-01. He averaged 19.7 points and shot 49.4 percent from the field in 99-00, and he was a brilliant playoff performer. He averaged 21.1 points in the ’98 playoffs and 18.5 points during the Knicks long run to the NBA Finals in ’99.

More than the numbers, he was a smooth player who knew how to get open and take the key shots for some very strong Knicks teams.

9. Bill Bradley

Bradley was a legendary college player at Princeton and he was a Rhodes Scholar before he joined the Knicks in the  1967-68 season. It took him until the 1969-70 season to become a starter, and that became the Knicks first championship season. He played 10 seasons with the Knicks and was a vital part of their first two title teams.

Bradley was a brilliant passer and had a terrific outside shot from the corner. He averaged a career best 16.1 points and 4.5 assists in the 1972-73 season — and that was the Knicks’ second championship year.

He was one of the greatest team players on a Knicks team that excelled at finding the open man.

8. John Starks

Starks was a firebrand guard for the Knicks who regularly engaged Michael Jordan and the Bulls. He played eight seasons with the Knicks and he wanted the ball in his hands. While he was not able to get the best of Jordan in their confrontations, there was no fear in his game and he never backed down.

When it came to toughness and taking charges, Starks set the tone for the Knicks. He was an All-Star in 1993-94 when he averaged 19.0 points and 5.9 assists per game.

Starks won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year in the 1996-97 season and he excelled at making key plays for the Knicks in the biggest games.

7. Carmelo Anthony

One of the greatest scorers of his era. When the Knicks acquired him in 2011. The team was struggling and he injected significant life into the offense. He set the team’s single-game scoring record with 62 points and he led the team to three consecutive playoff appearances.

Anthony averaged a league-leading 28.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per game in 2012-13 and he finished third in the league’s MVP voting. He followed that up by averaging 27.4 points per game in 2013-14.

6. Bernard King

This selection is somewhat controversial because King played just 4 of his 14 seasons with the Knicks, but he was a prolific scorer. He holds the team’s all-time record of averaging 32.9 points during the 1984-85 season.

He earned runner-up status in the league’s MVP voting in 1983-84, and that was the first of his two seasons as an All-NBA performer. When King had the ball in his hands on the offensive side court, he was nearly unstoppable.  When the power forward made up his mind that he was going to attack the basket, very few could defend him. He was an offensive machine at his best.

5. Earl Monroe

The brilliant “Pearl” played 13 seasons in the NBA and 9 of those years came with the Knicks after he was traded to New York from the archrival Baltimore Bullets. He had been a thorn in the side of the Knicks when he played with Baltimore, but he gave the Knicks one of the best backcourts of any era when he teamed with Walt Frazier.

Monroe was thought of as a brilliant one-on-one player and a top scorer because he handled the ball with such expertise. He could take over the game with his scoring, but he was also a brilliant passer. Once he joined the Knicks, Monroe mastered the concept of team basketball. He was a key member of the Knicks’ 1973 championship team.

4. Willis Reed

One of the Knicks’ all-time heroes, Reed is known for his gutsy effort in the 1970 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. He had suffered a brutal knee injury in Game 5 of that series, and he could not play in Game 6 in Los Angeles. The Lakers rolled in that game and squares the series. It was not expected that Reed could play in Game 7, but Reed thrilled the crowd when he limped out of the locker room for warmups.

He hit two jump shots on the Knicks first two possessions of the game, and that spurred the Knicks to a victory in the seventh game.

Reed was a Hall of Famer and a 7-time All-Star. He won the MVP during the 1969-70 regular season, that season’s All-Star Game and he was voted the MVP of the championship series MVP in ’70 and ’73. He was a brilliant competitor who battled Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell and Nate Thurmond on a regular basis.

3. Walt Frazier

Frazier may have been the best player on the Knicks first two championship teams, and his sense of style and cool demeanor on and off the court have made him a New York City icon for decades. He was a brilliant Hall of Fame player who made the All-Star team 7 time and was also a 7-time All-Defensive Team player.

Frazier dominated the decisive 7th game of the 1970 championship game against the Lakers with 36 points in the 113-99 triumph. The combination of Frazier and Monroe allowed the Knicks to gain a second NBA title in ’73.

2. Jalen Brunson

Brunson is the great hero of the 2026 NBA championship team. He refused to let big deficits against the San Antonio Spurs distract him from the team’s title aspirations. The 6-2 Brunson has been a brilliant ball handler throughout his career, and he excels at drawing defenders to him and then either beating them with his drives to the basket, his jump shot or delivering crisp passes to his teammates.

He has carried the Knicks on his back since they signed him as a free agent prior to the 2022-23 season. He averaged 24.0 points and 6.2 assists in his first season with the Knicks and stepped it up the following year as he scored 28.7 points per game. He continued to score at a game-changing level for the Knicks by averaging 26.0 points in each of the last two seasons.

However, it is his remarkable playoff performance that has turned him into an all-time Knicks legend. He scored a monstrous 45 points in the decisive fifth game against San Antonio and he average 28.4 points during the postseason run.

More than the numbers, there is an inevitable quality to Brunson’s game. His coaches, teammates and opponents know he will take over any game and do whatever it takes to bring the Knicks to victory.

1. Patrick Ewing

Ewing played 15 of his 17 NBA seasons with the Knicks and the Hall of Famer was an 11-time All-Star and a 7-time All-NBA player. He was the No. 1 pick in the 1985 NBA Draft, and he lived up to the hype throughout his career.

Ewing average 22.8 points and 10.4 rebounds per game during his Knicks career, and he got them to the NBA Finals in 1994 and again in 1999. The Knicks made the playoffs 13 times in a 15-year span. He was consistently brilliant during his long career with the Knicks and the only thing that eluded him was a championship

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