How can a guy who played for an NBA team for 35 games, and 35 games only, be considered a super memorable player in that team's history? How is 35 games enough volume to create an entire fan base out of thin air? How can someone who lasted for only 35 games on a team have an entire era named after him?
Oh yeah. That's how. Jeremy Lin was only on the Knicks for 35 games, as I alluded to an excessive amount, and despite the fact that he logged more games for five other squads and even won a championship with Toronto, he'll be remembered best as a Knick.
The same can't be said for the five names on this list. They were all very good players at one point in time, but that point did not happen when they called Madison Square Garden home. Not only are these players not remembered best for their days with the Knicks, but they're hardly remembered at all as Knicks — unless, of course, you're a diehard superfan and you find this list completely uninformative and uninteresting.
I guess there's only one way to find out.
All stats and information retrieved from Basketball Reference.
Antonio McDyess (2003-04)
The acquisition of Antonio McDyess certainly didn't pan out for the Knicks.(Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)A career Denver Nugget prior to 2003, McDyess averaged 17.7 points and 8.8 rebounds per game from 1995 to 2001, earning All-Star recognition in the final season of that stretch. That's the type of production that can potentially change a franchise, considering he was potentially entering his athletic prime in his late 20s and was improving every season. But it was in the beginning of what would be his final year with the Nuggets, the 2001-02 season, that McDyess ruptured his patellar tendon and was done for the season.
The Knicks decided to take a gamble on him after that missed season, acquiring him along with Frank Williams and a second-round draft pick in exchange for Marcus Camby, Nene and Mark Jackson. In the preseason of his debut campaign as a Knick, McDyess fractured his kneecap and missed the full 2002-03 season. He played 18 games with the Knicks the next year, albeit without the same production (8.4 points and 6.6 rebounds), and was dealt to the Suns in a deal that brought Penny Hardaway and Stephon Marbury to MSG.
Jalen Rose (2005-06)
Jalen Rose was past his prime when he joined the New York Knicks.(Nick Laham/Getty Images)One of the best players in league history that never made an All-Star team, Rose was a top-tier talent for the Pacers in the early 2000s once he found his footing in the NBA. From 2000 to 2005, Rose averaged 19.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game in a do-it-all role with Indiana, Chicago and Toronto.
His next stop after those three teams, however, wasn't as memorable. Acquired in a deal that sent him and a first-rounder to New York in exchange for Antonio Davis — which was extremely one-sided, as it was a cap move for a lowly Toronto organization in the midst of a rebuild — Rose immediately became a starter in New York, with a 16-point, 11-assist double-double in his debut. But he didn't do all that much to impress, which is why the Knicks waived him following the season and which is why he's on this list.
Tracy McGrady (2009-10)
Tracy McGrady is a legend of the game, but he might as well have hung 'em up before he came to New York.(Nick Laham/Getty Images)Count the Knicks among the teams that McGrady logged minutes for toward the end of his career, along with the Pistons, Hawks and Spurs. Gone were the days of the league-leading scorer, pouring in 30-plus points per night in a variety of ways. It was a precipitous drop-off in production, too, as injuries began to take their toll on T-Mac's production. He went from scoring 21.6 points per game in 2007-08, to 15.6 in 2008-09, to just 8.2 in 2009-10.
24 of the games in that season came in New York, where he did have some throwback showings — he dropped 26 points in his very first game — but was mostly ineffective, logging a negative Value Over Replacement Player (VORP) for the first and only time in his career.
Mike Bibby (2011-12)
By the time Mike Bibby joined the Knicks, he was no longer a top-tier point guard.(Jeff Gross/Getty Images)Another great player for whom the All-Star Game was rather elusive, Bibby averaged 16.4 points and 6.1 assists over the first 10 years of his career. The list of guards who have accomplished this in NBA history isn't exactly long — in fact, he's one of just 24 players with averages of 16 and 6 after their first decade, along with former Knicks Walt Frazier, Stephon Marbury and fellow forgettable Knicks Baron Davis and Steve Francis.
But it was in the 13th year of his career that he came to the Knicks as a free agent signing. Far past his prime, the 33-year-old Bibby averaged just 2.6 points per game over 39 contests. He received a bigger dose of playing time once the postseason came around, though a first-round exit meant an early end to Bibby's stint as a Knick and the end of his career as a whole.
Metta World Peace (2013-14)
Metta World Peace achieved his dream of being a Knick 14 years after he entered the league.(Elsa/Getty Images)Metta World Peace, formerly Ron Artest and currently Metta Sandiford-Artest, had dreams of playing for the Knicks but "f---ed up" and missed his pre-draft workout after a night of partying a bit too hard. He was ultimately drafted by the Bulls, was then traded to the Pacers a few seasons later and became an All-Star there and bounced around a few other teams.
It was only then, 14 years after he was drafted, that he realized his dreams of playing for the Knicks. Signing on as a free agent in ahead of the 2013-14 season, World Peace played in only 29 games for New York in a backup role before they waived him in February of that season.
A current Knick who definitely doesn't fall in the forgettable category played with World Peace elsewhere.
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