The Knicks have been around since 1946, and in that time have seen 22 Hall of Famers suit up at Madison Square Garden. Though names like Ewing, Frazier, Monroe, Bradley and others are well-known, do you remember these other legends donning the blue and orange?
Check out the rest of our "Surprise Hall of Famer" series by clicking the team of your choice: Yankees | Red Sox | Mets | Giants | Jets | Celtics... all of the Patriots' Hall of Famers spent at least four years with the team, so no one qualifies):
Maurice Cheeks: The defensive menace had his best years with the 76ers, with whom he spent the first 11 seasons of his career and won his only NBA title (1983). Before the 1989-90 season, though, his time in Philly came to an end with a trade to San Antonio at age 33. The Spurs' starting point guard, his season stats were essentially unchanged from the season prior when he was traded again in February to the Knicks, where he'd spend the next season-and-a-half. He averaged 7.8 points and 5.5 assists per game in that span before being traded a third time after the 1990-91 season to Atlanta.
Jason Kidd: At age 38, Kidd appeared to show no signs of retiring anytime soon in the summer of 2012, verbally agreeing to stay with the Mavericks, with whom he'd spent the previous five seasons. However, he had a change of heart and signed a three-year deal to join the Knicks instead. Initially it worked wonders: New York started the year 18-5 and had its first 50-win season in over a decade. However, big minutes and Father Time caught up to Kidd, who averaged 3.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists after February 1, and it was even worse in the postseason. He didn't score in the final 10 games, and played a combined 12 minutes in the final two games before retiring.
Slater Martin: A star in the 1950s, Martin won five championships in his career (four with the Minneapolis Lakers and one with the St. Louis Hawks). A seven-time All-Star, his time between Minneapolis and St. Louis was sandwiched by a pit stop with the Knicks. Part of a five-player deal, the diminutive (5'10") point guard spent the first 13 games of the 1956-57 season in New York before he was dealt again. On the move for the second time in two months, Martin was sent to the Hawks for Willie Nauls and wound up making the All-Star team.
Tracy McGrady: One of the best scorers of the 2000s, injuries held T-Mac back as he neared age 30. In 2008-09 he played just 35 games due to shoulder and knee issues, then played in just six games to start the '09-10 campaign before being shut down so the Rockets could trade him. He didn't play again until February, when Houston dealt the seven-time All-Star to the Knicks as part of a three-team deal. His debut was memorable, as he scored 26 points, and he did start in all 24 games in which he played, but New York finished the season just 29-53 and that offseason he signed a one-year deal with Detroit.
Dikembe Mutumbo: After an awkward one year in New Jersey in 2002-03, the 37-year-old Mutumbo was just two years removed from his final All-Star Game appearance when he signed a two-year contract with the Knicks. Though no longer an All-Star caliber player, the four-time Defensive Player of the Year was still effective, averaging 1.9 blocks per game (including an 11-block performance against the Nets). Prior to the start of the '04-05 season he was dealt to Chicago as part of a six-player swap that brought Jamal Crawford to New York, before the Bulls flipped him again prior to the season's start to Houston, where Mutumbo spent the final five years of his career.
Paul Westphal: It's Westphal's second appearance in as many weeks on this series, as the Hall of Famer began his career with three largely forgettable seasons in Boston. Once he was dealt from the Celtics to the Suns he blossomed, becoming a four-time All-NBA performer before adding another All-Star game nod in 1980-81 with the Sonics despite playing just 36 games. The next season he was sent to the Knicks, who hoped to buy low on the 31-year-old coming off an injury-plagued season. Limited to just 18 games in '81-82, he returned to health the following year and was the NBA's Comeback Player of the Year. The next year he returned to Phoenix, where he finished his playing career.