KNICKS LEGENDS
Retired numbers in the rafters. Banners over the court. Stories that built New York basketball.
CHAMPIONSHIP BANNERS
The 1970 and 1973 Knicks remain the only championship teams in franchise history — and the gold standard every era is measured against.
1970
CHAMPS
1973
CHAMPS
RAFTERS
LEGENDS GALLERY
Tap any legend to jump to their full story. Each card links to a verified YouTube highlight reel and a portrait from the Wikimedia Commons archive.
#19
"The Captain"
CENTER · 1964–1974 · 1970, 1973 CHAMP
Reed's Game 7 entrance against the Lakers in 1970 — limping out of the tunnel on a torn thigh muscle and hitting the game's first two shots — is still the most iconic moment in Knicks history and one of the most legendary in all of sports.
1972 NBA publicity photo · Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
#10
"Clyde"
POINT GUARD · 1967–1977 · 1970, 1973 CHAMP
Dropped 36 points and 19 assists in Game 7 of the 1970 Finals — arguably the greatest individual performance in a championship-clinching game ever. Still the voice of the Knicks on MSG broadcasts: 'posting and toasting,' 'dishing and swishing.'
Walt Frazier · Wikimedia Commons
#33
CENTER · 1985–2000
Carried the bruising 1990s Knicks to the 1994 Finals and the 1999 Finals run. The most beloved Knick of the modern era — his #33 hangs in the Garden rafters and his name is still chanted by fans waiting for the next title.
Patrick Ewing, 2021 · Wikimedia Commons
#15
"The Pearl / Black Jesus"
GUARD · 1971–1980 · 1973 CHAMP
Joining Frazier in the legendary 'Rolls Royce backcourt' was supposed to be impossible — two ball-dominant superstars. Instead, they sacrificed for each other and won the 1973 title together.
Earl Monroe at WSSU · Wikimedia Commons
#22
FORWARD · 1968–1974 · 1970, 1973 CHAMP
The blue-collar enforcer who locked up opposing forwards and crashed the boards. Without DeBusschere, the 1970 and 1973 banners do not hang in the Garden.
Dave DeBusschere · Wikimedia Commons
#24
"Dollar Bill"
FORWARD · 1967–1977 · 1970, 1973 CHAMP
Bradley was the literal model for the selfless, basketball-IQ-driven Knicks teams of the early '70s — moving without the ball, hitting the open man, knocking down the corner jumper.
Senator Bill Bradley (NJ) · Wikimedia Commons
#12
"Fall Back Baby"
GUARD · 1965–1973 · 1970, 1973 CHAMP
Earned a doctorate in education after his playing days and spent decades fighting for recognition of the all-Black Tennessee A&I teams that won three straight NAIA titles. A scholar-baller and quiet pillar of the title teams.
Dick Barnett · Wikimedia Commons
#15
"Tricky Dick"
POINT GUARD · 1949–1957
His #15 hangs alongside Earl Monroe's — a rare double honor for one number. The Knicks lifer whose passing-first style set the template for New York basketball.
Madison Square Garden · Wikimedia Commons
#3
"Coney Island"
SHOOTING GUARD · 1990–1998
Game 2, 1993 Eastern Conference Finals: Starks rises through Horace Grant and Michael Jordan for 'The Dunk' — the most iconic Knicks moment of the modern era. Pure Coney Island ferocity, still beloved at the Garden as a team ambassador.
Photo: Steve Lipofsky · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
#7
"Melo"
FORWARD · 2011–2017
On January 24, 2014, dropped 62 points on the Bobcats — the Knicks single-game scoring record AND the Madison Square Garden record on the same night. Led the 2012–13 Knicks to 54 wins and the Atlantic Division title, the franchise's best regular season since 1996–97.
Carmelo Anthony, Knicks vs. Wizards, March 2013 · Wikimedia Commons
#1
"STAT"
POWER FORWARD · 2010–2015
Famously declared 'The Knicks are back' the day he signed — then backed it up by averaging 25.3 points and dragging a thin roster into the 2011 playoffs, ending an eight-year postseason drought. The bridge from the dark years to the Melo and Brunson eras.
Amar'e Stoudemire shooting a free throw as a Knick · Wikimedia Commons
#20
"H"
SHOOTING GUARD · 1996–2005
Game 5, 1999 first round vs. the Heat. With 0.8 seconds left and the Knicks down one, Houston's running one-hander bounced off the rim, off the backboard, and in — sending the 8-seed Knicks past the 1-seed Heat and on a Cinderella run to the Finals. Still known simply as 'The Shot.'
Allan Houston · Wikimedia Commons
#34
"The Oak Tree / Oak"
POWER FORWARD · 1988–1998
If you drove the lane on the '90s Knicks, you were paying a toll — and Oak was collecting. From the 1993 brawl with Phoenix, to body-checking Tyrone Hill, to the infamous fight that started it all in Game 5 vs. the Bulls in '94, Oakley defined Knicks toughness. Averaged a double-double for the franchise and remains one of the most beloved Knicks of all time.
Charles Oakley, 2007 (post-playing portrait) · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Note: no freely-licensed Knicks-jersey playing-era photo of Oakley exists on Commons.
"The Captain"
Seven-time All-Star, two-time NBA champion, two-time Finals MVP, regular season MVP (1970), and Rookie of the Year. The heart and soul of the Knicks' only two championship teams.
LEGACY: Reed's Game 7 entrance against the Lakers in 1970 — limping out of the tunnel on a torn thigh muscle and hitting the game's first two shots — is still the most iconic moment in Knicks history and one of the most legendary in all of sports.
MSG Networks — Willis Reed Returns For Game 7 — Knicks Win First Title in 1970
"Clyde"
Seven-time All-Star, seven-time All-Defensive First Team, two-time NBA champion. The cool, swaggering point guard who defined New York basketball with smothering defense and effortless style — on and off the court.
LEGACY: Dropped 36 points and 19 assists in Game 7 of the 1970 Finals — arguably the greatest individual performance in a championship-clinching game ever. Still the voice of the Knicks on MSG broadcasts: 'posting and toasting,' 'dishing and swishing.'
New York Knicks — Walt 'Clyde' Frazier and Jon Stewart Relive the 1970's | Garden Party
Eleven-time All-Star, Rookie of the Year, 1992 Olympic Dream Team gold medalist. The face of the Knicks for 15 years and the franchise's all-time leader in points, rebounds, blocks, and steals.
LEGACY: Carried the bruising 1990s Knicks to the 1994 Finals and the 1999 Finals run. The most beloved Knick of the modern era — his #33 hangs in the Garden rafters and his name is still chanted by fans waiting for the next title.
Club 30 with Henrik Lundqvist — Patrick Ewing Reflects on '90s Knicks, Bird's Trash Talk, Brunson & NYC
"The Pearl / Black Jesus"
Four-time All-Star, 1968 Rookie of the Year, 1973 NBA champion. Brought the playground spin moves and showmanship that turned 1970s Knicks ball into a cultural moment.
LEGACY: Joining Frazier in the legendary 'Rolls Royce backcourt' was supposed to be impossible — two ball-dominant superstars. Instead, they sacrificed for each other and won the 1973 title together.
MSG Networks — Relive The Glory Days Of The Knicks & Dick Barnett
Eight-time All-Star, six-time All-Defensive First Team, two-time NBA champion. The trade that brought him from Detroit in December 1968 is widely regarded as the move that made the championship Knicks.
LEGACY: The blue-collar enforcer who locked up opposing forwards and crashed the boards. Without DeBusschere, the 1970 and 1973 banners do not hang in the Garden.
Retro Sports Radio — 1970 NBA Finals Game 7 — Lakers at Knicks (DeBusschere starting forward)
"Dollar Bill"
Rhodes Scholar, Princeton legend, two-time NBA champion. Later a U.S. Senator from New Jersey and presidential candidate. The cerebral wing on the championship Knicks.
LEGACY: Bradley was the literal model for the selfless, basketball-IQ-driven Knicks teams of the early '70s — moving without the ball, hitting the open man, knocking down the corner jumper.
Retro Sports Radio — 1970 NBA Finals Game 7 — Bradley scored 17 in the championship clincher
"Fall Back Baby"
Two-time NBA champion and one-time All-Star. The veteran shooting guard whose unorthodox 'fall-back' jump shot was automatic for the championship-era Knicks.
LEGACY: Earned a doctorate in education after his playing days and spent decades fighting for recognition of the all-Black Tennessee A&I teams that won three straight NAIA titles. A scholar-baller and quiet pillar of the title teams.
70sFan — Dick Barnett Highlights — the 'fall back baby' jumper in action
"Tricky Dick"
Seven-time All-Star and one of the original Knicks. Led New York to three straight NBA Finals appearances (1951–53). Spent six decades in the organization as player, coach, and scout.
LEGACY: His #15 hangs alongside Earl Monroe's — a rare double honor for one number. The Knicks lifer whose passing-first style set the template for New York basketball.
MSG Networks — 1970 Champion jersey raised to the rafters — Knicks history feature including McGuire's #15
"Coney Island"
Two-time All-Star, 1997 Sixth Man of the Year, and the franchise's all-time leader in three-pointers made when he left. An undrafted, ex-grocery-store-bagger who became the heart of the Pat Riley Knicks.
LEGACY: Game 2, 1993 Eastern Conference Finals: Starks rises through Horace Grant and Michael Jordan for 'The Dunk' — the most iconic Knicks moment of the modern era. Pure Coney Island ferocity, still beloved at the Garden as a team ambassador.
NBA Throwback — 1993: John Starks 'The Dunk' vs. Chicago Bulls
"Melo"
Ten-time All-Star, six-time All-NBA, three-time Olympic gold medalist, 2013 NBA scoring champion. Acquired in a blockbuster trade in February 2011, Melo became the most prolific scorer the Knicks had seen since Bernard King.
LEGACY: On January 24, 2014, dropped 62 points on the Bobcats — the Knicks single-game scoring record AND the Madison Square Garden record on the same night. Led the 2012–13 Knicks to 54 wins and the Atlantic Division title, the franchise's best regular season since 1996–97.
NBA — Carmelo Anthony Drops a Knicks Franchise-Record 62 Points
"STAT"
Six-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA, 2003 Rookie of the Year. Signed a five-year max deal in July 2010 and almost single-handedly resurrected Knicks basketball after a decade in the wilderness.
LEGACY: Famously declared 'The Knicks are back' the day he signed — then backed it up by averaging 25.3 points and dragging a thin roster into the 2011 playoffs, ending an eight-year postseason drought. The bridge from the dark years to the Melo and Brunson eras.
NBA — Amar'e Stoudemire's Top 10 Plays of His Career
"H"
Two-time All-Star, 2000 Olympic gold medalist, and one of the purest shooters in Knicks history. Acquired in free agency from Detroit in 1996 and paired with Latrell Sprewell to form the backcourt that carried New York to the 1999 NBA Finals.
LEGACY: Game 5, 1999 first round vs. the Heat. With 0.8 seconds left and the Knicks down one, Houston's running one-hander bounced off the rim, off the backboard, and in — sending the 8-seed Knicks past the 1-seed Heat and on a Cinderella run to the Finals. Still known simply as 'The Shot.'
NBA — Allan Houston — 'The Shot' vs. Miami Heat (1999 Playoffs)
"The Oak Tree / Oak"
1994 NBA All-Star, two-time All-Defensive Team, and the most feared enforcer of the 1990s Eastern Conference. Acquired from Chicago in the 1988 trade for Bill Cartwright, Oakley protected Patrick Ewing for a decade and made the Garden the most physical building in the NBA.
LEGACY: If you drove the lane on the '90s Knicks, you were paying a toll — and Oak was collecting. From the 1993 brawl with Phoenix, to body-checking Tyrone Hill, to the infamous fight that started it all in Game 5 vs. the Bulls in '94, Oakley defined Knicks toughness. Averaged a double-double for the franchise and remains one of the most beloved Knicks of all time.
Classic NBA — 1994 ECSF Game 7 — Knicks vs Bulls (Oakley enforcer era, full game)
ICONIC MOMENTS
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From the 1993 brawl with Phoenix to body-checking Tyrone Hill, Oak set the tone for the most physical Knicks era ever. The toll collector for any guard who dared drive the lane at MSG.
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Before Brunson, before Melo, there was Bernard. King dropped back-to-back 50-point games on Christmas Day 1984 and made the Knicks must-watch TV before the Ewing era.
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Game 2, 1993 Eastern Conference Finals. Starks rises through Horace Grant and Michael Jordan for the most iconic Knicks dunk of the modern era. Pure Coney Island ferocity.
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Game 5, 1999 first round. With 0.8 seconds left, Houston's running one-hander bounces off the rim, off the backboard, and in. The 8-seed Knicks beat the 1-seed Heat and run to the Finals.
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Jeremy Lin goes from sleeping on his brother's couch to dropping 38 on Kobe and the Lakers at MSG. Two weeks of pure Knicks magic that captured the entire sports world.
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January 24, 2014 vs. the Bobcats. Melo set the Knicks single-game scoring record and the Madison Square Garden record on the same night. Unguardable.
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Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns. The deepest, hungriest Knicks roster since the '90s. The next chapter is being written right now.
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LINK AUDIT
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