Top 10 Knicks point guards of all time
The Knicks' 10 best point guards of all time include, from left, Jalen Brunson, Walt Frazier and Stephon Marbury.
New York used to be the land of point guards, developing them on the playgrounds scattered throughout the five boroughs, and it has attracted many to Madison Square Garden. The one disclaimer to this list is it is for their time with the Knicks, so leaves off the all-time greats who briefly passed through like Jason Kidd, Chauncey Billups and Derrick Rose.
10. Charlie Ward
A Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback at Florida State, he opted instead for basketball and was the quarterback of the Knicks — although primarily doing it off the bench behind the likes of Derek Harper and Chris Childs. But nine seasons in New York count for something.
9. Stephon Marbury
His best seasons came in Minnesota and across the river in New Jersey, but he did play more games for the Knicks than any other team in his career. His tenure was marred by off-court troubles for the organization, but Marbury did average 18.2 points and seven assists per game in five years.
8. Carl Braun
A five-time All-Star, Braun was one of the original Knicks, spending 12 years with the team and averaging 14.1 points and 3.8 assists in that span. He made five All-Star teams. He led the Knicks in scoring in each of his first seven seasons — doing it while also pitching in the Yankees' farm system at the start.
7. Michael Ray Richardson
It may surprise some to find that Walt Frazier isn’t the all-time leader in steals per game, but it is Richardson — nicknamed "Sugar," who averaged 2.6 per game for his Knicks career and led the NBA twice in steals during that span, including leading the league in steals and assists in his second season. Off-court problems derailed his potential after arriving as the fourth overall pick.
6. Richie Guerin
A six-time All-Star and three-time All-NBA member, Guerin ranks seventh in Knicks history in points per game (20.1) and fifth in total assists. Guerin held the franchise's scoring record with 57 points in a game in 1959 until Bernard King broke it on Christmas Day in 1984. Guerin also had a 21-assist game for the Knicks in 1958.
5. Mark Jackson
A local hero, born in Brooklyn and starred at St. John’s, Jackson is the Knicks' all-time single-season leader in assists (868 in his rookie season of 1987-88) and first in career assists per game (eight). A first-round pick, he won rookie of the year honors in 1988 and teamed up with Patrick Ewing to bring the franchise to late-1980s respectability before he was traded in 1992 to the Los Angeles Clippers.
4. Earl Monroe
His most noteworthy years came with Baltimore, but the pairing in the backcourt with Frazier brought two rivals together and they teamed up in the “Rolls Royce backcourt” for the last title in franchise history in 1973. Monroe played nine seasons with the Knicks and was a two-time All-Star.
3. Dick McGuire
His number hangs in the rafters at Madison Square Garden — and in the Hall of Fame — as one of the early point guard stars in the league. A seven-time all-star, he ranks third in franchise history for assists.
2. Jalen Brunson
Already a two-time All-NBA performer in his first four seasons in New York, the former second-round pick and free agent acquisition has silenced all of the critics with unmatched footwork, unstoppable scoring prowess and leadership as a team captain. He averaged 28.7 points and 6,7 assists in his second season with the Knicks and followed that up with 26 and 7.3 last season. Brunson is a two-time All-Star with the Knicks.
1. Walt Frazier
Clyde set the standard — in play and in style. The best defensive point guard of his era, he became a seven-time All-Star and put together one of the great performances in NBA history on the biggest stage with a 36-point, 19-assist Game 7 effort against the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1970 NBA Finals, clinching the Knicks' first world championship. Frazier played 10 seasons with the Knicks and averaged 19.3 points, 6.3 assists and two steals per game.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
