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New York Knicks: 25 Best Players To Play For The Knicks

By Phil Watson

Mar 26, 2016; New York, NY, USA; General view as the New York Knicks are introduced before the first quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 26, 2016; New York, NY, USA; General view as the New York Knicks are introduced before the first quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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Basketball: NBA Playoffs: New York Knicks Earl Monroe (15) in action vs Baltimore Bullets Archie Clark (21) at Baltimore Civic Center. Game 3. Baltimore, MD 4/4/1973 CREDIT: Lane Stewart (Photo by Lane Stewart /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images) (Set Number: X17591 )
Basketball: NBA Playoffs: New York Knicks Earl Monroe (15) in action vs Baltimore Bullets Archie Clark (21) at Baltimore Civic Center. Game 3. Baltimore, MD 4/4/1973 CREDIT: Lane Stewart (Photo by Lane Stewart /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images) (Set Number: X17591 ) /

Earl Monroe. 21. player. 27. <strong>How acquired:</strong> Trade, Baltimore Bullets, Nov. 10, 1971.. SG.

Earl Monroe was a scoring star for the Baltimore Bullets, a ball-dominant points machine who had dragged a 42-win team to the NBA Finals in 1971.

The New York Knicks, looking for help in the backcourt, acquired Monroe in a November 1971 trade in exchange for Dave Stallworth, Mike Riordan and cash.

Walt Frazier
Walt Frazier /

would create problems in New York’s precise offensive flow.

Those doubts were put to rest as Monroe moved to the off guard spot and played his role, helping the Knicks to back-to-back NBA Finals in 1972 and 1973, winning the title in the latter appearance.

Monroe was a two-time All-Star in New York, named in 1975 and 1977, even as his numbers declined in the different system.

He was limited in the 1972 NBA Finals by the knee trouble that marred his career in its later stages, averaging 6.8 points, 2.6 assists and 2.0 rebounds in 20.6 minutes per game and managing to shoot just 27.9 percent in the five-game loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Healthier for the rematch with the Lakers in 1973, Monroe put up 16.0 points, 4.2 assists and 2.8 rebounds in 32.0 minutes a game, shooting a sizzling 53.1 percent as the Knicks won their second title in five games.

He spent parts of nine seasons in New York, retiring after the 1979-80 season. He averaged 16.2 points, 3.5 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 29.4 minutes per game, shooting .478/—/.821.

Monroe was the second overall pick in the 1967 NBA Draft, taken by the Bullets out of Winston-Salem State, where he averaged 41.5 points per game on 60.7 percent shooting as a senior.

With Baltimore, Monroe was the Rookie of the Year in 1967-68, a two-time All-Star and an All-NBA selection in 1968-69, when he was second in the league in scoring after finishing fifth as a rookie.

He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990.

Next: Action A Hometown Star

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