New York Knicks: 5 most notable No. 11’s in team history

1. Derek Harper

Derek Harper tops the No. 11’s list with the Knicks for the most important reason and it’s his immediate winning impact. A trade deadline deal with the Dallas Mavericks in 1994 brought the veteran point guard to New York in an emergency effort to replace starter Doc Rivers, who had suffered a season-ending injury.

Harper was a two-time NBA All-Defensive Second Team selection in Dallas and fit well into the tough defensive Knicks team led by Pat Riley.

The Knicks were armed with a veteran lead guard to help push the team through the playoffs and finally a berth into the NBA Finals. The Knicks would fall in seven games to the Houston Rockets, but the team became legendary to this day in New York.

Harper performed well in the playoffs, as his gritty defense and toughness gave opposing point guards problems and the Knicks constantly held teams under 100 points per game.

Harper never put up flashy numbers with New York but was very consistent. Over his last two full seasons, he only missed two games combined all in the starting lineup. Harper tops this list because he made the Knicks legit contenders and finally got over the rival Chicago Bulls.

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I believe every Knicks fan in the 1990s would agree the importance of that cannot be measured.