Since we’re talking about the Knicks, here’s a quick list of my five favorite and least favorite Knicks starting in the early ’80s when I began following the team.
Five Favorite Knicks:
Bernard
Charles Oakley
John Starks
Rod Strickland
Gerald Wilkins
Honorable Mention: Patrick, Trent Tucker, Spree, Derek Harper, X-Man
Five Least Favorite Knicks:
Mark Jackson
Nate Robinson
Chris Childs
Greg Anthony
Charlie Ward
Honorable Mention: Eddy Curry, Anthony Mason, Doug Christie, Bill Cartwright
Favorite Coach: Pat Riley/Jeff Van Gundy
Least Favorite Coach: Stu Jackson/Mr. Thomas
Why did you hate Mark Jackson?
Mostly a style thing. Aesthetically unappealing. His j was ugly as hell, that raised arm bit on the free throw line. Slow footed, cocky, thought he was better than he was in those early Knicks years. I was so happy when they got rid of him. Of course, he ended up being really good and had a mighty fine career. Everything about his game bugged me though.
Funny, but most of my disliked list is made up of guards. Don't know why, though I've got guards on my favorite list too. And I sure liked guards with a little assiness in their game, like Hot Rod and Starks and even Spree.
No love for Ernie Grunfeld? I remember Bernard getting hurt and Grunfeld having a 30+ pt game one night. I have to look that up.
Gerald Wilkins was my guy, too. The Jordan Stopper. LOL.
Never loved Ernie but didn't dislike him. There are a ton of guys that I liked fine that didn't make the cut. I know some guys hated Allen Houston but I always dug him fine.
MASE?!?! ouch!
I wish I could participate in this list. I viewed the Knicks as a collective speed bump for the Bulls. Since I didn't have an NBA team I rooted for, I just rooted for history to properly reflect Jordan's greatness.
Yeah, Mase was another guy who thought he was better than he was, wanted the ball too much. He was maybe the only guy who loved Don Nelson. Good player but seemed like a knucklehead from soup to nuts.
C'mon, man. Mase In Yo Face was quintessential 80's-90s NYC; the city embraced him the moment he stepped on court and started mugging his first few rebounds. Just like with Oak throwing himself in the stands became his trademark. Ugly, yeah, but endearing to the NYC Toughness mythos...
But yeah, Chris Childs and Nate Robinson, ugh. Not really an Allen Houston fan; should never have been called upon to carry the team at any point even if he could; just seemed like a smooth operator to me ( but far more subtle than Isiah).
But wait, Starbury is not on your 'hate' list or are you just blocking that all out like it never happened?
re: Starbury. Exactly.
Marcus Camby and Larry Johnson are two guys I fully expected to hate and then wound up liking. That improbable run in '99 was fun.
I liked Marcus, too. And I on second thought I didn't really hate Childs all that much. Hey, anyone who slugs Kobe can't be all bad, right?
True, but then Childs was really a thug, not "fugazy" as umm, Tim "Not Kurt" Thomas liked to say...
I liked having Kurt Thomas on the Knicks, especially when he had to play center and out-hustled the legit centers. He was Oakley Jr., but without the thug which actually worked.
I don't follow basketball much anymore, but in the 1980s, I was a huge Knicks fan (in 1988, I actually opted to listen to a Knicks win over the Pacers that put them in the playoffs over a Yankee game) and the man for me was Trent Tucker.
D'Antoni resigns as per Yahoo and Adrian Wojnarowski.
I, for one, welcome this.