32 could be the NEW avant-garde NYK property at the NBA Store


“It was just crazy,” he remembers. “I was sitting there watching TV and they said, `Number 20, New York Knicks’. My family members were like, `Yo, you’re coming to New York.’ I was like, `Man, go ahead,’ and before you know it, it was, `Renaldo Balkman.’

“We woke up the whole apartment complex that night, man. Everybody was outside, I was crying. It was the happiest moment for me. It was crazy.”

“It’s a different level and a different style of basketball, but at the same time, my style of play is physical,” says Balkman, a Staten Island native who went to prep school in North Carolina. “Everybody knows me as a physical player. That’s my game, I like to bang, go head to head and nose to nose. That’s my game.”

It was a game that no doubt attracted the attention of Thomas and the rest of the Knicks’ brass. Now it’s upon Balkman to justify his coach’s faith, a task he relishes.

“He’s a great guy. It’s a pleasure to have him be my coach and just, again, thanking him that he picked me (at) number 20,” says Renaldo, who turns 22 in a few days. “Growing up and watching some of his games, it’s like, `You know what? I’m playing for Isiah,’ (in) the Mecca of basketball. He knows a lot about the game, and it’s a pleasure. A pleasure. A plea-sure.”

Balkman suffered a sprained ankle early during the Knicks’ week in Las Vegas, but he won’t allow it to slow down his development during this important stretch.

“It rolled, but I’m a fighter, man. I’m a fighter,” he says. “There’s nothing that’s going to stop me from playing basketball, man, unless it’s an injury that I need surgery with. But as far as that goes, whatever it is, I’m going to play through it because I’m a fighter.”

How Can Anyone NOT Like Dis Guy?

Say, This is the Renaldo story,
true Balkman story,
Say, This is the Renaldo story,
real Balkman story

Hey

See, I was born poor like many men, didnt have nothin
Went to prep school in North Carolina,
tryin to make somethin outta somethin
Picked up a basketball when I was outta NYC,
Found my way up to the top like it wasnt nothin,
Hooked up with a squad that won the NIT,
Second time I even won the MVP at MSG,
In Orlando, Larry Brown said he loved me,
Hustled so hard, got Isiah to draft me,
That night I went 20, the projects went crazy...

I remember those days when the blacktop was my home,
When I was in the housing projects,
Me and momma bed was a big piece of foam,
I told the world my hair will never cut,
Now I'm gonna bang for team N-Y-C,
IT says my game is Artest and Rodman,
Knick fans think it's more like Jerome,
I remember the Toshiba Summer League,
When I dropped a tomahawk on the Cavs,
Reached out, busted on two defenders dome

Starting small forward for the team,
Know I keep the A-game displayed,
Star defense, how I'm gonna get tick on this team