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Another season of Knickerbocker basketball is upon us. This time around, you’ll recognize some familiar bylines and a couple new ones at Posting and Toasting. Here’s a quick intro to get you acquainted.
Antonio Losada
Bio: The first play I vividly remember watching live is Michael Jordan... missing an open dunk in the 2002 All-Star game. I was already 10 years old then and there, watching in my aunties, crazy late in the morning because we’re based in Spain and the ASG was the only game they were openly showing back then. Must have been 3 am. I can’t explain. What I’m trying to say is that I’m a soulless sports aficionado, a free spirit in the landscape of American athletics enthused by the game and its aesthetics but not linked to any particular place by birth. This is great because I have developed an objectivity that is not found quite often in the landscape we inhabit. And of course, coming from another country made liking New York easy if only because you’re flooded with Yankees caps and Knicks tees everywhere you go around here. You—me neither—don’t even know how crazy I must have looked back in the late 90s and early aughts as a kid always talking about hoops and screaming “Iverson!” in every park I stepped onto. Shouts out to my parents for their patience, what a handful of years I gave them...
Favorite all-time Knick: It’s Melo. It’s Carmelo Anthony because it’s been Carmelo Anthony since he hit the league all the way back in the summer of 2003. He was a Golden Nugget then and only later turned into an OG Knick, but it is what it is. I adhere to the FreeDarko manifesto, and therefore I embrace the primacy of the individual and the feelings of liberated fandom. Which is to say, the appeal of individual Players transcends the boundaries between Teams. Hang that 15 in Colorado and raise that 7 to the rafters of MSG. StayMe7o.
Favorite current Knick: This is hella niche but I’m glad Russ backed me up with his pick. Gotta go with IQ because if he’s something that’s mad fun to watch. On that vein, Mitchell Robinson is a close second. If we’re talking about the whole package instead of focusing solely on entertainment, then I’m siding with RJ Barrett (who is still only 23!).
Knicks’ 2023-24 record will be: 50-burger on the menu? 50-burger on the menu! Let’s go get those wins, lose 32, call it a regular season, and conquer a couple of rounds in the playoffs to once and for all dream of watching the Knicks play in a 21st Century Finals.
Socials: X - @chapulana
Kento Kato
Bio: Moved from Japan to New York when I was 5 years old and thanks to my late grandmother, who was a giant MJ fan, I fell in love with the sport of basketball, Kobe Bryant, and what was at the time, an incredibly subpar 30-52 Knicks team highlighted by Allan Houston, Latrell Sprewell, Kurt Thomas, and Marcus Camby. I then ended up playing, watching, and digesting anything basketball-related for the entirety of my adolescence and even spent a few years after college pursuing my lifelong dream of trying to play professional basketball overseas. When that didn’t pan out, I decided I’d use my passion for the sport and this frustrating franchise by writing about them. Thankfully this franchise, which has caused many of us a lot of pain and suffering, has turned the corner over the last few years, and both watching them and writing about them have gotten a lot more fun. Here’s to hoping the fun times continue, we all certainly deserve it.
Favorite all-time Knick: It might be a bit too quick to say this, but as someone who grew up as an undersized point guard at every level I played at, it’s hard to say that it’s not Jalen Brunson.
Favorite current Knick: See above. Second is RJ Barrett.
Knicks’ 2023-24 record will be: Same as last year, 47-35. Roster is better for sure but a lot rests on health, and repeat performances from Randle/Brunson in what could be a better eastern conference.
Socials: IG - @kkentokkato , X - @kentokato
Andrew Polaniecki
Bio: As a West Hempstead native from Long Island, I grew up during one of the most exciting yet heartbreaking eras for Knicks fans: the ‘90s. Basketball was introduced to me at the age of 5 by my grandfather Harvey who I am blessed enough to still be able to call and ask if he watched the game last night. One Sunday morning he placed a basketball in my hands, taught me how to dribble, gave me my first pack of basketball cards, and then put on the Knicks game, all within the same hour. By the end of that game, I was a Knicks fan for life.
Regardless of how many seasons go by and players come and go, to this day, the Knicks from 1993 to 1997 remain “MY KNICKS.”
Favorite all-time Knick: Anthony Mason (RIP). If you grew up a Knicks fan in the 90’s, how could he not be? Mase was New York! Who didn’t want their hair cut like him? Before he passed away, I got to know Mase a bit. I still have his number on my phone. I’ll never forget the time I got stuck in some traffic on the Queensboro bridge on the way to meet up with him. I was running about 10 minutes later when he texted me “Where the **** you at??!!” It wasn’t like any other text I had ever gotten from another friend for running a few minutes behind. The fierceness that I was used to seeing in his eyes on TV, I could feel in the palm of my hand once my phone went. All that I could think to myself was, “Damn, I just pissed off Mase. Anthony Mason is pissed at me and now I’ll have to explain to him why face to face”. While this is all true, and he did let me have it just a little bit when I finally arrived, in all seriousness he was such a gentle giant and is truly missed by many!
Favorite current Knick: Josh Hart. I’ve always loved the fan favorites who come off the bench and love the crowd as much as the crowd loves them. The guys who get the people going and can lead the team when called upon.
Knicks’ 2023-24 record will be: 46-36. Definitely better than a .500 team this year, but hitting that 50-win mark is going to be tough when considering how the East is stacked this season and the number of great teams still out West.
Socials: X - @apol_knicks_sbn
Russell Richardson
Bio: Grew up near Yasgur’s, if you know it. My dad regaled little Russell with tales of Knicks legends on our long truck rides down dirt roads. Thanks to the sports sections and a satellite dish on the farm, I got into the team at the dawn of the nineties. Still hooked since my first hit. Graduated with 13 students from a rural public school. Planned to draw for Marvel and infiltrate the NYC music scene. Neither happened. Outgrew a lot of loves, stuck with the Knicks. Today I freelance as a jack of all trades, write a lot of fiction, and live with my wife and kids in Binghamton. Joe Flynn gave me a shot here two years ago. Best Knicks memory: sort of met Charles Oakley once. Yearbook quote, if I could try again: “How can it be that I, who I am, didn’t exist before I came to be, and that, someday, I, who I am, will no longer be who I am?” Far out.
Favorite all-time Knick: John Starks. I’ve said enough already.
Favorite current Knick: It’s a three-way tie between Immanuel Quickley, Quentin Grimes, and Deuce McBride. Waterpistol to my head... Quickley. Sooo much fun to watch him play.
Knicks’ 2023-24 record: Excuse me while I crack this can of optimism juice . . . 50-32.
Socials: @ruxxdeluxx on X/Twitter, Facebook, and a poorly maintained site.
Sam Stein
Bio: My dad used to work for an amateur basketball league sponsored by the Knicks. They would have their finals on the floor at MSG. Even as a little man, I appreciated how lucky I was. In between games, I’d get to take 2 or 3 shots before I got kicked off by the adults. I was hooked on sports. 7 AM SportsCenter before school was not an option. It was a religion. I’d shuffle through statistics and scour box scores like it was my second nature.
My dad’s love of hoops was contagious. My brother and I went at it on the backyard hoop every day. We still do. As time went on, making time for the Knicks game was just as important as making time for our driveway battles. Now, it’s appointment television.
Today, I’m a junior at UMass-Amherst, studying psychology and business across enemy lines. I can’t understate the role basketball plays in my life, and the Knicks represent everything special about for me. It’s more than a game being played every night. People from all walks of life put their differences aside for 48 minutes and root for the same squad. Sports brings us together, and it’s a community I’m proud to be a part of.
Favorite all-time Knick: Langston Galloway. I’m serious. Forgive me for being young, but my earliest memories of the Knicks are from that putrid 2014-15 season where we won 17 games. The games would always finish past my bedtime, so I would start off in front of the TV then fall asleep to the radio broadcast in my room. In a season from hell, Galloway got called up midway through the year, and played pretty well. He was the first ray of hope I ever knew as a sports fan.
Favorite current Knick: JB. The guy is just unreal. Watching his ascent last year was incredible, and when he’s on the court, I trust him to make the right play. I haven’t been able to say that about a Knick in a long time.
Knicks’ 2023-24 record will be: 46-36. I’m expecting more of the same this regular season. Not much has changed from last year, and to be honest, I think a drop off is more likely than another jump forward. But we’ll continue to hover around a 4-5 seed, and gear up for another playoff run.
Socials: @chubbs260 on X.
Josh Wiesel
Bio: The New York Knicks mean a lot to me. Basketball is my favorite sport and something that has been rooted in my family for years. My grandpa, dad, uncle, and cousins all played basketball for their high schools, and my dad coached high school basketball for 30+ years. Ironically, I played hockey and played that more competitively growing up and throughout high school. To me, basketball means family and is something that’s important in my life. It’s a connector and the Knicks have always been there for me. Sure, things have gotten bleak until recently, but following a team or franchise through struggles and hardships really tells a life story. You hope to stay loyal or find positives through struggles to really enjoy when things start to get better. Sports are an escape but they can also open doors and teach us a lot.
I’ve been writing for the site for around a year now and look forward to continuing to connect this upcoming season.
Favorite all-time Knick: Jalen Brunson is the easy answer for me, but if I had to pick a former Knick, it’d be Iman Shumpert. The pick may sound random but I always admired Shumpert's effort when he was on the court. He was not the most skilled player but took pride in defense and hustle and is a player every team would've been happy to have. Not everyone in the NBA is going to be a star player or score 20 points a game. Shumpert recognized that and tried to play to his strengths that would help his team. I see a lot of Shumpert in a player like Josh Hart.
Favorite current Knick: Jalen Brunson. He’s not the biggest guy but he knows his spots and angles so well all the way back to his Villanova days. He’s relentless in his craft and watching him closely last season was surgical. I’m thrilled he will be in a Knicks jersey for the foreseeable future.
Knicks’ 2023-24 record will be: I want to be optimistic while also staying reasonable. I’m expecting the East to be better this season and for the Knicks to have a slight regression. I love the squad they've assembled and they will play hard which is all fans can ask for. I don't think the drop-off will be too severe and have them at 45-37. If they are better than that, I will happily be wrong!
Socials: X & Instagram: Jwiesel13
Go Knicks!
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