Who Wore it Best? Knicks #20

It’s been several weeks since the last segment of Who Wore it Best. During that period, I lost my grandfather who lived to be 103. What an amazing and blessed life he led. Among the many different things that he taught me, and showed me throughout life, one of them that he passed on to me since I was a child was our shared bond for the New York Knicks. I know he’s looking down on the team right now, cheering them on, never more excited to watch them contend for it all this year. So, with that being said, this week’s segment of “Who Wore it Best? #20” is dedicated to my grandfather Harvey Harris, whose favorite song of all time happens to also be “New York, New York” just as it appears on the Knicks city edition uniforms this season.

Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

The number 20 has been worn 15 times throughout the Knicks’ 77-year history. While Allan Houston will most certainly win the nod for this week, there’s no shortage of notable names throughout the team’s history including Micheal Ray Richardson, Rolando Blackman, Jared Jeffries, and Mike Bibby. Dylan Windler is the most recent Knick to wear the #20, having worn it for just 3 games this season. Before that, Kevin Knox claimed ownership for over 3 seasons. As the number currently stands vacant, all we could do this week is look back on its previous owners and take a trip down memory lane.

Micheal Ray Richardson

Richardson was drafted 4th overall by the Knicks in 1978 and was dubbed “The Next Walt Frazier”. It’s worth noting that just two picks later a forward from Indiana State was drafted by the Boston Celtics, but that’s another story for another time. Richardson’s rookie season reflected the typical trajectory of a young player striving to carve out a reputation. He participated in 72 out of 82 games and started in 5 of them. However, his contributions were modest, averaging only 6.5 points, 3 assists, and 2 rebounds per game. His sophomore season, however, was a bird of a different feather (See what I did there?) He more than doubled his scoring average to 15.3 points per game. His assists per game ballooned to over 10 per game, his rebounding doubled as well to 6.6 rebounds per game, and he had a theft rate of 3.3 steals per game which was a league-high for the 1979-80 NBA season. Richardson’s sophomore performance earned him his first of four All-Star selections and his initial of two All-Defensive First Team Honors, achieved in consecutive seasons with the Knicks. Upon the conclusion of Richardson’s sophomore year, he had become just the third player in league history to lead the league in assists and steals, which at the time were new Knick highs too.

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Richardson would go on to two more All-Star seasons with the Knicks before getting traded to the Golden State Warriors for another Knicks legend- Bernard King.

Rolando Blackman

Rolando Blackman was a major force in the league at one point in time as a member of the Dallas Mavericks. He even went on to have his #22 retired by the Mavs in 2000.

Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

Following an illustrious 11-year tenure with the Dallas Mavericks, Blackman averaged over 20 points per game from 1983 through 1987. Blackman also represented the Mavs four times as a member of the NBA’s Western Conference All-Star team. Blackman was traded to the Knicks in 1992 in exchange for a future first-round draft pick in 1995. Despite being 33 years old, Blackman still had plenty of gas left in the tank. He joined a Knicks roster full of veterans and future Knicks legends during one of the most memorable eras in Knicks history and helped provide additional veteran leadership and solid minutes off the bench, nearly 20 per game from 1992 through the 1994 Final’s season.

Allan Houston

Okay, just like on May 16th, 1999, with 4.5 seconds left, this debate is over.

The debate shouldn’t even be if Allan Houston is the greatest Knick to ever wear the #20, but whether his #20 should be up there in the MSG rafters. During a time when Patrick Ewing’s Knicks career was winding down, and many of the faces who played a pivotal role during the Knicks’ previous NBA Finals appearance in 1994 were no longer present, Allan Houston put the Knicks on his back and became the face of the organization for 9 seasons. Once he took over the reins of starting two-guard from John Starks in his first year with the team he never looked back until unfortunate knee injuries plagued the final years of his NBA career along with a contract that left a sour taste in many Knicks fans’ mouths.

Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

When healthy though, Houston was something else. Throughout 9 seasons with the team, Houston averaged 17.3 points per game and nearly 4 threes per game. His 921 career threes as a Knicks have him placed right under Starks, although a cliff note should be pointed out that Stark’s 982 threes came on 2,848 attempts. Houston’s 921 came on 2,310. Houston was named to two All-Star teams in 2000 and 2001 and is a gold medal winner as a member of the 2000 USA Men’s National Basketball team.

To date, Houston still works within the organization as a special assistant to the General Manager.

Notable Mentions- Mike Bibby, Kevin Knox

P.S. Miss you Grandpa