The New York Knicks are one of the most famous franchises in the NBA. They are the top team in the biggest media market in the world and have had many beloved players. However, there are quite a few Knickerbocker alums who have tested the patience of even their most loyal fans.
These men were either paid absurd sums of money but didn’t deliver even satisfactory results, or players that never came close to realizing the potential the team saw in them. With that in mind, let’s look at the 10 worst to ever put on a New York Knicks uniform.
Antonio McDyess
While the assumption for many New York Knicks fans would be to see Amare Stoudemire on this list. But at least he played some and was a part of a couple of good teams. However, Antonio McDyess was a similar big-name addition to the frontcourt that was traded for fan-favorite Marcus Camby in 2002. Unfortunately, he delivered far less than Stoudemire.
McDyess missed his entire first season due to a knee injury and only played in 16 games the next year before he was unceremoniously sent packing to the Phoenix Suns. While his $11.7 million average salary doesn’t seem like much now it was a lot of wasted funds for the team and was the start of a very bad era for the franchise.
Also Read: Best NBA players of all time – Ranking the 20 best NBA players ever
Jerome James
Seattle Supersonics veteran Jerome James landed a shocking five-year, $30 million contract from the Knicks in 2005 off of some mediocre statistics. They only got worse in New York, and that’s when he was actually on the floor — which wasn’t often in the final three years of the pact. James’ contract will go down as one of the very worst in Knicks history.
Steve Francis
There was a time when Steve Francis was one of the best point guards in the game and on the cusp of being a superstar. However, injuries led to a steep decline in his play and the Knicks made the risky decision of making a trade for him when he was far removed from his peak.
The hope was that he and incumbent star Stephon Marbury would form one of the greatest backcourt duos in team history. Instead, they were a disaster and Francis only lasted in Gotham for a year and a half.
Jared Jeffries
Former team president Isaiah Thomas made many awful decisions leading the franchise. One of the absolute worst was giving Jared Jeffries a confusing five-year, $24 million contract when he did not have many suitors. The Pistons great was trying to throw money at a potential diamond in the rough and never found one.
Jeffries was a dirty work, bench player at best but was being paid as if he were a borderline All-Star.
Eddy Curry
Another one of Thomas’ classic moments of trying to outthink the rest of the league was when he tried to make former Chicago Bulls first-round pick Eddy Curry the centerpiece of resurgence for the franchise. Instead, he was at the center of Knicks fan frustration as the seven-footer was rarely in good shape and played very small for his size.
Getting a six-year, $60 million deal early in his tenure only intensified the rage from fans toward him and Thomas.
Also Read: 10 best second-round picks in NBA Draft history – Nikola Jokic to Khris Middleton
Frédéric Weis
The New York Knicks have had some awful first-round picks during their history. But none are worse than the 15th overall selection in the 1999 NBA Draft, Frederic Weis. The French big man never played a minute in Madison Square Garden and will forever be known for being posterized by Vince Carter during the 2000 Summer Olympics.
Charles Smith
New York gave up fan favorite, and hometown product Mark Jackson in the hopes that Charles Smith would turn into a perennial All-Star. Instead, he would go on to have a massively disappointing three-and-a-half-year run with the franchise. He lives forever in Knicks fans’ nightmares due to his infamous moment where he was blocked four times in the final seconds of a pivotal loss to the Chicago Bulls in the 1993 playoffs.
Also Read: NBA MVP predictions 2024-25 – Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid face stiffer competition
Mike Sweetney
While Frederic Weis is the worst first-round pick in New York Knicks history, Mike Sweetney is a close second. The ninth overall selection in the 2003 draft actually played games for the team but fans probably wish he didn’t. The former Georgetown star was part of an era where the team wasting first-round picks became an unexpected tradition.
Andrea Bargnani
Andrea Bargnani was a solid player in his two-year stint in New York and put up decent numbers. But he will be remembered as one of the worst because the franchise shockingly gave up a first-round pick for him at a time when the Toronto Raptors would have gladly given up their own to get rid of him.
Also Read: Fathers and sons in the NBA – 10 best-known duos, including Stephen Curry and Dell Curry
Joakim Noah
When the New York Knicks signed former Bulls star Joakim Noah to a massive four-year, $72 million contract in 2016, there was excitement. While most felt the team overplayed a bit he was the type of player that NYK fans traditionally loved. Unfortunately, they quickly learned to hate him as he made All-Star money but played like a back-of-the-bench greybeard.