New York Knicks: Best players to wear #3 jersey

Knicks. There have been 23 players that have worn the #3 jersey. There have been some famous players like Dennis Scott, Tracy McGrady, Kenyon Martin, and Brandon Jennings. But they were all past their primes when they joined the Knicks. So let’s take a look at the list by starting with the honorable mentions.</p> <h3>The first Knicks</h3> <p>Let’s honor the old-timers from when the NBA started. The first two on the list sound more like accountants than basketball players, but we are talking about the NBA in the 1940s</p> <ul> <li><strong>Bob Cluggish</strong> – 1st player to wear #3, in 1946/47 season, played one season with Knicks, averaged 4.4 ppg</li> <li><strong>Irv Rothenberg</strong> – 2nd player to wear #3, in 1948/49 season, played one season with Knicks, averaged 5.9 ppg</li> </ul> <h3>Former coaches</h3> <p>The next two were not great players but turned out to be Hall of Fame coaches: Al McGuire and Rick Carlisle.</p> <h2>Al McGuire</h2> <div id="attachment_115750" class="wp-caption alignleft"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-115750 size-medium" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/03/03/knicks-best-players-wear-3-jersey/3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_186,w_300/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F946811340-420x260.jpeg" alt="Knicks" width="300" height="186"><p class="wp-caption-text">Al McGuire, Knicks.  (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images)</p> </div> <p>Al McGuire played 3 seasons with the Knicks from 1961 – 1964. In his best season, he averaged 6.1 ppg. Al McGuire went on to be a Hall of Fame college coach at Marquette where he won a national championship. He was also known as a colorful college basketball broadcaster. He is originally from New York City and played at St. John’s University.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <h2>Rick Carlisle</h2> <div id="attachment_115752" class="wp-caption alignleft"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-115752 size-medium" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/03/03/knicks-best-players-wear-3-jersey/3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_186,w_300/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F51687947-420x260.jpeg" alt="Rick Carlisle, Knicks" width="300" height="186"><p class="wp-caption-text">Rick Carlisle, Knicks. (Photo credit should read JESSICA RINALDI/AFP via Getty Images)</p> </div> <p>Rick Carlisle the player was known for being playing 3 seasons with the Boston Celtics during their championship run in the 1980s, from 1984-1987. He did play part of one season the Knicks, 26 games for legendary coach Rick Pitino during the 1987-88 season. Patrick Ewing’s first trip to the playoffs. Carlisle went on to win coach of the year in 2002 with the Detroit Pistons. Then coached the Indiana Pacers for 4 seasons before landing in Dallas in 2008. He won a championship for the  Mavericks in the 2010-11 season.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/03/03/knicks-best-players-wear-3-jersey/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> 3rd Place </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_110258" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-110258" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/03/03/knicks-best-players-wear-3-jersey/3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1208,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1126311994.jpeg" alt="Knicks" width="1600" height="1208" srcset="https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1126311994.jpeg 1600w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1126311994-768x580.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Tim Hardaway Jr., New York Knicks. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <h2>Knicks’ #3 – Tim Hardaway Jr.</h2> <p>It’s hard to come to grips with the facts, but there haven’t been many great players that have wore #3 for the Knicks. When <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/03/03/knicks-best-players-wear-3-jersey/3/"https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/2528210/tim-hardaway-jr">Tim Hardaway Jr.</a> was drafted by the team in 2013 with the 24th pick, he chose to wear #5, the same number his dad, Tim Hardaway Sr., wore in his rookie season with the Warriors, since #10 was retired (Walt Frazier).</p> <p>After a promising rooking season, his sophomore season was a disappointment. It was also rumored that he didn’t get along with Carmelo Anthony. Phil Jackson promptly traded Hardaway on draft night 2015 to Atlanta for the 19th pick, which was used to draft Jerian Grant.</p> <p>After a bad first season with the Hawks, Hardaway was sent to the G-League. That is where he turned his career around and had a good second season for then-coach Mike Budenholzer. He averaged 14.5 ppg on a good Hawks team.</p> <p>It was enough for then-interim Knicks’ president Steve Mills to bid way above market value for the restricted free agent in 2017. Essentially setting Hardaway Jr. up for life with a <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/03/03/knicks-best-players-wear-3-jersey/3/"https://www.spotrac.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/tim-hardaway-jr-13337/cash-earnings/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">4 yr./$71M</a> contract. Hardaway returned to the Knicks wearing #3 since his old number now belonged to Courtney Lee.</p> <p>To Hardaway’s credit, he did play well as the 2nd option to Kristaps Porzingis, averaging 17.5 ppg while playing out of position at small forward. But he couldn’t live up to the contract once Porzingis tore his ACL. In his 1 1/2 seasons wearing #3 for the Knicks Hardaway averaged over 18ppg. But was included in the Porginzis trade to Dallas as a salary dump.</p> <p>Hardaway has done well in Dallas as he is playing his natural position, shooting guard, and is no longer asked to be the engine of the offense. He is now in a great role, 3rd option behind Luka Doncic and Porzingis. Ironically, he is on the last year of the contract the Knicks signed him to in 2017.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/03/03/knicks-best-players-wear-3-jersey/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Second Place </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_115754" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-115754 size-full" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/03/03/knicks-best-players-wear-3-jersey/3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2371,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F52495142.jpeg" alt="Knicks" width="1600" height="2371" srcset="https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/52495142.jpeg 1600w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/52495142-768x1138.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Stephon Marbury, Knicks. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <h2>Knicks’ #3 – Stephon Marbury</h2> <p><a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/03/03/knicks-best-players-wear-3-jersey/3/"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephon_Marbury">Stephon Marbury’s</a> career with the Knicks didn’t go as expected. It started out with so much excitement as the Coney Island native was returning home. He was going to be the centerpiece of Isiah Thomas’s rebuild. Scott Layden failed to retool the Knicks’ roster after their 1999 Finals run, and also failed to rebuild the team around Antonio McDyess in 2002. So the acquisition of Marbury in 2004 felt like a God sent.</p> <p>You had a hall of fame point guard in Isiah Thomas running the team and the team’s new star was also a point guard. Many imagined them building a special bond, with Isiah Thomas mentoring Marbury and showing him what it takes to be a champion.</p> <p>But all that changed once Larry Brown, a coach that is also a former point guard, was hired as head coach in 2005. It was a marriage that was doomed from the start as Brown and Marbury already had a tumultuous relationship for the summer before. They were together on the Team USA basketball that was one of the most disappointing U.S. Olympic teams in history, losing 3 games and finishing with the bronze medal.</p> <p>While Marbury put up good counting stats, he averaged 18.2 ppg and 7.0 apg as a Knick, his teams never won more than 33 games in his 4 1/2 seasons. The pressure of playing for his hometown team was too much for Marbury. He played one more season in the NBA, 31 games for the Celtics in 2008-9, before going overseas to China where he found happiness.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/03/03/knicks-best-players-wear-3-jersey/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Best Knick to wear #3 </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_109168" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-109168" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/03/03/knicks-best-players-wear-3-jersey/3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1067,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F221997.jpeg" alt="Knicks" width="1600" height="1067" srcset="https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/221997.jpeg 1600w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/221997-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">John Starks (Doug Pensinger/Allsport)</p> </div> </div> <h2>Knicks #3 – John Starks</h2> <p>No surprise here, the best player to wear #3 for the Knicks is <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/03/03/knicks-best-players-wear-3-jersey/3/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/starkjo01.html" ref="nofollow">John Starks</a>; a true underdog story. While not being recruited coming out of high school, Starks played at 4 different colleges in 4 years due to legal issues. After college, Starks went undrafted but did make the Warriors team in the 1988-89 season. He didn’t make the team his 2nd season, having to go to the CBA.</p> <p>In his 3rd season, he only made the team for the 1990-91 campaign because he hurt his knee trying to dunk over Patrick Ewing in practice. The team wasn’t allowed to release him until his knee healed, fortunately for Starks, his knee didn’t heal until December after the Knicks were forced to guarantee his contract for the season. When he returned he caught the attention of then-coach John MacLeod because of his athletic ability and energy.</p> <p>The following season, 1991-92, Pat Riley became the head coach of the Knicks and he fell in love with Starks. The players used to refer to Starks as Riley’s son. Starks’s 2nd season with the Knicks was the launching point of his career and it coincided with the start of the last great run in Knicks’ history. Starks averaged 14.1 ppg in his 8 seasons with the Knicks.</p> <p>Starks’ career with the Knicks had its ups and downs as he was a notoriously streaky shooter and an overly emotional player. He did have two of the worst shooting games in Finals history, his worst was in Game 7 versus the Houston Rockets when he went 2-18 and 0-11 on 3-pointers. But overall his career was a success and the Knicks would not have done as well if Starks wasn’t there to help Ewing.</p> <p>He was the starting shooting guard on the Knicks’ only 60 win season, 1992-93. He made the all-star team in the 1993-94 season, it was also the first time the Knicks returned to the Finals in 21 seasons. Starks also made the 2nd all-defensive team in the 1992-93 season and was 6th man of the year in the 1996-97 season. Of course, we couldn’t forget about “The Dunk” over Michael Jordan and Horace Grant in the 1993 playoffs.</p> <div class="embed "><iframe loading="lazy" width="500" height="375" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/03/03/knicks-best-players-wear-3-jersey/3/"https://www.youtube.com/embed/pCTfxOrX4k8?feature=oembed%22 frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div> <p>Even when Starks was traded, he helped the Knicks. New York sent him to Golden State in 1999 as the main piece in the <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/03/03/knicks-best-players-wear-3-jersey/3/"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrell_Sprewell">Latrell Sprewell</a> trade.</p> <p>Currently, <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/03/03/knicks-best-players-wear-3-jersey/3/"https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/2991280/nerlens-noel">Nerlens Noel</a> wears #3 for the Knicks and has done a good job bringing back the Knicks’ defensive identity. The Knicks are above .500 and are on pace to make the playoffs for the first time in 8 seasons. Hopefully, in the future, we will be talking about <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/03/03/knicks-best-players-wear-3-jersey/3/"https://dailyknicks.com/2021/02/17/nerlens-noels-defense-invaluable-knicks/">Noel as one of the better players to wear #3 for the Knicks.</p> <div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="Derrick Rose making the most of his Knicks 2nd chance" data-url="https://dailyknicks.com/2021/02/27/knicks-derrick-rose-making-the-most-of-his-second-chance-in-new-york/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/03/03/knicks-best-players-wear-3-jersey/3/"https://dailyknicks.com/2021/02/27/knicks-derrick-rose-making-the-most-of-his-second-chance-in-new-york/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> Derrick Rose making the most of his Knicks 2nd chance </a> </div> </div><!—pageview_candidate—>">