Knicks all-time NBA Draft bust starting 5
By Lior Lampert
The New York Knicks have more than their share of high NBA Draft picks over the past few years. But, whether it be due to injury, lack of talent/opportunity, and/or poor coaching, several players just haven’t panned out the way the Knicks had hoped and it has set the franchise back.
It has been half a century since the Knicks last won an NBA Championship with their inability to draft and develop talent throughout the years playing a massive role in the drought. Knicks President of Basketball Operations Leon Rose has made it a focal point to right this wrong since arriving in New York, doing an excellent job of stockpiling young talented players such as R.J. Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, Quentin Grimes, and Miles McBride.
With that said, the inept handling of draft picks for the Knicks has allowed us to draw up an all-time starting five comprised of their bust selections.
Knicks all-time NBA Draft bust starting 5: PG, Frank Ntilikina
Frank Ntilikina, also known as The French Prince, was one of former President Phil Jackson’s last moves as President of the Knicks before he and the team mutually agreed to part ways. Unfortunately for Ntilikina, he will forever be tied to Jackson’s disastrous tenure as an executive for the Knicks, and his play on the court didn’t help matters.
Selected with the No. 8 overall pick of the 2017 NBA Draft, Ntilikina was picked for his combination of court vision and ball-handling skills on the offensive end and his length/versatility on the defensive end. Being drafted before turning 19, Ntilikina shined in the French League, earning the Best Young Player Award in consecutive seasons.
Sadly, that didn’t translate to the NBA, and Ntilikina’s lack of experience showed regularly in his time with the Knicks. According to StatMuse, he averaged 5.5 points, 2.7 assists, and 2.0 rebounds per game in 211 games as a Knick in his four-year tenure with the franchise.
Ntilikina was never able to carve out a consistent role in the rotation, averaging no more than 21.9 minutes per game in a season. His inability to shoot the ball consistently made it tough to leave him on the floor for extended periods of action. Through four seasons, he shot 36.6 percent from the field.
To make matters worse for Ntilikina and his placement on this list, the Knicks passed up on some talented guards to select him. Dennis Smith Jr., Malik Monk, Luke Kennard, and, Donovan Mitchell were all selected within the next handful of picks after Ntilikina and have gone on to become productive NBA players.
It is important to note that Ntilikina is the most recently drafted player on this list, which can be viewed as a testament to how much emphasis the recent regimes have put into nailing the draft after seeing prior management perennially costing themselves several opportunities to land talent.