On the latest episode of the Stephen A. Smith show, the analyst was asked who among Kevin Knox and Frank Ntilikina would go down a better legacy as a New York Knick. Smith, an avid Knicks fan, looked flabbergasted by the question and ranted on the question for 114 seconds.
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“That’s almost like asking me do I want somebody ugly, or do I want somebody with no figure. Both of them are an atrocity to me.”
After that graphic description, Smith got sidetracked and began explaining that he preferred ‘voluptuous’ women but understood men who have an affinity towards ‘skinny’ women. He got back to the topic at hand and said,
“When you ask me a question about Kevin Knox and Frank Ntilikina, all I can think about is Frank Ntilikina because that’s when I wanted Phil Jackson banned from New York State. I thought he should not have been allowed in the state. He was clearly sleeping at the wheel. Phil Jackson drafted Frank Ntilikina instead of Donovan Mitchell. I’m still appalled.”
Six days before his unceremonious exit from the Knicks, Phil Jackson, the team president, shocked the world by picking French guard Frank Ntilikina as the eighth pick in the NBA draft. New York passed on Malik Monk, Dennis Smith Jr., Luke Kennard, Bam Adebayo, and, most surprisingly, Louisville guard Donovan Mitchell.
Jackson’s final massive decision as Knicks president being a complete dud perfectly encapsulated his time with the franchise. The Knicks won 17, 32, and 31 games in his three seasons as team president and parted ways with the 13-time NBA champion in June 2017 after his dispute with then-franchise cornerstones Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis. Jackson’s ousting from New York ended his NBA career.
Frank Ntilikana and Kevin Knox’s Knicks career
The Knicks picked Frank Ntilikana with the eighth pick in the 2017 NBA draft and Kevin Knox with the ninth pick the following year. While the franchise could blame Phil Jackson for picking the Ntilikana, they could only blame themselves for taking Knox ahead of Mikal Bridges, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Miles Bridges, and Michael Porter Jr.
Both players were massive draft busts for the Knicks. Ntilikana averaged 5.5 points, 2.7 assists, and two rebounds in his four years with the franchise. Knox was only slightly better, averaging 8.2 points, and 3.1 assists. The Knicks got rid of Ntilikana in the 2021 offseason and traded Knox to the Atlanta Hawks in January 2022.
It was neither player’s fault that the Knicks drafted them with a top-1o pick. However, the franchise losing out on multiple All-Stars, excellent starters, and solid bench players for two players that made minimal impact still haunts their fans.
They’ve stabilized under general manager Leon Rose and head coach Tom Thibodeau‘s leadership and are on course to reach the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time in 11 years. However, the mere mention of Ntilikana and Knox triggers Knicks fans’ painful memories that they’ve been trying to forget.
