Once again, a Knick will be participating on All-Star Saturday Night. How successful is the orange and blue?
There used to be a time where there was minimal Knicks representation on All-Star weekend. Up until the recent revival in 2021, the Knicks were basically absent from all of All-Star weekend after Carmelo Anthony departed, with only occasional youngsters playing on Friday and the gimmicky dunk contest.
However, since 2021, the Knicks have reversed course. On Sunday, a Knick will participate in the All-Star game for the fourth time in five years, and two will participate for the first time in over a decade.
But on Saturday night? Once again, a Knick is inbound, with Jalen Brunson participating in the three-point contest. But how have the Knicks in the event faired in the past? What about the other events? Let’s explore that since the beginning of All-Star Saturday Night over the past 40 years:
Slam Dunk Contest
Gerald Wilkins (1986) – Fourth Place
The first Knick to participate in the dunk contest was rookie Gerald Wilkins in 1986. Wilkins was in the midst of a solid campaign, where he averaged 12.5 PPG in the first of his seven seasons as a Knick. Although his first dunk (a 44) was cut off, we do have his 50 from the first round of the event:
A near-free throw line slam over a chair got a 50. Different times, I guess.
Wilkins would be undone in the second round, failing to convert his final two attempts and finishing fourth. He really kept trying the free throw line dunk that Michael Jordan would perfect the following year.
Gerald Wilkins (1987) – Eliminated First Round
Wilkins was invited again in 1987. The brother of the 1985 winner Dominique struggled to convert his dunks again and got eliminated early.
Kenny Walker (1989) – Winner
Sky Walker would avenge his teammate two years later. After his first two seasons as a starter, Walker had a reduced role for the Knicks in 88-89 as a bench player, but the high flyer made up for it.
Walker advanced easily through the first round before getting through the semifinals with a 49.5 on his second dunk. Facing off against Clyde Drexler, he would hit 360-after-360 to put up an impressive 98.5 in the finals.
Kenny Walker (1990) – Third Place
Walker would run it back in 1990 looking for the repeat. The broadcast referred to knee tendinitis potentially holding him back, which might have been a factor. While his 360s were not scoring as high as the year before, he advanced to the second round on a baseline reverse slam that scored a 48.1.
He posted a 97.4 in the semifinal that should’ve gotten him through, but a highly competitive field that included Dominique Wilkins and Shawn Kemp pushed him out.
John Starks (1992) – Fourth Place
Starks benefitted from a worse field in ‘92, surviving the first round despite a total score under 90.
A nice reverse slam for a 47.0 was the highlight, as he failed to stack up in the semifinal with future teammate Larry Johnson and Cedric Ceballos advancing.
Nate Robinson (2006) – Winner
Fourteen years later, one of the shortest players in basketball emerged onto the scene as a high-flying rookie. It would be his first of many iconic appearances here.
Robinson being the shortest man in the field by a good bit boosted his scores, as they’re immensely more difficult when he does it. He got 49 and 44 in the first round to advance to the final against Andre Iguodala.
After an underwhelming 44 to start the final, this is where he got his first 50. Nate brought out former winner Spud Webb and soared over him clean.
This forced the tiebreaker, where Robinson tried a number of things before settling on a between-the-legs off-the-backboard slam, which won it with a 47.
Nate Robinson (2007) – Runner-Up
Nate went for the repeat in 2007. slamming a tomahawk to start. He then advanced to the final with the help of David Lee, getting there with a 90 against Gerald Green.
Unfortunately for Nate, he missed a dunk in the final that put him behind the 8-ball against a high-flyer in Green.
Nate Robinson (2009, 2010) – Back-to-Back Champion
Gonna combine these two. Nate went back-to-back after a year off, becoming the first and only three-time winner.
His 2009 win was stunning. After Dwight Howard got a perfect 100 in the first round, he seemed like a gimme to knock off Nate, donning the iconic green jersey, who only advanced off poor performances by J.R. Smith and Rudy Fernandez.
Nate would win on fan vote, 52% to 48%, after a double pump dunk and his leap over Dwight.
In 2010, he had a similar comeback against DeMar DeRozan in the final round, winning by a closer 51-49 margin in the final.
Dennis Smith Jr. (2019) – Runner Up
Smith participated as a Maverick the year before, but he took the floor in 2019 wearing orange and blue.
He started with a casual 45 before elevating his game. He brought out rapper J. Cole, donned his high school jersey, and scored a perfect 50 by soaring over a seated J. Cole.
He advanced to face Hamidou Diallo, but Smith was undone by a missed between-the-legs dunk that led to a 35.
Obi Toppin (2021) – Runner Up
Obi was robbed in 2021. In a three-man field, Toppin advanced easily over Cassius Stanley to go head-to-head with Anfernee Simons.
Toppin finished off with an eastbay that ultimately wasn’t terribly impressive, but the controversy comes with Simons attempting to kiss the rim and not even coming close. The whole gimmick was kissing the rim and he failed badly. How did he win?
Obi Toppin (2022) – Winner
Obi got his getback in a miserably weak field the following year. He didn’t score higher than a 47, but missed dunks galore had him defeat Juan-Toscano Anderson, Jalen Green, and Cole Anthony (who wore a Knicks jersey?)
Jericho Sims and Jacob Toppin (2023, 2024) – Eliminated Early
Sims and Obi’s lil bro struggled. Although I have my gripes with Jaylen Brown last year, neither of them came close.
I mean, Jericho, seriously?
Skills Challenge
The second Skills Challenge involved Stephon Marbury in 2004, where he faced Baron Davis, Derek Fisher, and Earl Boykins. He came in last, completing the gauntlet in 36.4 seconds.
A Knick didn’t appear again until 2017, when Kristaps Porzingis participated. On the bigs side of the new bracket system, he beat DeMarcus Cousins and a baby Nikola Jokic to advance to the final.
In the final, Porzingis faced Gordon Hayward in an extremely tight race that ended with a made 3 on the first attempt. The only Knick to ever win the contest.
Porzingis was supposed to run it back in 2018, but his torn ACL a week prior took him out.
Julius Randle participated in 2021, but he was dusted in the first round by Domantas Sabonis.
Three-Point Contest
The first Knick to participate was Trent Tucker in 1986 in a season where he shot 45.1% from 3. He finished in fourth.
Tucker participated again in 1988, coming in last with 11.
The next Knick would come in 1996, when Hubert Davis participated for the first time. He would participate again in 1998 and 2000 after being traded from the Knicks. He failed to advance to the second round with 17.
Facing Davis in 1998 would be newly minted starter Charlie Ward, a 37.7% shooter. Ward would advance to the semifinal with 15, but would only score 11 in the final round and come in fourth.
Allan Houston was next up in 2001. Despite being one of the better shooters in franchise history, Houston wouldn’t come close to advancing with 11. In 2006, Quentin Richardson made it despite only shooting 34% from 3 in his first season as a Knick. He was just two away from advancing through four racks in the first round, but went 0-for-5 in the left corner. Ouch.
In 2010, future trade piece Danilo Gallinari participated after shooting over 40% from 3 during his first two seasons in the league. He was in a three-way tie for fourth, missing out on a spot in the final by two with 15.
Mr. Discount Double Check represented Knickstape in 2013. Steve Novak had 17 in the experimental “team round” but when you face Stephen Curry and your teammate puts up 10… yeah. In the weird rules, Kyrie Irving beat Novak by one to advance and winded up winning the whole thing.
A Knick didn’t participate again until Julius Randle’s surprise entry in 2023. As we know, that didn’t go well. Poor Kyden was in tears.
Last year, the captain got the nod and looked to break a terrible franchise legacy. Brunson notched an impressive 24 (it’s a lot easier to score now), but the competition was fierce. He missed out on a spot in the tiebreaker by just two. Another first-round exit.
So, tomorrow, JB faces an uphill battle. No Knick has ever come close to winning the three-point contest. Only Hubert Davis and Steve Novak have even finished top four. None have ever seen a final round. The oddsmakers have him as an underdog at +800, but the captain has shot 40.4% from 3 as a Knick. I wouldn’t bet against him.