The Dunk or The Swish?
When we first launched the WWIB series, it all started with an internal debate over the No. 3. Is it John Starks or Stephon Marbury? Tracy McGrady was on the list as well. At the time that the article first went live, I didn’t think Josh Hart had been a Knick long enough to earn more votes than Marbury……. I was wrong.
If we ran the debate back now though, Hart might just win the whole thing. Perhaps we are going to have to re-do WWIB #3 another day.
Last year, Starks ran away as the top choice earning 160 of the 196 votes. I’m pretty confident Starks would still be the top choice, but I highly doubt it would be by such a landslide. Personally, I’d love to see Starks’ No. 3 hanging right next to Ewing’s in the rafters. And if Hart and Jalen Brunson keep playing the way they do, they might both end up with their numbers up there as well.
Antonio Losada
ROUND 1 — #3 John Starks vs. #4 Carl Braun
#3 John Starks — Starks’ journey to the New York Knicks was anything but conventional. After going undrafted, he signed with the Golden State Warriors in 1988 but saw limited action, appearing in just 36 games before falling out of the league. He spent the next two seasons in the CBA, unsure if he would ever get another NBA opportunity. That chance came in 1990 when the Knicks signed him ahead of the 1990-91 season. His place on the roster, however, was far from guaranteed, until a practice mishap changed everything.
A freak injury, combined with an NBA rule prohibiting teams from cutting injured players, kept Starks in New York. Had it not been for that twist of fate, he may have found himself back in Tulsa stocking grocery store shelves, far from the Madison Square Garden spotlight. Instead, he fought his way into the rotation and ultimately secured the starting shooting guard role.
Starks’ breakout came in the 1993-94 season, earning his first and only All-Star selection alongside Knicks stars Patrick Ewing and Charles Oakley. The trio became one of the defining forces of the early-to-mid 1990s, leading New York to the NBA Finals that same season. In 1997, Starks added another accolade to his résumé, winning the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award.
Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
If Willis Reed’s dramatic entrance from the Madison Square Garden tunnel in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals stands as the most iconic moment in Knicks history, then there is little debate that John Starks’ “The Dunk” holds the title for the second. One of the most electrifying plays in NBA history, Starks’ soaring left-handed slam over Michael Jordan and Horace Grant in Game 2 of the 1993 Eastern Conference Finals was a defining moment—not just for the Knicks, but for the league itself.
Of course, Starks’ tenure in New York wasn’t without its share of heartbreak. His infamous 2-for-18 shooting performance in Game 7 of the 1994 NBA Finals still lingers in the minds of Knicks fans, as does the frustration-fueled headbutt of Reggie Miller. But through the highs and lows, Starks remained the heart and soul of a Knicks team that embodied toughness, grit, and resilience.
His contributions were instrumental in defining the identity of the ‘90s Knicks, a team that helped shape what many consider the greatest era in NBA history.
Photo by NBA Photos/NBAE via Getty Images
#4 Carl Braun — Similar to when I was putting together WWIB #3, when I was drafting WWIB #4, I thought it would be another landslide win. I was so confident in my choice of who it would be, the title and cover image were built around Nate Robinson… Wrong again! In a much more close race than WWIB #3, Carl Braun beat out Nate by a total of 20 votes, earning 84 of the 183 total votes.
Carl Braun was so much more than just a Knick and a Hall of Fame basketball player. After his first three seasons with the team, Carl Braun also served two years in the United States Army. Braun’s career was off to a hot start before his time served. During his first three seasons with the Knicks from 1947-50, Braun averaged 14.6 points per game. It would be great to mention how many rebounds he averaged during those years, but rebounds were not a stat that was kept record of back then.
Braun, a Nassau County native, was an incredible athlete but went undrafted and signed a contract with the New York Yankees. As a member of the Yankees farm system, Braun appeared in just 35 games over the course of two seasons. During baseball’s 1947 offseason, Braun signed with the New York Knicks. On December 6th, 1947, he set an NBA single-game season record of 47 points. Even after becoming a member of the New York Knicks, he would still pitch one more season with the Yankees organization, becoming one of the first two-way athletes in sports history.
Throughout a 13-year career, Braun was a five-time All-Star and was a member of the 1962 NBA Champion Boston Celtics. Legend even has it that the term “swish” became the popular term that it is today thanks in large part to Carl Braun, who would often say it after a good shot during warm-ups.
Photo by NBA Photos/NBAE via Getty Images
This week’s top choice may ultimately come down to a generational perspective. Carl Braun, a Hall of Famer, boasts five All-Star appearances and an NBA championship with the 1962 Boston Celtics, while John Starks Starks never won a title, and made just one All-Star team over the course of his career. But career accolades aside, John Starks may also be the #2 most beloved Knick in franchise history.
One thing I’ve come to learn over the past year is never to assume, and just as easily that I could see Braun beating Starks this week, I could also see Starks flat-out winning this whole tournament of “Who Really Wore it Best?”