Allan Houston, One of the Most Underappreciated Knicks Players in History

Image source: dailyknicks.com
The New York Knicks are a professional basketball team that competes in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Knicks are based in the borough of Manhattan in New York City and play their home games at the fabled Madison Square Garden. The team was founded in 1946 and is one of the original teams in the NBA.

The New York Knicks have had some of the greatest players play for the franchise. Perhaps one of the most underappreciated of these legends was Allan Houston. Today, Ron Phillips, New York native, takes a fond look back at the spectacular career of this bona fide New York superstar.

Allan Houston was born in the Bronx on Dec. 12th, 1976. He attended college at the University of Tennessee, where he regularly led the team in scoring. He averaged 18.2 points per game his junior year and 19.7 points per game during his senior year when Houston was named the First Team All-SEC team.

The Knicks drafted Houston with their first-round pick in the 1996 NBA Draft. He appeared in 63 games his rookie season, averaging 12.4 points per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.

Image source: newsday.com

Houston played for six years as a shooting guard with the Knicks, earning himself an All-Star appearance in 2001, and was also instrumental in the team's run to the NBA Finals, where they fell to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Eight years after his first season with the Knicks, Houston retired from playing basketball. He averaged 19 points per game during those eight years and finished as New York's fourth-leading scorer of all time. He also holds New York records for free throws attempted, free throws made, and consecutive games with a three-pointer. Outside of the NBA, Houston won a gold medal in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

Houston has not left the Knicks organization since his retirement in 2006. In December 2010, Houston was promoted to assistant general manager for the Knicks, though Ron Phillips notes that he is currently serving as special assistant to the general manager.

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