Ok, sorry about the Oakley pick
I'll take JOHN STARKS
John Levell Starks (born
August 10,
1965 in
Tulsa, Oklahoma) is an American former
basketball player who gained fame while playing at
shooting guard for the
New York Knicks of the
National Basketball Association in the
1990s. Starks was listed at 6'5" during his NBA playing career.
Starks bagged groceries for several years before playing basketball for several community colleges. He finished his collegiate career at
Oklahoma State University. Although he was passed over in the draft, Starks worked his way into the NBA after stints in the
Continental Basketball Association and the
World Basketball League. He was eventually signed by the
Golden State Warriors in 1988, but left in 1990 to try out for the New York Knicks. In one practice, he tried to dunk on Knicks
center Patrick Ewing. Ewing threw him down and Starks twisted his knee. The team was not allowed to release him unless it healed by the end of December. When it didn't heal by that time, the Knicks could not release Starks, and thus kept him. As a result, Starks has on many occasions referred to Ewing as his saving grace. He eventually became the starting shooting guard, replacing Gerald Wilkins. Starks became a key player on the team and spent eight seasons in New York from 1990 to 1998. Starks was a participant in the 1992
NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
Starks was at the center of one of the most famous plays in Knick history. During a 1993 playoffs series against the
Chicago Bulls, Starks was in the right corner of the court being closely guarded by
B.J. Armstrong. Ewing came to set a screen for Starks, who faked to the left like he was going to use the pick, and then fiercely drove along the baseline and dunked over the much taller
Horace Grant as well as
Michael Jordan.
One of the low points of Starks' career came in the
1994 NBA Finals against the
Houston Rockets. The Knicks had taken a 3-2 lead into Game 6, and in the last second, Starks had the chance to sink a three point shot that would have won the Series. His shot was blocked by Rockets center
Hakeem Olajuwon. In Game 7, Starks shot 2-for-18 from the field, contributing to the Knicks' loss to the Rockets.
In 1995, Knicks coach
Pat Riley left the Knicks to go to the
Miami Heat after a dispute with then-General Manager
Dave Checketts. The Knicks later hired Don Nelson, resurrecting the tensions from Starks' first year in Golden State. However, Nelson was fired in the middle of his first season, and the Knicks replaced him with Assistant Coach
Jeff Van Gundy. With the addition of
Allan Houston in 1996, Starks became a mentor as Houston took his spot in the starting lineup. Starks continued to be a steady contributor off the bench that season, and in 1997, he received the
NBA Sixth Man of the Year award. Two years later, Starks was traded back to the Warriors, along with
Chris Mills and
Terry Cummings, for
Latrell Sprewell.
After his stint at Golden State, Starks played for the Bulls and
Utah Jazz before retiring in 2002 with 10,829 career points. He currently works as an alumni and fan development official for the Knicks. In addition, he serves as a pre-and-post-game analyst on MSG Network’s home Knicks game coverage. His autobiography
John Starks: My Life was released in 2004.
Starks' fiery intensity often led to emotional displays while on the court.
Reggie Miller, star shooting guard for the
Indiana Pacers, was often a provocateur and target of his ire.
Starks ranks 20th all-time in league career
three-point field goals made, and is the Knicks' all-time leader in that category. He made 217 during the
1994-95 NBA season, breaking
Louie Dampier's single-season professional (NBA or ABA) record of 199 during the 1968-69 ABA season.
Dennis Scott broke Starks' record a year later with 267; it now belongs to
Ray Allen, who made 269 during the
2005-06 NBA season.
PLUS HE HAD THIS NASTY A$$ DUNK!!!
