Bench Impress! New York Knicks Reserves Appear on ESPN's NBArank

New York Knicks depth stars Josh Hart and Immanuel Quickley were part of a six-New Yorker contingent in ESPN's ranking of the NBA's best 100 players.

It pays to have a backup plan.

ESPN's annual ranking of the NBA's top 100 players, often referred to as "NBArank," featured two New York Knicks reserves: backup point guard Immanuel Quickley came home 92nd while teammate Josh Hart was just ahead of him at No. 91. Quickley and Hart were two of six Knicks (joining starters RJ Barrett, Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle, and Mitchell Robinson) on the 2023 list, the most since the listings were introduced in 2011.

Quickley was one of the more pleasant surprises to emerge from Manhattan last season, as the third-year man averaged a career-best 14.9 points and 4.2 rebounds en route to a runner-up finish in the Sixth Man of the Year vote. The 2020 first-round pick also came up big when promoted to the starting lineup when Barrett and/or Brunson were unable to partake: in 21 starts, Quickley averaged 22.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.1 assists.

Set to enter the final year of his rookie contract, Quickley's future has been a major talking point of the Knicks' offseason. He is eligible for a contract extension until Oct. 24 and will become a restricted free agent next summer if no such deal is reached.

Just ahead of Quickley is Hart, one of the newest Knicks and set to be one of the lasting staples of the team's immediate future: not only was Hart convinced to play the 2023-24 season on a $12.9 million player option, but he also agreed to a four-year, $81 million contract extension that kicks in next season.

Hart became an instant fan favorite upon his New York entry last season / Brad Penner, USA TODAY SPORTS

"Hart's energy proved to be a difference-maker for the Knicks last season when he came over in a trade deadline acquisition from Portland, partnering with Quickley to revitalize New York's second unit," ESPN's Tim Bontemps writes in Hart's accompanying blurb. "The Knicks outscored teams by a staggering 11.9 points per 100 possessions in Hart's 750 regular-season minutes on the court after the trade deadline last year."

In more conventional stats, the Knicks won 17 of their final 25 regular season games upon Hart's arrival from the Pacific Northwest. That progress allowed them to wrap up the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference and avoid the purgatory of the Play-In Tournament.

Neither Hart nor Quickley appeared on last season's list, which listed four Knicks before their unexpected playoff run. 

The Knicks' depth will be one of the subplots this season as the team seeks to build upon its most lucrative campaign in a decade. New York certainly got smaller this time around, trading Obi Toppin and signing Donte DiVincenzo, but their reliable relievers could help separate themselves from the rest of a top-heavy Eastern Conference. Other reserve contributors returning from last year's reserve unit include Isaiah Hartenstein, Evan Fournier, Miles McBride, and Jericho Sims. 

Alongside Robinson, Hartenstein is one of the two big men employed in Tom Thibodeau's nine-man rotation while the latter trio will use the preseason to try and convince the head coach to either adjust or expand his ledger.

The Knicks (1-0) resume their preseason slate on Saturday night when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves at Madison Square Garden (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG2).