Knicks Draft: 11th Picks in NBA History

The No. 11 pick has been a hotbed for sharpshooters and longevity, but it has also produced one of the greatest enemies in Knicks lore.

The New York Knicks are scheduled to make two selections in the 2022 NBA Draft in Brooklyn. Their first pick comes in the 11th overall slot following the NBA Draft Lottery earlier this month. 

With the countdown fully underway, we look back on the greatest No. 11 overall picks in NBA Draft history.

Robert Horry

Klay Thompson

Reggie Miller (L) and Allan Houston

1963: Gus Johnson, Baltimore

Johnson never got a chance to break the internet, so he broke backboards instead. Listed by some sources as a No. 10 pick (brought about by a special territorial pick in the first round), Johnson was one of the NBA's first dunk masters, helping reverse the fortunes of the downtrodden Bullets franchise with showstopping antics. The Idaho alum also made a name for himself as one of the NBA's earliest two-way stars, earning a pair of first-team all-defensive nods (1970-71). An NBA title proved elusive, but Johnson later earned a championship in his final seasons with the Indiana Pacers, then of the ABA. He was posthumously inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2010.

1974: Jamaal Wilkes, Golden State

Wilkes, portrayed by Jimel Atkins, was one of several notable NBA names dramatized in the recent HBO series "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty." The UCLA alum was no stranger to dynasties, having first worked with John Wooden before earning both Rookie of the Year and championship honors with the Warriors. Injuries ate away at the latter stages of his career, but Wilkes developed a reputation as a strong player with and without the ball. Wilkes played a major role in clinching the first championship of the "Showtime" Lakers, racking up a 37-point, 10-rebound double-double in the clinch of the 1980 Finals in Philadelphia. He earned a Hall of Fame nod three decades later.

1987: Reggie Miller, Indiana

Reggie Miller was destined to hear boos in New York one way or another. Upon his selection, some Pacers supporters at Felt Forum roasted his arrival, eager to see the team use the selection on Hoosier Steve Alford. Miller, true to form, silenced his doubters in style, playing 18 NBA seasons and retiring as the league's king of 3-pointers, sinking 2,880 between the regular season and playoffs. None were more famous than the pair that opened the "eight points in nine seconds" stretch vs the Knicks in the 1995 playoffs. Miller was recently named to the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team, nine years after he was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame. 

Jamaal Wilkes

Houston

Gus Johnson

1992: Robert Horry, Houston

Miller isn't obviously the biggest Knicks "killer" on this list, but Horry did his share during the 1994 NBA Finals, which produced the first of seven rings for "Big Shot Bob." After averaging 10.3 points and 3.7 assists in the seven-game win for the Rockets, Horry was downright historic in the four-game sweep of Orlando in the season after. He set a single-game record with seven steals in Game 2 before sinking the clinching triple in the following showdown. Further Finals fame awaited him in 2001 and 2005, scoring 21 points, including the game-winning 3, in San Antonio's Game 5 win over Detroit). 

1993: Allan Houston, Detroit

Houston was drafted by the Pistons, but is best known for the latter nine years of his career, all spent with the Knicks. Things ended on a sour note, over $100 million of them, actually, after Houston's career was decimated by injuries after inking a massive extension, but he formed a deadly shooting guard combo with veteran John Starks and took on a major leadership role after Patrick Ewing's injury en route to a surprise appearance in the 1999 NBA Finals. Houston's signature New York moment surfaced that postseason, as his first-round game-winner with 0.8 seconds remaining in the opening round's decisive game doused the Miami Heat and allowed the Knicks to become the second No. 8 seed to win a playoff series (and first to reach the Finals).

2011: Klay Thompson, Golden State 

The Warriors' return to power has, by likely no coincidence, come after Thompson's return to the floor after missing the past two seasons. He arrived in Golden State two years after "Splash" sibling Stephen Curry and played an integral role in the team's dominance of the 2010s. Thompson holds the NBA records for most successful 3-pointers in a single game (14) and the most points earned in a single quarter (37). He will play for his fourth NBA Finals ring starting on Thursday night in San Francisco (9 p.m. ET, ABC). 

Other Notable Selections

-1977: Ernie Grunfeld, Milwaukee
-1980: Kiki Vandeweghe, Dallas
-1982: Fat Lever, Portland
-1983: Derek Harper, Dallas
-1984: Kevin Willis, Atlanta
-1986: John Salley, Detroit
-1989: Nick Anderson, Orlando
-1991: Terrell Brandon, Cleveland
-2006: J.J. Redick, Orlando
-2015: Myles Turner, Indiana
-2016: Domantas Sabonis, Orlando
-2018: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Charlotte