New York Knicks all-time draft bust starting 5
Frank Ntilikina, New York Knicks. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
New York Knicks all-time draft bust starting point guard: Frank Ntilikina
Our list starts close to the present day, as the Knicks had an incredible two-year run of draft failures within the past decade. That starts with Frank Ntilikina, a 6’4″ point guard drafted eighth overall in the 2017 NBA Draft out of France.
The upside was supposed to be immense with Ntilikina, who brought incredible defensive length and instincts at the point guard position. When you added in how he would bully defenders driving to the rim and be unstoppable in the mid-range, you understand why the Knicks bought it.
The problem is that Ntilikina never realized that offensive upside…any of it, really. He is a career 32 percent shooter from three-point range and just 37 percent from the field. He couldn’t create offense off of the dribble, he couldn’t score, and he couldn’t shoot; his passing never really came around either, making him a massive problem in every facet of offensive basketball.
Ntilikina stuck around the Knicks for four seasons because of his defense, which was every bit as good as advertised, but at some point, you have to play both sides of the court.
The Knicks took Ntilikina eighth overall, and while the players directly after him were busts in their own rights (Dennis Smith Jr. and Zach Collins), Donovan Mitchell and Bam Adebayo went 13th and 14th, and either would have transformed the Knicks franchise.
