‘It’s like a family reunion’: Former Knicks players come together courtside

NEW YORK — New York Knicks legend Walt “Clyde” Frazier poetically described it as “a Knicks family reunion” every home game on “Alumni Row.”

Whether it’s Spike Lee, Ben Stiller, Timothée Chalamet, Fat Joe, Tracy Morgan, John Turturro or Tina Fey, Knicks home games always have celebrities from the entertainment world sitting courtside. In recent seasons, however, a “once a Knick always a Knick” celebrity row has also come to life with former players such as Frazier from the 1960s and 1970s, all the way through Carmelo Anthony from the 2010s.

The ex-Knicks who gained energy from the Madison Square Garden fans in their heyday are bringing that same spirit to cheer on today’s Knicks in their attempt to win the franchise’s first NBA title since 1973.

“It’s like a family reunion with what the Knicks are doing at home games,” Frazier told Andscape. “It’s very rewarding that they appreciate what we’ve done in the past and what we have meant to the team. They are not forgetting us with the team success. They’ve made us a part of it. …

“All the decades are represented. And they know the struggle.”

John Starks had a memorable playing career with the Knicks from 1990-98. The 1994 NBA All-Star is the Knicks’ all-time leader in 3-pointers made and famously dunked on Michael Jordan during the 1993 Eastern Conference finals. In 2004, the Knicks hired Starks as an alumni and fan development advisor. Part of that role includes helping former Knicks players stay connected to the franchise and involved in community events.

Starks said that during the 2023-24 season, Knicks owner James Dolan began reserving 14 courtside baseline seats for former players. The act started to get attention on TV during the 2025 Eastern Conference finals when the Knicks played the Indiana Pacers, and former Knicks such as Starks, Patrick Ewing, Larry Johnson, Allan Houston, Stephon Marbury and others were seen cheering enthusiastically.

“I sit down there, Larry sits down there, and a few guys sit down there when they’re in town,” Starks said. “The excitement we were generating down there going back to the Indiana series, I think everyone kind of picked up on that. TV picked up on us getting up, cheering the team on, and it kind of grew out of that. It showed that these guys are still valuable to the organization. [So the Knicks] keep bringing them back.”

Johnson told ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk that he calls the group of former Knicks at games “Alumni Row.” The former Knicks forward said he has enjoyed reuniting at recent games in New York with teammates he played alongside during the 1999 NBA Finals.

“Marcus [Camby] and ‘Spree’ [Latrell Sprewell] I hadn’t seen in 20, 25 years,” Johnson said. “And even Kurt Thomas, I hadn’t seen in 20-25 years. I saw Marcus and Spree last year. Same goes with Chris Childs, started coming back this year. And we got Charlie Ward at a couple games this year.”

It’s not uncommon to see retired NBA stars at their former team’s games. Spurs legends including Tim Duncan and David Robinson have attended games during the NBA playoffs, sitting in a variety of places at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio. Former Miami Heat forward Jamal Mashburn pays for two courtside seats in Miami.

But the Knicks are the only franchise that has dedicated courtside seats for former players to sit together.

“You got to thank Jim [Dolan] for that because those are some expensive seats down there that he’s giving up for the players,” Starks said. “But he sees what it means to the Knicks fans and players in general, so he is like, ‘OK, let’s roll with it.’ And we’ve been rolling with it ever since. …

“[Dolan] could have said, ‘Here is some seats up here.’ No. He has us front and center. It’s been good.”

Dolan is giving up a lot of money in ticket sales to allow the former Knicks players to sit together. In New York, between six and eight players are sitting together in courtside seats ranging in cost from $2,650 to $5,600 per seat during the regular season, according to ticket marketplace SeatGeek.

Tonight, the Knicks will host their first home Finals game since 1999 after taking a 2-0 lead over the San Antonio Spurs in the best-of-seven series. Courtside NBA Finals seats at Madison Square Garden range from $45,000 to $200,000 per seat on the secondary resale market, according to USA Today.

“For one, I don’t think nobody else could do it,” former Knicks All-Star Carmelo Anthony, who starred for New York from 2011-17, told Andscape. “I haven’t seen no other organization do that. It’s only in New York where I’ve seen them bring back the legends of the game. Once a Knick, always a Knick. Everybody is sitting there. You got Clyde at the table calling the game. P.E. [Patrick Ewing] to Starks to my generation watching the new generation. It’s super fun.

“You become a fan. You become a fan of the [former Knicks]. You become a fan of Bernard King sitting next to Pat and talking about when he used to play, sitting next to [Stephon] Marbury talking about when he used to play. That camaraderie. You can’t buy that.”

Iman Shumpert, who played with the Knicks from 2011-15, acknowledged that he gets love from the Cleveland Cavaliers when he is in town as a member of their 2016 NBA title team. But Shumpert said nothing in the NBA compares to how the Knicks treat their former players: VIP parking, a private entrance and former player seating.

“It’s sort of like a family vibe that happens at MSG. You don’t get it in other places,” Shumpert told Andscape.

Said Starks: “You see it all around the league now, which is good. But they can’t look like ours. I notice that [other teams] don’t sit [former players] baseline. They sit them in the stands somewhere.”

The Knicks have a motto: “Once a Knick, always a Knick.” While Ewing, King and Anthony are Naismith Basketball Hall of Famers, Marbury — who once called his time with the franchise the “toughest” stretch of his 19-year NBA career — has a seat, too.

The Coney Island, New York, native endured a turbulent tenure with the Knicks from 2004-09 that was marked by coaching changes, front-office dysfunction, a single playoff appearance and, finally, his contract buyout in 2009.

But the past is the past for Marbury, who is one of the more enthusiastic and flamboyant former Knicks players sitting courtside. He told Andscape he expects to attend a Finals game.

“There is nothing on earth like what the Knicks alumni does for the players who have worn this jersey, whether they started their career here or ended it elsewhere,” Marbury said. “Once you’re part of this family, that legendary slogan becomes real, because it’s true, it’s authentic, and it’s alive. No matter who you are, Dolan makes sure you stay in the family. And in this family, it’s one family, always family. Once a Knick, always a Knick.”

Knicks forward Mikal Bridges said he is so “zoned in” during home games that he doesn’t give the former players love during or after games. But Bridges said he appreciates the support from them and envisions himself sitting there one day after his career ends.

“[I appreciated] them just being at every game, them being in the atmosphere and just loving it and being a fan and knowing that they’re being a part of the culture,” Bridges told reporters. “I know it was great. Obviously one day [to sit there], yeah, that would be dope, with how much I love the city, how much I love the fans, my teammates. Of course, you want to be that.”

Said Knicks guard Jose Alvarado on ESPN Hoop Streams: “Seeing those legends sitting courtside cheering us on, cheering me on, is dope.”

Starks, Ewing, Frazier and Houston have also been regulars at road playoff games this year. New York head coach Mike Brown said Ewing gave the Knicks an inspirational speech during a first-round playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks, in which they trailed 2-1 before rallying to win three straight games to clinch it 4-2.

“Having that veteran presence around, especially guys that have been to the Finals, is huge,” Brown said.

There is one former Knicks star who has a complicated relationship with his old franchise and hasn’t been seen courtside since 2017.

That year, Charles Oakley reportedly tried to go after Dolan during a Knicks home game and play was momentarily stopped after the former player shoved a team security guard. Oakley was later arrested, charged with assault and trespassing and was banned from Madison Square Garden.

While The New York Times has reported that Oakley’s ban has been lifted, he rejected an invitation to attend a Knicks home game in 2024 and hasn’t returned. Oakley was in attendance when the Knicks swept the host Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 4 of the 2026 Eastern Conference finals.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said before this year’s Finals that he and NBA legend Michael Jordan tried to broker peace in 2017 between Oakley and Dolan to no avail. Oakley said he wasn’t happy with Silver’s view.

“[Silver] is coming back out with something from 2017 when we met with that guy from New York, Michael, and himself, and he tried to act like they tried to solve a problem. And he went to the public in 2017 and said we met and we came to an agreement that it’s over with,” Oakley told TMZ Sports. “And now, you look in the paper. He made another statement about that. You didn’t solve the problem in 2017 because it’s nine years later; it’s still going on.”

It will be interesting to see which former Knicks players get those coveted Finals courtside seats in the Garden.

The last time an NBA Finals game was played at Madison Square Garden was June 25, 1999, when the Spurs defeated the Knicks 78-77 in Game 5 to win the NBA title. The Knicks host Game 3 tonight, Game 4 on Wednesday and a possible Game 6 on June 16.

After the Game 2 win in San Antonio, Starks held up four fingers to signify the Knicks potentially winning the series in a four-game sweep. No NBA team has lost its first two games at home and rallied to win the Finals.

With former Knicks watching from courtside at Madison Square Garden, Starks believes today’s team is destined to bring an NBA championship to New York.

“It’s gonna feel good, it really is,” Starks said of winning a title. “I know we are not quite there yet. We’re halfway to our goal. But the writing is on the wall. And one thing I know about this team — and watching them for the last couple of years, and especially this season — once they smell blood in the water, they are like piranhas. They go up for the kill. It’s going to be such an incredible moment.”