The New York Knicks are NBA Champions. Before they dominated the NBA, they dominated college basketball. Here is a look at the collegiate careers of the men who brought a championship back to New York.
Jalen Brunson | G | Villanova
Brunson spent three years at Villanova and left as a two-time national champion and one of the greatest college basketball players of his era. As a junior, he averaged 18.9 points and 4.1 assists per game while shooting 41% from three, taking home the Wooden Award and every major national and Big East honor available to him. He was the alpha of the 2018 championship team that absolutely dominated the NCAA Tournament from start to finish — though it is worth noting he was also a key bench contributor on the 2016 title team before ascending to that role. The Dallas Mavericks selected him 33rd overall in the 2018 NBA Draft, and the rest is history.
Josh Hart | G/F | Villanova
146 college basketball games. One national championship. That is the Josh Hart story at Villanova. As a senior, Hart averaged 18.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 40% from three — earning Big East Player of the Year and First Team All-America honors in the process. He was the unquestioned leader of the 2016 championship team, and one of the most complete college basketball players of his generation. The Los Angeles Lakers selected him 30th overall in 2017. Hart could do it all then, and he can do it all now.
Mikal Bridges | F | Villanova
Two national championships. First Team All-Big East. Big East Defensive Player of the Year. Bridges was the rare player who excelled on both ends of the floor at the college level and translated that exact skill set to the NBA without missing a beat. As a junior, he averaged 17.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game. What Bridges does for the Knicks — versatile, two-way, effortlessly impactful — is exactly what he did at Villanova. The Phoenix Suns selected him 10th overall in 2018.
Karl-Anthony Towns | C | Kentucky
Towns was a one-and-done, and one dominant season at Kentucky was all it took. The numbers — 10.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game — do not tell the full story. Kentucky went ten players deep and Towns logged just 21.1 minutes per night. When he was on the floor, he was unguardable. He earned First Team All-SEC and SEC Freshman of the Year honors, and the Minnesota Timberwolves made it official: Towns went first overall in the 2015 NBA Draft.
OG Anunoby | F | Indiana
Anunoby’s college career was raw but full of flashes. As a freshman he was still finding his footing, but his sophomore season showed what was coming — 11.1 points per game before a knee injury cut his year short at just 16 games. The Toronto Raptors saw enough. The combination of tantalizing flashes and an NBA-ready body was all it took, and Anunoby went 23rd overall in 2017. The rest of his development happened at the professional level, and he has made up for lost time.
The Bench
That is the starting five. Now for the bench — which was no slouch in the college ranks either.
Landry Shamet was a First Team All-AAC selection at Wichita State. Deuce McBride was a bucket getter at West Virginia, earning Second Team All-Big 12 honors in 2020-21. Tyler Kolek was a Second Team All-American and one of the most dominant point guards the Big East has seen in years at Marquette. And Jose Alvarado was the ACC Defensive Player of the Year at Georgia Tech — a menace on that end of the floor long before he became one in the NBA.
The Knicks did not just win an NBA Championship. They won it with a roster full of college basketball legends.
