Who's the Most over and Underrated NY Knicks Player?

The New York Knicks' 67 seasons of existence have been packed with legendary names that have gone down in history for an array of reasons. In the media-packed fishbowl that is New York City, history often remembers players' careers by their New York stints, for better or worse.

The "for better or worse" part is important to note. As a Knick, players' accomplishments can be lauded and stacked against other players in the team's celebrated history—just as their failures can be scrutinized to the point where they're what we associate the player's career with. New York can make or break the narrative of NBA lives.

Because of this, some Knicks have gone over—and under—appreciated through the years, for a bevy of reasons. In some cases, players have been overshadowed by those with even greater accomplishments. History may simply remember others more fondly than their present era dealt with their struggles.

Ahead, we break down who has been the most affected by the above circumstances: the most overrated and underrated Knicks ever.

Most Underrated: Charles Oakley

Charles Oakley was a member of the Knicks for 10 seasons, and the team reached the postseason in each of those years. They finished with a top-five defensive efficiency in seven of those 10 campaigns and reached at least the second round of the playoffs in all but one season. 

Twelve other players averaged both double-digit rebounds and double-digit points during their Knicks careers, but only one other player did so over a longer duration than Oak: Patrick Ewing, the man who absorbed most of the spotlight that shone upon the Knicks frontcourt. 

Oakley is often brought up as a member of the '90s Knicks' supporting cast, but he's deserving of a much broader title. Oakley started all but five games over the course of his Knicks career, averaged 33 minutes per appearance and managed to score 10 points per contest on near 50 percent shooting despite a limited offensive arsenal. 

What Oakley is more often remembered for, however, is his role of enforcer on the rock-solid Knicks teams of the decade. He's second on the Knicks' all-time list in defensive win shares and never posted an individual defensive efficiency above 98 after 1992.

Oakley was perhaps the most representative of the rough and ragged Knicks clubs of the era. They didn't care how aesthetically pleasing it was, and they didn't care whose feathers were ruffled in the process. They wanted to win, and they'd do it as grittily as possible. All of the above describes Oakley though his decade-long Knicks tenure.

From the 1989 through 1998 seasons, Oakley posted averages of 10.4 points and 10.0 rebounds, while adding two assists, a steal and shooting 49.3 percent from the field. He ranks 13th all time on the Knicks rebounding leaderboard, and just nine qualified players in the team's history have both higher rebounding and scoring averages in their Big Apple stints.

The formidable New York lineups of the 1990s wouldn't have made as much noise—figuratively and literally—in the East without Oakley. He was a driving force on teams that were playoff mainstays in the conference, and those groups would've gone significantly less remembered without the imposing forward's presence each night.

Overrated: John Starks

At the opposite end of the spectrum, we find a Knicks teammate of Oakley's on those successful '90s units. John Starks flip-flopped between the team's sixth man and starting off-guard roles, and his performance flip-flopped in fashions that only J.R. Smith can come close to replicating today.

From 1991 to 1998, Starks started 275 of his 602 Knicks appearances. He averaged 14 points over eight seasons on 42 percent shooting, including 34.5 percent from three-point range. 

The city's adopted son, originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma, rests in Knicks lore largely thanks to The Dunk, and it'd be wrong to downplay the importance of the 1993 slam over two Chicago Bulls. But the positive connotations that come along with being one of the most commemorated players in franchise history aren't all that deserved.

Starks' PER as a Knick came out to 15.1, or just marginally above the league average. His playoff PER amounted to 14.9 as a Knick, and he shot over 36 percent from distance just twice. His 14 points per game came on 12 shots, and he averaged 4.7 three-ball attempts while making only 1.6.

And, of course—Knicks fans should refrain from playing the video below—there was Game 7 of the 1994 NBA Finals. (Box score via Basketball-Reference)

The game was everything Knicks fans were afraid of: Starks running into a far-too-familiar cold streak during the most important game of the decade. It's a performance fans still have trouble coping with.

Starks, like any sixth man should, acted as a spark plug for New York. His instant-offense approach and fiery attitude injected life into the team and its fans more often than not. The issue with Starks' emotions, however, is that they worked in both directions.

Exhibit A: Peep this intro of ESPN 30 for 30 doc "Winning Time," where Reggie Miller reveals that it was Starks' pregame antics that fueled his drive to bury the Knicks even more:

All this isn't to say that Starks didn't have his role on the great Knicks teams of the era—he certainly did, and oftentimes he flourished. His shooting numbers in the postseason actually trumped his regular-season marks by a few percentage points, and he averaged at least 15 points and five assists as a Knick in three different seasons.

But the trigger-happy shooting guard certainly weathered through his fair share of battles with cold streaks—streaks that reared their ugly heads frequently enough to cost the Knicks possessions, points, games, series and—at their worst—championship banners.

Starks can be lauded as one of the most memorable Knicks of all time. Just don't call him one of the best.

Follow John Dorn on Twitter at @JSDorn6.