End-of-Season Grades for Each New York Knicks Player

No more pick-and-rolls, no more hooks, no more coach's dirty looks. For the New York Knicks and the league's other underachievers, the NBA season ends next week. So before they fly off to the tropics and let the stress of this difficult season float away, we must hand out report cards to mark their failures (and successes) on the record.

This is not simply a list of who's worst to who's best. This is an assessment of how well the players met the expectations set for them by their coaches, contracts and prior performances. 

Back in autumn, we started the season with a variety of characters: the gifted honors students from whom everyone expected good things, a "lost cause" being given a second chance, a new kid from out of town who had to prove himself, an upperclassman accused of shirking his duties and plenty of other faces in the crowd.

Now that this term is over, the questions are: Who has pleasantly surprised us, and who has disappointed by failing to reach their true potential? Who's head of the class, while who merely eked out a passing grade?

Read on to find out.

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Rocky Widner/Getty Images

15. Tony Wroten

Remember him? The Knicks signed 22-year-old point guard Tony Wroten last month for the rest of the 2015-16 season (and an unguaranteed contract for 2016-17). However, Wroten, still recovering from an ACL injury, has not yet suited up for New York and is not expected to.

Final grade: Incomplete

14. Cleanthony Early

Cleanthony Early was relegated to garbage time until a bullet wound to the knee over Christmas took him off the court entirely until late March. After a brief rehab period in the NBA Development League, Early returned to the New York lineup and played his biggest game of the season—a seven-point, six-rebound, 23-minute outing in a win over the Brooklyn Nets April 1. Early gets credit for jumping back in so quickly, but overall this season is a do-over.

Final grade: Incomplete 

13. Lou Amundson

Despite the goodwill he earned by battling hard last season, Lou Amundson wasn't given many chances to hit the hardwood in 2015-16. Those few opportunities he did have were brief and underwhelming. It's regrettable, because when the Knicks struggled with their defense in January, a dose of Amundson might have helped. Instead, the most remarkable, and perhaps most tragic, moment of Sweet Lou's season was the day he shaved off his sweet locks. 

Final grade: D

12. Kevin Seraphin

Kevin Seraphin has an accurate, delicate baby jumper that's often deadly from mid-range. He can administer thought-provoking blocks and uses his sheer mass as an asset for protecting the paint. However, he becomes turnover-prone when he overestimates his own dismal ball-handling and footwork skills. The moment Seraphin considers dribbling and walking at the same time is the point it all catastrophically breaks down.

Final grade: C-

11. Kyle O'Quinn

Kyle O'Quinn didn't play defense until January. Sure, he was always good for the occasional hard, clean foul (the sort that refs take a good long look at after an opponent gets walloped and goes careening into the stands). Yet, O'Quinn did not keep up the persistent, grueling, nose-to-the-grindstone duties of frustrating opponents until the new year. Nevertheless, he's a sweet-passing big man with a reliable jumper who runs the pick-and-roll beautifully. 

Final grade: C

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10. Arron Afflalo

Arron Afflalo is definitely an honors student, but he's the one the other honors students ask "What did you get on the test" because they know he scored lower than they did. 

After Carmelo Anthony, Afflalo is easily the Knicks' best player in the post, and on a good night, he can drill seemingly impossible buckets off pick-and-pop or catch-and-shoot opportunities. Unfortunately, he hasn't had quite enough good nights this season. He was not a reliable scorer, and his defense wasn't as effective as advertised.

Final Grade: C+

9. Jose Calderon

Calderon is not of the same caliber as the rest of the starting point guards in the league, yet he is leaps and bounds above the guy named Calderon who played for the Knicks last year.

Remember him? He was awful. 

Calderon moved the ball more and turned it over less. He tightened his defense and tuned up his shooting, nailing 45.4 percent from the field and 41.4 from three, including the game-winning buzzer-beater versus the Los Angeles Lakers March 13. He isn't a major asset, but overall he hasn't been a liability either, which is heads, shoulders, knees and toes above last season.

Plus, his ESP with Derrick Williams created some of the most astounding alley-oops of the season—none more stupefying than the 70-footer above.

Final Grade: B-

8. Langston Galloway

Hopes were so high for Langston Galloway this season, but 2015-16 hasn't been quite as thrilling as the high-flying putback of his rookie debut. This season was plagued with long shooting slumps that seemed interminable; however, his electrifying 18-point, seven-assist performance versus the Brooklyn Nets last week made them easy to forget.

Slumps aside, Galloway is still one of the team's scrappiest defenders and best hustlers. He makes the players around him better and can slide into the lineup beside any other guard at the 1 or 2 spot and be effective. He's core to the Knicks' heart and soul.

Final Grade: B

7. Derrick Williams

To the surprise of many, Derrick Williams is earning the $4.9 million the Knicks invested in him. He exceeded expectations by significantly improving his three-pointer, rebounding and general effort. He gave Knicks fans some of their biggest thrills of the season. The most acrobatic alley-oops and fast-break slams come courtesy of D-Will, who finished them off with a flourish of his blond-tipped dreads. 

Yet, in good conscience, I can't give him more than a B, because his defense still needs a lot of work. He's showing signs he has the desire, but he still lacks the skill. Williams has one of the worst defensive ratings on the team.  

Final Grade: B

6. Jerian Grant

Jerian Grant did not explode off the line as gloriously as fellow rookie Kristaps Porzingis did, and he hit the rookie wall sooner. However, now that season's end is nigh, Grant is hitting his stride. He's finishing those driving layups at the rim more often than not instead of just making glancing blows on the backboard. He's draining threes now he never would have attempted in November.

As Grant showed this season, he can score in the paint—which makes him a rare and wondrous creature in the New York backcourt—and his sticky fingers and fleet feet make him the perfect point guard for improving the Knicks' fast-break offense. 

Final Grade: B

5. Sasha Vujacic

Trust me. Nobody is more surprised than me that Sasha Vujacic is in the top of the class. 

His physical skills aren't worthy of a starting lineup, but he stole Afflalo's spot in the first five because he provides a spark that Afflalo does not. Vujacic scrambles, scrabbles, scraps and makes a nuisance of himself on defense. He's in perpetual motion and keeps the ball moving as well. 

As a shooter, Vujacic is somewhat maddening. When he's on, he's dead-center, double-clutch, perfect. And when he's off, he's in another galaxy. Late in the season, his shot has been accurate more often than not. Since the All-Star break, he's drilling 45.3 percent from the field and 47.2 percent behind the arc. 

Yes, there are days when he'll raise your spirits and then remind you that he is just Sasha Vujacic and not Magic Johnson, and you'll feel foolish for having forgotten. Yet, overall, he has given much more than the Knicks expected of him this season, starting in 22 games. 

Extra Credit for: 23-point shooting spree versus Devin Booker in a win over Phoenix Suns March 9; first-half buzzer beater Jan. 29 versus the Suns when he drilled the three as Tyson Chandler knocked him down onto his back. 

Final Grade: B

4. Lance Thomas

The Knicks have gone 25-34 (0.424) with Lance Thomas on the court and 6-13 (0.315) without him. He knows his assignments and where he needs to be. Using those delectable "intangibles," he makes the whole team function better without drawing attention to himself.

Thomas has been more than the strong, silent type this season, though. More than just a facilitator, he was a key piece when he had the ball in his hands, particularly in December. He improved his post-up game, mid-range jumper and three-ball, and he occasionally showed some flash with fierce dunks (but took care not to enjoy them too much, lest he fail to get back on defense).

When Thomas went down with an injury, the intensity of the entire team's D went down with him. If the Knicks re-sign him this summer and can keep him healthy, getting over 40 wins might not be as impossible as it was without him. 

Extra Credit for: the stone-faced stolen pass and fast-break spinning layup maneuver against the Detroit Pistons that made Stan Van Gundy want to cry (above); the baseline drive and rim-shaking "tomahawk" slam over the Milwaukee Bucks.  

Final Grade: A-

3. Robin Lopez

New York brought on Robin Lopez because of his energy and defense, but his offensive production was a pleasant surprise. He's often been the Knicks' kick-starter, putting the first six points on the board before the rest of the team has warmed up, and more recently he has become a strong closer too. He's improved nearly across the board since his last season with the Portland Trail Blazers.

RoLo's reliable baby hook and bank shot have him averaging 10.2 points per game for the season, but he's doubled that number on several occasions. Plus, he's a deft passer and a solid roll man who can keep the offense flowing.

An excellent one for crashing the glass, Lopez has been instrumental in lifting the team off the bottom of the ranks in rebounding. He could be an asset to a fast-break game if the team ever commits to it. 

Extra Credit for: 20-rebound performance against the Sacramento Kings; out-rebounding Andre Drummond Feb. 4; continuing the fight against the pernicious tyranny of NBA mascots.

Final Grade: A- 

2. Kristaps Porzingis

After being pelted with boos at the NBA draft, it took Kristaps Porzingis all of 12 games to have Madison Square Garden cheering his name with jubilation. 

He defies the expectations of what a 7'3", scrawny European who shoots threes should be. Instead of being just a tall jump-shooter, KP6 is a tough defender who holds his own against physically stronger opponents. He moves with exceptional dexterity for someone his size, scoring in transition and off the dribble with ease. 

Just as impressive as his skills, though, is his personality. Porzingis is completely confident without being arrogant. He's unafraid to take the final shot. Unafraid of the bright lights, the media scrutiny, the fans' demands or the invitations to the prom. And seemingly unafraid of the huge stars he's facing. 

He might have hit the wall hard in February and let Karl-Anthony Towns run away with Rookie of the Year honors, but the Three Six Latvia is still the best thing to happen to New York fans in a long time.

Extra Credit for: putback dunk on LaMarcus Aldridge, seven-block game versus the Minnesota Timberwolves, getting fans to cheer "Por-zing-is" in mid-November, video game trash-talking that included a threat to "eat [Sasha Vujacic] like a gazelle," generally being much cooler than we expected.

Final Grade: A

1. Carmelo Anthony

Carmelo Anthony gets top marks for shutting us up. Yes, we might still critique him for taking a max contract that could be hindering the team from acquiring better free agents. However, he smacked down the complaints of those who said he was a poor leader and a ball hog who lacked backbone and was lazy on defense.

With 4.2 assists per game, he not only leads his own team but is one of the best passing forwards in the league this season. Instead of simply relying on his stellar jump shot, he took it to the rack more this year, urging his team to score in the paint.

Although the outstanding transition D and high-flying blocks he showed off in November didn't carry all the way through to April, Melo did maintain pressure on opponents in less flashy fashion all year. He held opponents to shooting 3.8 percent below their average, after allowing them to shoot 1.6 above it last year. 

Beyond that, Anthony was always the first one to leap off the bench in aid of a teammate—to cheer for a good play, argue a bad call or break up a brewing fight. He also held his team accountable, issuing instructions and advice.

The vocal leader that everyone had said he must but could never be suddenly showed up.  

Extra Credit for: patting the head of a kid who ran onto the court to hug him mid-game, coming to Porzingis' defense against Kent Bazemore, the monster block that sent Anderson Varejao to the floor (above), frankness with the media, being the only player in the league to lead his team in points, rebounds and assists per game.

Final Grade: A

All stats are from NBA.com/stats and up-to-date as of April 7.