The Knicks-Spurs Connection: 40 players who wore both the Orange and Blue and the Silver and Black

It’s crazy to think Jeremy Sochan is about to receive an NBA championship ring regardless of how the Finals play out, despite likely never seeing the floor in the series. Waived by the Spurs midway through the season and later signed by the Knicks, Sochan has been used sparingly by New York. Yet thanks to a bizarre twist of timing, he’ll walk away with championship jewelry no matter which team ultimately raises the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

The Knicks and Spurs might be the last two franchises you’d expect to share a long history together.

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Sure, they famously met in the 1999 NBA Finals, when the eighth-seeded Knicks shocked the basketball world by fighting their way through the Eastern Conference before running into Tim Duncan and David Robinson. But outside of those five games, the two franchises have spent most of the last three decades living in completely different worlds.

One spent years collecting Hall of Famers, championships, and 50-win seasons like they were participation trophies. The other spent much of that same period trying to figure out how to stop stepping on rakes.

And despite spending most of the last 30 years in completely different basketball universes, 40 players have somehow ended up playing for both teams. Some were stars. Some were fan favorites. Some were role players who quietly carved out long NBA careers.

The Headliners

David Lee is probably the biggest Knicks success story on the list. Before becoming an All-Star, Lee was one of the few reasons to watch some truly dreadful Knicks teams in the late 2000s. Across 368 games in New York, he averaged 13 points and nearly 10 rebounds while becoming one of the league’s best double-double machines. By the time he landed in San Antonio late in his career, he wasn’t the same player, but he still gave the Spurs a reliable veteran big man who shot 59 percent from the floor during the 2016-17 season.

UNITED STATES – DECEMBER 20: New York Knicks’ David Lee tips the ball in on a long inbounds pass at the buzzer in double overtime for the winning basket, giving the Knicks a 111-109 victory against the Charlotte Bobcats at Madison…


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Publish date : 2026-06-02 23:00:00

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