At Madison Square Garden, the Knicks’ courtside “Alumni Row” has become part of the show, turning home games into something closer to a reunion than a typical NBA night. Former players from Walt “Clyde” Frazier to Carmelo Anthony have been gathering there as New York chases its first NBA title since 1973.
The setup is unusual across the league. Knicks owner James Dolan has reserved baseline courtside seats for former players, giving the franchise’s past and present a visible connection that has drawn praise from alumni and current players alike.
Why the former Knicks keep showing up
John Starks, who played for New York from 1990-98 and now works in alumni and fan development, said Dolan began setting aside 14 baseline courtside seats during the 2023-24 season. The attention grew during the 2025 Eastern Conference finals, when Starks, Patrick Ewing, Larry Johnson, Allan Houston, Stephon Marbury and others were seen reacting loudly as the Knicks played the Indiana Pacers.
“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.”
Starks said the organization keeps bringing the alumni back because the energy is impossible to miss. “The excitement we were generating down there going back to the Indiana series, I think everyone kind of picked up on that,” he said.
A courtside tradition unlike any other
Former Knicks players say the Garden treatment goes beyond a seat in the building. They get VIP parking, a private entrance and a place together along the baseline, which Carmelo Anthony said he has not seen matched elsewhere in the NBA.
“It’s only in New York where I’ve seen them bring back the legends of the game,” Anthony told Andscape. “Once a Knick, always a Knick.”
Anthony said the experience lets generations of Knicks players watch together, from Frazier and Ewing to Bernard King and Marbury. Iman Shumpert, who played for New York from 2011-15, said the atmosphere feels different from other stops around the league.
“It’s sort of like a family vibe that happens at MSG,” Shumpert told Andscape.
Even turbulent eras still have a seat
The Knicks’ alumni culture also includes players with complicated histories in New York. Stephon Marbury, who once described his time with the franchise as the “toughest” stretch of his 19-year NBA career, still has a place courtside and expects to attend a Finals game.
Marbury said the message behind the franchise’s motto is real. “There is nothing on earth like what the Knicks alumni does for the players who have worn this jersey,” he said. “Once you’re part of this family, that legendary slogan becomes real.”
Current Knicks players have noticed the support, too. Mikal Bridges said he appreciates the former players’ presence, while Jose Alvarado said seeing the legends cheering from courtside is “dope.”
What happens when the Finals return to the Garden
The last NBA Finals game at Madison Square Garden came in June 1999, when the Spurs beat the Knicks in Game 5. This year, New York is back in the Finals and hosting the series at home again, with courtside seats carrying massive secondary-market prices.
For Starks, the decision to reserve those seats is costly but meaningful. He said Dolan could have placed the former players higher up in the arena, but instead chose to put them “front and center.”
Not every former Knick has embraced the reunion. Charles Oakley, who has had a long-running rift with Dolan after a 2017 incident at MSG, has not been seen courtside since then and turned down an invitation to a Knicks home game in 2024. Still, he was in attendance when the Knicks swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 4 of the 2026 Eastern Conference finals.
As the Finals continue, the baseline seats remain one of the clearest symbols of how deeply the franchise leans into its history. At MSG, the Knicks are not only playing for a championship, but also performing in front of the players who helped build the identity around them.
