One of the stars of early Knicks history, Ken Sears, died Monday at the age of 83. Sears played seven seasons in New York, making two All-Star teams and twice leading the NBA in field-goal percentage (1958-59, 1959-60). He was the last Knick to pull off that feat until Tyson Chandler led the league in the 2011-12 season...so, yeah, it was a while.
Sears, a 6’9” forward out of Santa Clara, was the fifth overall pick in the 1955 draft. He showed up at the old Garden to start the next season with suitcases in hand. Considering the era he played in, he received the royal treatment:
“I lived in the Belvedere Hotel right across from the Garden on 49th Street with a couple of other guys, Gene Shue and Dick Atha,” says Sears.