It’s safe to say John Starks did not follow the typical path from college stardom to the NBA. He bounced around several colleges in his home state of Oklahoma, and went undrafted in the 1988 draft.
Though he signed with the Golden State Warriors, his stint there was not long. The Knicks were next to give him a shot, but he injured his knee while trying to dunk on Patrick Ewing in practice. With New York obliged to hang onto the injured player, he earned another opportunity to make the club when his knee healed. This time he won the job as the team’s starting point guard.