Past and Present Knicks Joining Forces for All-Star Weekend

New York Knicks stars both young and old will unite for a returning All-Star event.

Jan 9, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) and guard Jalen Brunson (11) against the Phoenix Suns at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The NBA announced that the Shooting Stars competition will make its return to All-Star Weekend this month, an affair that will be headlined by several familiar New York Knicks.

Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, the two members of the current squad who were already picked to represent the Knicks in the weekend's main event, will slot into the event, but they won't be alone on the big stage. Allan Houston, a former New York All-Star who retired as a Knick over two decades ago, will accompany the modern faces.

Former Tennessee and NBA guard Allan Houston appears on court during a college basketball exhibition game between Tennessee and Indiana on Sunday, October 27, 2024, in Knoxville. Tenn. | Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The three of them will be just one of the four Shooting Stars trios competing for one of the weekend's Saturday competitions, with every other duo of active stars and up-and-comers joined by an "NBA Legend" well past their playing days.

All Star weekend Shooting Stars event features an all-Knick team: pic.twitter.com/kOJNMmPLne

— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) February 7, 2026

In the newest tweak to All-Star festivities, the two-round tournament will make its first appearance since 2015 in taking the place of the Skills Challenge, which was only growing more convoluted by the year. In a similar vein to that defunct structure, each team will get 70 seconds to hit as many shots as they can from seven different on-court locations, where the two top performers will show down in the final round for the right to take home the competition's newly-reinstated award.

New York's Ever-Growing All-Star Presence

Brunson, Towns and Houston's common thread remains with the teams they're currently associated with, unlike other groups thrown together based on their college background or, in Dylan Harper's case, his former player of a father.

Houston spent the final nine of his 12 NBA seasons with the Knicks, where he earned back-to-back All-Star game nods between the 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 seasons. He was the starting shooting guard during New York's iconic run to the 1999 NBA Finals, averaging 18.5 points as one of the better-scoring backcourt options of the century's turn.

If nothing else, Houston is an accomplished veteran of the Shooting Stars games. During the 2011-2012 season, well after he'd called it a career seven years prior, he linked with then-Knicks guard Landry Fields and former WNBA All-Star Cappie Pondexter to take home top tournament honors.

Feb 25, 2012; Orlando, FL, USA; Allan Houston (20), Cappie Pondexter (center) and Landry Fields (2) of team New York celebrate with trophy after winning the 2012 NBA All-Star Shooting Stars competition at the Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Even if the Knicks did fall flat on their face in failing to handle the Detroit Pistons on earlier this week to snap their eight-game win streak in unceremonious manner, everything has come up New York amidst the league's rollout of the weekend's schedule.

Brunson earned enough votes to make the starting lineup out east, Towns picked up enough approval from coaches to scratch in as a reserve, and another former franchise fixture, Jeremy Lin, will make an appearance during the All-Star Celebrity Game. Add Houston to the growing list of former Knicks stars with a chance to add to the organization's momentum.

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