Allan Houston

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Allan Houston and John Starks Share Stories from the Knicks' 1999 NBA Finals Run

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Jonah Ballow

Firmly established in his post-playing career, Allan Houston is currently in his 10th season as a member of the Knicks’ front office, currently holding the title of general manager of the Westchester Knicks since the team’s inception, overseeing all operations of New York’s G League affiliate. He officially joined the Knicks front office on Nov. 7, 2008, first as assistant to the president and then assistant general manager.

Houston takes particular pride in the Westchester Knicks, New York’s owned-and-operated affiliate which played its inaugural season in 2014-15 in nearby White Plains, providing ready access to the Knicks of the future for both team executives and fans.

“There were a lot of day-to-day things - operations, teaching and training experiences - that took place right in our own facility, with players that our coaches and staff are connecting with each day,” says Houston about the Westchester Knicks. “That made it a better experience. I think the biggest factor still goes back to the system, back to the synergy with which the staff are implementing a certain way to play, a certain mindset that leads to winning. When you implement those things from the ground up, from Day One, your development system follows suit and it allows for much more synergy with what you’re teaching every player, especially your younger players who are still learning how they’re going to contribute.”

A two-time NBA All-Star (in 2000 and 2001), Houston’s front office career comes on the heels of a stellar 12-year playing tenure over which he averaged 17.3 points, including two 20-plus scoring seasons with the Knicks.

After three years in Detroit, Allan spent nine standout seasons (1996-97 through 2004-05) with the Knicks. He is fourth on the all-time Knicks career scoring list with 11,165 points, trailing only Hall of Famers Patrick Ewing (23,665), Walt Frazier (14,617) and Willis Reed (12,183). Houston is also second among all-time Knicks in three-point field goals (921, to John Starks’ 982), third in free throw percentage (.872), and sixth in minutes (21,724).

A key member of the Knicks’ 1999 Eastern Conference Championship team, Allan authored perhaps the single most-famous shot in franchise history, his unforgettable running one-hander with :00.8 left to give New York a series-clinching 78-77 win in Game Five of the first Playoff round at Miami (May 16, 1999). Houston scored a career-high 53 points at Los Angeles against the Lakers on Feb. 16, 2003.

Allan announced his retirement from playing on Oct. 17, 2005, although he attempted comebacks (both injury-shortened) during training camp in 2007 and 2008. In 2011, he was honored as a Knicks Legend for the period from 2000-2010, and saw his No. 20 retired by the University of Tennessee. Allan was a key member of the gold medal-winning U.S. squad at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

Houston’s longstanding community efforts earned him recognition for six straight years (2000 through 2005) as one of The Sporting News' "Good Guys in Sports." He currently oversees the Allan Houston Legacy Foundation, which was founded in 2001 and has served thousands of families nationwide through original programs in fatherhood and entrepreneurship. The programs include the annual "Father Knows Best" Basketball Retreat, strategic partnerships, coaching clinics, fatherhood and family programs, the FISLL (Faith, Integrity, Sacrifice, Leadership and Legacy) education curriculum, and the Allan Houston Business Education and Development Program. Allan, who is heavily involved in the Garden of Dreams Foundation, was honored by the New York Press Photographers Association with its 1999 “Good Guy” award and by the Obama Administration with the President’s Council on Service and Engagement Award in 2011. Houston made his directorial debut in the 2015 documentary “Legacy of My Father”, which explores celebrity fatherhood and co-stars Clippers Coach Doc Rivers and film director Ron Howard.

“One thing I learned from my parents is that whatever you do, you have to have a vision and be humble, and treat everything with excellence,” says Allan of his far-reaching career. “I just want to be the best I can at whatever I’m doing, and they always taught me to be a better person, more than anything. Life is built on relationships and dealing with people. One thing we as coaches talk about is that players who are listeners and are teachable and coachable, will always progress. Being a coach’s son, I’ve always tried to take that approach; that sometimes you’ve just got to be quiet and watch and learn. I’ve been very, very blessed.”

Born on Apr. 20, 1971 in Louisville, Allan and his wife Tamara are proud parents of seven children: daughter Remie (17; born on Jun. 12, 1999, one day after Allan's 32-point heroics in NY’s Eastern Conference-clinching Game Six win over Indiana), sons Allan III (15) and Asher (4), and daughters Rowan (12), Jade (9), Jodi Jean (8) and Truth Grace (6). A graduate of the University of Tennessee (BA, African-American Studies), Allan played collegiately for his father Wade, then the Vols’ head coach. Allan’s father and mother, Wade and Alice, are partners in Louisville-based HJI Inc., a family-based transportation and logistics company.

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Charlie Widdoes

In 2003, Knicks great Allan Houston passed Richie Guerin for fifth place on the team’s all-time scoring list (10,392).  Houston was the shining star as he dropped 39 points, including a go-ahead jumper with 18 seconds left in the game to elevate Washington to win over the Wizards at MSG.

Stay tuned to Knicks.com for more as we deliver 70 moments in 70 days leading up to the season opener.

Be there this season, for information on tickets and season memberships click here.

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#NYK70 | 2003: Allan Houston Passes Richie Guerin on All-Time Scoring List

With Patrick Ewing out for most of the season due to a broken wrist, the Knicks still managed to qualify for the playoffs under coach Jeff Van Gundy. The Knicks and Heat had established a ferocious rivalry during the previous season’s playoffs, and the antagonism carried over into the first round of the 1998 playoffs.  In the deciding fifth game of the series, Allan Houston’s team-leading 30 points anchored a thrilling, wire-to-wire victory over the Heat on their own home court.

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#NYK70 | 1998: Houston Scores 30, Leads Knicks to a Series-Clinching Victory

(1991) Jeremy Tyler born in San Diego, CA.

(1999) Knicks defeat San Antonio 89-81 in Game 3 of the NBA Finals at MSG, to cut the series deficit to 2-1. Allan Houston leads the way with 34 points, including 12-12 from the line (tied a Knicks playoff record shared by Patrick Ewing and Walt Frazier).

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This Date in Knicks History: June 21

Allan Houston’s second birthday was unforgettable due to a guest appearance from one of the most influential sports figures in history. 

Allan's mother, Alice Houston grew up just two houses from the Clays in Louisville, Kentucky on the now famous landmark Grand Avenue.  At 15 years old, Alice and her brother developed a friendship with Cassius Clay prior to his ascension to the top of the boxing world.  The neighborhood bond grew over the years between Alice and Cassius and to this day, she remembers the impactful messages he would deliver at the young age of 21.  Specifically, the time when Clay gave $25 to her mother just to get something nice as a gesture to friends of the family.

“He looked at me and said, ‘Just remember this Alice to remember how you treat people on your way up because these are the same people you are going to meet coming down.’  I was 16 at that particular time but over my life that has always resonated and became very symbolic and at the core of who he was,” Alice stated.

Alice would eventually marry and move into her childhood home with Wade Houston on the same block where Muhammad Ali returned for periodic visits after legally changing his name and capturing the heavyweight championship of the world.  Former Knick, Allan Houston spent his early years in that house on Grand Avenue and enjoyed a special visit from the cultural icon on his second birthday.    

“As Muhammad would do, he would just appear and you opened the door and there he is with his entourage,” Alice laughed.

Wade added, “In this particular visit, he had just fought Ken Norton and his jaw was broken and it was not wired shut but it was wired to the point where he couldn’t really talk as well as he normally does and you could tell then he was not as talkative but still he just came by the house and he would talk and he had a great visit with the kids.”

On Saturday morning, the news spread of Ali’s death at the age of 74 following a 32-year battle with Parkinson’s disease.  The world reacted with an outpouring of fond memories and a celebration of a charismatic individual that elevated the sport of boxing through his spectacular athletic movement and brash style of trash talk.  On the day of Allan’s second birthday, Wade reflects on the other side of Ali’s magnetic personality.

“Most kids at that age don’t go to strangers.  But, the thing I noticed about Ali was that we had like 20 kids, two and 3-year old kids and all of them sat on his lap and he was holding them and playing with them, which is very unusual for a stranger to interact like that with a bunch of kids,” Wade described.

Ali attended this birthday party back in April 1973, less than a month after a devastating loss to Ken Norton and suffering from a broken jaw.  The pain wasn’t an issue on this day.  Alice depicts a scene where Ali would quickly morph into a showman when a crowd appeared near him.

“He could transform faster than anybody I’ve ever seen. Transform into a master storyteller, entertainer, magician,” she laughed.

As Allan matured and realized his dream of reaching the NBA, the connection with Ali continued.  During his rookie season, Allan met up with Ali at a bar mitzvah in Hollywood and the two shared a special encounter at an award show years later.

“He literally put my hand up and made it into a fist and put it up against his face and then he made that face that he always makes.  I looked at the camera and thought, man I can’t believe I’m about to take a picture of me looking like I’m punching the champ,” Allan reflected.

Ali’s achievements in the ring made him a larger than life sports figure.  The three-time world champion is revered for his battles inside the ropes but for those that were close to Ali, the fights were difficult to watch.  An assistant coach at Louisville at the time, Wade would often ask for Ali’s support in convincing recruits to attend the University.  Ali always obliged to help lift the athletic program in his hometown.  As a friend and husband of Alice’s childhood neighbor, the generosity Ali displayed was particularly special for Wade.  However, watching the famous wars between Ali and Joe Frazier took a toll on the family.

“I would cry.  I mean, literally tears would come to my eyes watching him.  It was so painful for me to watch,” Wade admitted.

In 1966, Ali refused to be inducted into the armed forces and was stripped of his title.  This stance changed the public perspective on athletes and placed Ali in the crosshairs for public debate during a tumultuous period of time in the country’s history.  For three years, Ali was absent from the boxing game due his resistance to join the armed forces during the Vietnam War. 

“When you think about why he will be the greatest, obviously people will always remember him as the greatest because of his boxing but it’s because of really what he was willing to give up,” Allan declared. 

Ali’s funeral will take place in Louisville, Kenutcky along with a procession through the streets where the Clays and Houstons resided.  Alice and Wade still live in Kentucky and the strong bond they share with Ali is a significant part of their family history. 

“Muhammad Ali has been a part, whether from near or far of this family a long time and so has his journey,” Alice maintained. 

She added, “But the man himself was a loving and humble and generous and committed.  That’s what the world lost and the world will miss.”

Allan’s second birthday was a celebration and while the passing of “The Greatest” evokes sadness across the world, it’s also an opportunity to celebrate Ali’s life with those who knew him best.

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2 Doors Down: The Bond Between Allan Houston’s Family and Muhammad Ali

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This Date in Knicks History: May 19

(1993) Rolando Blackman’s 20-foot jumper from the top of the key with :05.4 remaining gives the Knicks a 94-92 win at Charlotte and a 3-1 series lead in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

(1999) Allan Houston’s running one-hander with :0.8 left caps a Knicks rally from a seven-point fourth-quarter deficit and gives New York a series-clinching 78-77 victory over the top seeded Miami Heat in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round.

(2013) Knicks stave off playoff elimination with an 85-75 victory over the Pacers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at the Garden. Carmelo Anthony leads the way with 28 points in a game New York never trailed.

Allan Houston

Allan Houston and John Starks Share Stories from the Knicks' 1999 NBA Finals Run

Allan Houston

#NYK70 | 2003: Allan Houston Passes Richie Guerin on All-Time Scoring List

#NYK70 | 1998: Houston Scores 30, Leads Knicks to a Series-Clinching Victory

This Date in Knicks History: June 21

2 Doors Down: The Bond Between Allan Houston’s Family and Muhammad Ali

This Date in Knicks History: May 19

This Date in Knicks History: May 16