We all know about the great athletes in New York sports history – Babe Ruth, Tom Seaver, Lawrence Taylor, Joe Namath, Mark Messier, Walt Frazier – and even the busts – Ed Whitson, Mo Vaughn, Roberto Alomar, Stephon Marbury, Scott Gomez. But what about the slightly-to-highly-above-average athlete? The kind-of-great but not all-timer? They may not have been Hall-of-Famers, but they were All-Stars, fan favorites, cogs on a championship team or maybe even just pretty darn good. They’re the little brother that didn’t hog all the attention. But they’re certainly worth talking about and remembering. So when do they get their due? Well, now they will. Here is a series of the not-quite-legendary in New York sports history.

With the Knicks celebrating their 1970 World Champion team this coming Monday, let’s take a look at the forgotten man on that squad – Dick Barnett. Everybody knows about Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, Dave DeBusschere and Bill Bradley, and even the additions to the early-’70s powerhouse team, Earl Monroe and Jerry Lucas, but not a lot of fans may …

Nate Robinson has been linked to the Boston Celtics for a few weeks now. Robinson signed a one-year contract this past summer with the Knicks. Boston has has three players who have expiring contracts: Eddie House ($2.8 million), Brian Scalabrine ($3.4 million) and Tony Allen ($2.5 million). House played under Knicks Head Coach Mike D’Antoni with the Suns.

Robinson is a “base-year compensation” player which means the Celtics may have to send multiple players and a draft pick to complete the deal. The Knicks may have to deal a future first-round pick for Tracy McGrady so adding a pick would help. Robinson, recently won his third dunk contest over All-Star weekend.

Nate has had an inconsistent year with New York after averaging a career high 17.2 points last season. If he is dealt to Boston he would provide a spark off the bench. However, Robinson has the right to approve or disapprove any trade.