Former NBA star David Lee’s appearance on The Garden Party Podcast was a trip down memory lane. Lee played for five teams in the league spanning his 12-year career. However, one specific play the hosts were interested in was Lee’s game-winning tip-in during his time with the New York Knicks.
The Knicks hosted the Charlotte Bobcats for a regular season matchup at Madison Square Garden back in ‘06. What many people may not remember is the fact that the game went to double overtime. The Bobcats refused to go home without a win, and it seemed as if the game might go to a third overtime as well. The score was all tied up with 0.1 seconds left on the clock for the Knicks to pull off a miracle.
Crawford inbounded the ball, looking for an open teammate. Lee faked his defender by running out of the paint to receive the pass, only to backtrack and make a run toward the rim for a possible alley-oop.
Crawford spotted the rookie forward and tossed the ball a few inches ahead of the rim. Lee had Gerald Wallace covering him, who was known as one of the better defensive stoppers in the game back then.
Twisting and turning mid-air, the 6’9 forward managed to tip the ball to the rim while facing away from the basket. And even after 18 years of that miracle play, Lee credited Crawford for throwing him the perfect pass.
On the other hand, Crawford decided to pass the credit back to Lee in a recent tweet on X.
“Incredible play by D Lee!!”
During his podcast appearance, Lee had to double-check MSG’s capacity as he narrated the story. When he found out that The Garden could only house 20,000 fans, Lee said, “I think I’ve had 27,000 people tell me they were at that game.”
Many consider Madison Square Garden the Mecca of basketball. So, the fact that so many fans remember Lee’s game-winning tip so vividly makes that play all the more impressive even after nearly two decades.
