Justin Brownlee recalls time he nearly made Knicks roster

Justin Brownlee (left) prepares to move past Chris McCullough in this piece of Game 1 action. —PBA MEDIA

Justin Brownlee admits to be someone who jumps on the bandwagon when it comes to NBA fandom, particularly during the Finals.

“To be honest, I don’t really have a team now. When Kobe was with the Lakers, that was my favorite team,” Brownlee told the Inquirer. “But now, I guess I’m just a bandwagon fan. Whoever’s doing good or whoever’s in the Finals.”

So far, the team that’s been doing well in the Finals from the other side of the world is the New York Knicks, who Brownlee feels will get the job done against the San Antonio Spurs.

“I think they will,” he said. “I think a lot of people [were] picking the Spurs, but I think behind Jalen Brunson, I think they can get the job done.”

Brownlee, who is chasing a seventh PBA championship for Barangay Ginebra in the ongoing PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals series with TNT, seems to be picking the Knicks to win it all, not out of gut feel or thorough observation, but out of affinity.

Years before he would embark on a legendary PBA career with Barangay Ginebra, Brownlee had a brief chance of fighting for a roster spot with the Knicks, who signed him to be part of the preseason camp before the 2013-14 season.

Summer League playing time

The product of St. John’s University had played for the Knicks in the 2012 and 2013 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, It was also there that coach Tim Cone had discovered Brownlee as a potential PBA import, which is another story in itself.

His play in the 2013 Summer League appears to have impressed the Knicks and inked him to a non-guaranteed deal as a 20th man on the preseason roster.

Brownlee actually got a chance to don a Knicks jersey, during Media Day, sporting the No. 34 jersey that’s more associated with the legendary enforcer Charles Oakley. It was, however, his only proof of being a Knick, or almost being a Knick.

“They signed me, but unfortunately it was like a non-guaranteed contract,” Brownlee recalled. “I was signed and then I unfortunately had an injury. So the team cut me.

“So I did the media day and did all those things. I was going to suit up for preseason, but unfortunately I had an ankle injury. I broke my ankle. A bone in my ankle,” added Brownlee, whose stay lasted just three days.

Brownlee recalls some of the players who were part of that Knicks team that was coming off a stint in the Eastern Conference semifinals but would eventually start a streak of non-playoff appearances and horrendous seasons that lasted until 2021.

“Carmelo [Anthony] was there for sure,” he said. “You had Raymond Felton, Ron Artest, Amare Stoudemire was there. I think he was injured maybe. JR Smith, I think, was there. Iman Shumpert.

“Coach [Mike] Woodson was cool. He was a very hard, tough coach. He was definitely hard on the players, very tough, very defensive minded, but really a good coach.”

History made

He remembers not having much communication with any of the main Knicks, but he formed a bond with another player eyeing a roster spot in Jeremy Tyler, who would end up playing 17 games for the Knicks that year and later become a PBA import for TNT.

That was the closest Brownlee got to making the NBA. After playing for the Knicks’ G-League affiliate Maine Red Claws, Brownlee answered the PBA call, and the rest is history. INQ