Madison Square Garden has become a paradise for former North Carolina basketball players. The New York Knicks currently have three Tar heels on their team Wayne Ellington, Reggie Bullock and Theo Pinson. There is only one other NBA team with more than one Tar Heel roster: Utah Jazz with Ed Davis and Tony Bradley.
The Chapel Hill to Manhattan pipeline is a new connection, as all three players joined the Knicks during the 2019-2020 season. Pinson was the team’s most recent addition: the Knicks picked up the 2017 National Champion after the Brooklyn Nets had given up on him a few days earlier.
Since the Knicks have not been invited to join the return of the 22 NBA teams to play Walt Disney World, UNC fans will have to wait until next season to potentially see the three take the field together.
Bullock had the best season of his Tar Heel teammates this year. He led the trio with 23.6 minutes, 8.1 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. Pinson ranked first among them with 1.7 assists per game, while Ellington was the best three-point shooter, beating 35 percent of his shots from the depths.