John Starks gets real on why it was important for him to join the 1992 Dunk Contest

John Starks worked his way up the NBA ranks after initially being snubbed in the 1988 NBA Draft. The Oklahoma State product went undrafted but was eventually picked up by the Golden State Warriors as a free agent.

His first season in the league was far from memorable. Starks played in only 36 games and settled for just 8.8 minutes per game. After not getting much out of his rookie season, the 6-foot-3 guard spent his second year trying his luck in other leagues.

Starsky tried his luck in the NBA again in 1990. He tried out with the New York Knicks, where his career took a different turn. He blossomed under the guidance of coach Pat Riley, eventually becoming an All-Star in 1994.

Ewing's uncanny push

While his hard work is seen as one of the reasons for his rise, Starks' success with the Knicks came in an odd manner. John tried to dunk over Patrick Ewing in one of the team's practices. The Knicks center threw him down, leaving Starks with a knee injury.

New York could not release Starks at the time unless it healed by December. It never happened and the Oklahoma State product stayed on with the team. Little did he know that it would be his ticket to stardom.

Proving that he could dunk on the same level as the best highflyers in the NBA at the time, Starks entered the 1992 Slam Dunk contest. Competing against known dunkers such as eventual champion Cedric Ceballos of the Phoenix Suns, Shawn Kemp of the Seattle Supersonics, and Larry Johnson of the Charlotte Hornets, the odds of winning were not in Starks' favor.

However, that was hardly a concern for the Oklahoma native. He never wanted to be known as a dunker but as a player who deserved to be in the NBA.

" This dunk contest is going to be fun, but the important thing is that people know I'm a guy who can play in this league, not just a dunker," Starks said via the New York Times. "I'm looking forward to it, but the competition's going to be tough. Everybody in the contest can really get up, " he added.

Regardless, that didn't mean Starks would not try to entertain fans with his jams. He tried to be creative and got as far as the semifinals. He ended up settling for fourth place in the competition despite his impressive slams.

Mission accomplished

Regardless, the attention he received helped him establish himself as a legitimate NBA player and a fan favorite in New York. He became a polarizing figure for the Knicks and participated in the team's playoff runs during the early 90s. The most memorable of them all was the 1993-94 season when New York reached the NBA Finals against the Houston Rockets.

Taking the Rockets to the limit, Starks was at the raw end of things in the deciding Game 7. Although he had a great Game 6, it was a different story in the final game of the 1993-94 season. Although he contributed on defense, it was a three-point shot in the end that would forever haunt him.

He had received a pass from Ewing and attempted a potential game-tying three-pointer. The shot failed to hit its mark in what was later called the "Nightmare Game ," handing the 1994 NBA title to the Rockets. Beyond that attempt, Starks was the player who helped Ewing against Houston. He averaged 17.7 points, 5.9 assists, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.6 steals in that series.

He performed splendidly under Riley's watch, but his fortune changed when Riles left the Knicks to play for the Miami Heat in 1995. He would lose his starting job under then-coach Don Nelson but managed to retain his efficiency coming off the bench.

He was traded to the Warriors again in 1999 but was on the move again by February 2000. Starks was shipped to the Chicago Bulls but played in only four games. His last stop was with the Utah Jazz, but his game continued to dissipate. He would retire in 2002, ending his run with 10,829 career points and becoming an iconic Knicks player during the 90s era.

Related: "I went from bagging groceries to playing in junior college" - John Starks reflects on his journey to the NBA