For tenured New York Knicks fans, Thursday’s episode of “Jeopardy!” was a de facto celebrity edition.
A modern Manhattan skyscraper had its own category on the Thursday edition of the renowned quiz show, but Karl-Anthony Towns was nowhere to be found. Instead, departed brief New Yorker Cleanthony Early got a moment in the spotlight, much to the shock of the hardwood social scene, as the opening round of Thursday’s game featured a category entitled “International Hoops Terms with Cleanthony Early.”
That series of answers played off Early’s lengthy international endeavors, which have included tours in Japan, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, France, Taiwan, South Africa, Venezuela, Lebanon, Bahrain, Iraq, and Qatar. The contestants were mostly tasked with figuring out common basketball terms in the languages and dialects spoken by some of Early’s many teams.
The 6-8 power forward Early played but 56 NBA games, all with the Knicks, after an All-American career at Wichita State. While his time with the Knicks was not referenced in any of the answers, host Ken Jennings noted his well-traveled career began as a New York draft pick.
Born in The Bronx, Early was the 34th choice in the 2014 draft, arriving seven selections before the Denver Nuggets selected future franchise face Nikola Jokic.
Among Knicks fans, Early is perhaps best known for returning to action after surviving a shooting in Queens. He is also one of the final Knicks to wear No. 11 before current franchise face Jalen Brunson donned the digits upon his arrival in 2022.
Early averaged 4.3 points and 2.2 rebounds in his New York couple and briefly spent time with the G League clubs of Golden State and Houston before beginning his international tours. The 34-year-old is currently stationed with Los Paisas de Medellin in Colombia.
