Knicks drop lawsuit against Raptors, closing bizarre off-court feud

The Knicks and Raptors have officially ended their legal battle, one that began with accusations of stolen files and league intrigue and ended with both sides ready to move on.

As first reported by ESPN’s Baxter Holmes, the two teams voluntarily dismissed the Knicks’ 2023 lawsuit that accused former New York employee Ikechukwu Azotam of taking “thousands of proprietary files” with him to his new role in Toronto, allegedly at the Raptors’ direction.

“The Knicks and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment withdrew their respective claims and the matter is resolved,” both teams said in matching statements. “The Parties are focused on the future.”

The Knicks had been seeking over $10 million in damages, claiming the Raptors’ staff, including coach Darko Rajakovic, player development coach Noah Lewis, and several unnamed employees, used the information to gain a competitive advantage.

Toronto denied wrongdoing and filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that the case should fall under the authority of NBA commissioner Adam Silver.

New York pushed back, citing Silver’s close relationship with Raptors minority owner Larry Tanenbaum as a conflict of interest.

The Raptors countered that the Knicks were dragging the case out for publicity and threatened to countersue.

A judge ultimately sided with Toronto, agreeing the dispute should be handled by the league. Now, it’s officially over and with prejudice, meaning the Knicks cannot refile the case.

For two franchises that already share an icy Atlantic Division rivalry, the dismissal finally closes one of the NBA’s strangest off-court storylines in recent memory.