Knicks suing East rival over allegedly stolen information

The New York Knicks are in the midst of a different kind of court battle than the ones fans are used to seeing at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks are reportedly suing the Toronto Raptors over allegedly stolen proprietary information.

The Knicks filed the lawsuit on Monday in New York’s Southern District. The Raptors, their parent company Maple Leaf Sports Entertainment, and current head coach Darko Rajaković were among the 14 defendants named in the lawsuit.

The issue revolves around former Knicks employee Ikechukwu Azotam, who served as the team’s director of video, analytics and player development before joining the Raptors this offseason. 

According to a report by Fred Katz, Mike Vorkunov and Eric Koreen of The Athletic, Azotam allegedly used his access as a Knicks employee to funnel thousands of files containing proprietary information for the benefit of the defendants. 

The alleged files included scouting reports, play frequency reports, and other materials that could potentially assist Rajakovic in his role as a first-time NBA head coach.

The lawsuit alleges that the Raptors directed Azotam to “misuse” his access to the Knicks’ Synergy Sports account before his final day with the organization on Aug. 14. The Knicks discovered the file transfers amounting to “3,000 files with film and data, including 3,358 video files” on Aug. 15.

One specific example mentioned was a pair of emails Azotam allegedly sent from his Knicks email account to his Raptors account on Aug. 11. Azotam sent one email with the subject line “FW: INDIANA GAME 82” filled with pregame preparation material the Knicks had seemingly used to prepare for the game. He sent another with similar information about the Denver Nuggets.

The Knicks’ lawsuit alleges a violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Defend Trade Secrets Act, along with several other counts.

The Raptors and MLSE have agreed to cooperate and conduct an internal investigation on the matter, however, they “strongly deny any involvement in the matters alleged.”