Long-running legal dispute between Raptors, Knicks to be settled in July as New York seeks $10M in damages

The Knicks sued the Raptors in 2023, alleging the team committed theft of confidential files

The NBA will hold an arbitration meeting the week of July 21 in which commissioner Adam Silver will settle an ongoing legal dispute between the Toronto Raptors and New York Knicks, according to a court filing on Saturday shared by ESPN. The hearing will settle a legal saga of nearly two years that began in August 2023, when the Knicks sued the Raptors claiming the team had stolen thousands of confidential files.

In the initial complaint, the Knicks stated the Raptors had ordered Ikechukwu Azotam, who worked as the Knicks' assistant video coordinator and then director of video/analytics/player development assistant from 2020 to 2023, to provide internal Knicks information as Toronto was recruiting him. Among the items the Raptors allegedly ordered Azotam send them included confidential material such as play frequency reports, a prep book for the 2022-23 season, video scouting files and opposition research.

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Jack Maloney

In an October 2023 filing, the Raptors argued the Knicks' claims were "baseless" and a "public relations stunt," claiming the information requested was publicly available to all NBA members. The Raptors asked Silver to step in, and a New York judge ruled in July 2024 that Silver should resolve the dispute -- a course of action not desired by the Knicks, who claim Silver's relationship with Raptors governor Larry Tanenbaum, the chairman of the NBA's board of governors, compromises his ability to rule impartially.

"We continue to remain skeptical of this process as the NBA has consistently demonstrated that it has no desire to address this blatant theft of proprietary information, likely because the chairman of the NBA is the defendant," read a statement by a Madison Square Garden Sports spokesperson. "It's been 18 months since our original complaint was lodged and even after the court ordered the NBA to schedule a hearing, the NBA neglected to do so and only took action after the last filed joint status report in December."

The lawsuits names the Raptors, Azotam, Toronto coach Darko Rajaković, player development coach Noah Lewis and 10 "unknown" employees as defendants. The Knicks are seeking $10 million in damages as part of the case's resolution.

The dispute marks an exceptionally rare instance of one NBA team suing another, with the only other known case -- interestingly -- also including the Knicks. In 1977, the Knicks engaged in a legal dispute with the Nets over the latter franchise's attempt to move from Long Island to New Jersey, with the Knicks claiming the Nets were infringing on their territorial rights before the Nets sued, claiming the Knicks were violating anti-trust laws. 

The dispute was eventually settled by the NBA and the state of New Jersey, with the Nets agreeing to pay $4 million to the Knicks for the right to move.