Metro

Former Knick ‘Ticky’ Burden’s rise-and-fall saga

It was one of the fastest falls from grace in professional sports.

Luther “Ticky” Burden was drafted by the Knicks in 1975, but by 1981 he hit rock bottom — a jail cell on a bank-robbery charge.

He was sprung on appeal in 1984 and ever since, Burden, 61, has battled to restore his tarnished reputation. But his greatest challenge yet is in front of him — as he faces a rare illness that could kill him.

“I’m a fighter, and I don’t give up,” Burden told The Post.

Burden was once on top of the world — his record 20.2 point average on the 1974 US national team stood until 2010. But five years later, the Albany high-school legend — whose nickname came from the “tick” sound the ball makes when going in the basket — was accused of masterminding an armed bank robbery in Hempstead, LI.

Cops recovered marked bills from the $18,000 in cash taken from the Guardian Bank of North America in Burden’s Hempstead home, and his tricked-out, “Super Fly”-style Cadillac — with the hardly discreet vanity plate “Ticky15” — was spotted at the scene of the crime.

Prosecutors alleged he planned the holdup because he was deep in debt. But Burden says it was all a frame job — he said he was upstate at the time of the robbery, was still cashing $4,200 checks from the Knicks every two weeks and had a thriving nightclub in Albany called the Falcon’s Nest.

The three-man stickup crew — which included Burden’s childhood friend Mike Elem — turned state’s evidence, claiming Burden was the ringleader, testimony that sent him to state prison for six to 18 years.

There would be a couple of guys who would bump into me, but they knew they’d get murdered if they did anything… The New York Knicks are beloved in the prison system. They wouldn’t let no one mess with Ticky Burden.

 - Ticky Burden

Burden said he was in Albany at the time of the robbery and that his pal gave him some cash as a gesture, since he was always lending him money.

“The only thing I was guilty of was poor judgment. I should have known better than trusting him,” Burden said of Elem, whom he said was a coke addict.

At upstate maximum-security Auburn, Burden was inmate royalty, protected by “hardcore criminals.”

“There would be a couple of guys who would bump into me, but they knew they’d get murdered if they did anything.” Why? “The New York Knicks are beloved in the prison system. They wouldn’t let no one mess with Ticky Burden,” he said.

Burden averaged 5.5 points a game coming off the bench for the Knicks from 1976-78, behind legends Earl Monroe and Walt Frazier.

On Jan. 29, 1984, an appellate judge overturned his conviction because cops didn’t have a warrant to search Burden’s home. He copped to a lesser charge of receiving stolen property — $400 in stolen loot — and was released that summer after being credited with time served. It was vindication, said Burden.

Today, the father of 10 — five of whom are adopted — lives in Winston-Salem, NC, and holds basketball clinics for kids at the YMCA.

But he hasn’t played basketball in years, because he’s battling a disease called ATTR amyloidosis, a rare and potentially fatal disorder in which the body produces abnormal forms of antibodies.

He is being treated every three weeks at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, and a fund-raiser to help pay for the medical bills is planned for July 25 at Albany High School.

He’s also shopping a screenplay based on his life.

“It’s a story of redemption,” said his manager, William Dabbs.