Knicks Sue Raptors, Former Employee Who Allegedly Stole 'Proprietary Files' Before Bolting For Toronto

The New York Knicks are taking their rivalry with the Toronto Raptors off the basketball court and into a court of law by suing the team and a former Knicks employee for allegedly stealing "thousands of proprietary files with him to his new position" in Toronto.

Not only is former Knicks employee Ikechukwu Azotam named in the lawsuit, but Raptors' new head coach Darko Rojakovic is listed as well. Rojakovic was an assistant for the Memphis Grizzlies from 2020-23.

The New York Knicks are suing the Toronto Raptors and one of their former employee over serious allegations. (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images)

The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court, seeks "unspecified damages" and a ban on further spread of Knicks trade secrets. 

"This material consists of secret, proprietary information critical to the Knicks’ efforts to maintain a competitive advantage over their rivals, including the Raptors," the lawsuit stated. 

A spokesperson for MSG Sports, which manages the Knicks, shared the following statement with OutKick:

“The New York Knicks have sued the Toronto Raptors and several members of their organization, including a former Knicks employee, after the former employee illegally took thousands of proprietary files with him to his new position with the Toronto Raptors. These files include confidential information such as play frequency reports, a prep book for the 2022-23 season, video scouting files and materials and more. Given the clear violation of our employment agreement, criminal and civil law, we were left no choice but to take this action.”

Azotam worked for New York beginning in August 2021 and was in charge of "planning, organizing and distribution of all video scouting responsibilities" for the coaching staff. New York is accusing the Raptors of using Azotam to access Knicks' information and misuse it while also accusing him of taking a 2022-23 season prep book with him to the Raptors.

Before leaving New York in August, the franchise claims in the lawsuit that Azotam illegally converted "highly confidential" data of the team and sent two emails from his active Knicks address it to his new Raptors email. 

The files were accessed by the Raptors over 2,000 times, according to the lawsuit.