Cleanthony Early robbed, shot and loses gold teeth in New York

NEW York Knick Cleanthony Early was shot in the knee just after he left a strip club — after forking over jewellery, money and even the gold caps in his teeth.

NBA star shot, thieves steal teeth

NEW York Knicks forward Cleanthony Early was shot in the knee just after he left a Queens strip club — after forking over jewellery, money and even the gold caps in his teeth to a group of thugs, police sources said.

Early, a 24-year-old Bronx native, was held up by up to six bandits — at least one wearing a ski mask — after leaving CityScapes gentleman’s club on 58th Street in Maspeth with his girlfriend, law enforcement sources said.

Early had dinner with his gal pal in Soho before arriving at CityScapes about 1:30am, sources said. They jumped into an Uber at 4:15am and began fooling around in the back seat, not paying attention to where the car was going, sources said.

The cab drove a short distance to an industrial area, before three cars boxed the vehicle in, sources said.

There were four to six men inside those cars and two men — one masked, one not masked — pulled Early and his girlfriend out of the car, sources said.

Prayers for my brother @Clearly_BallLyf pic.twitter.com/9kOo4PBcEy

— Kristaps Porzingis (@kporzee) December 30, 2015

My thoughts and Prayers go up for Cleanthony Early..#Nbabrotherhood

— DWade (@DwyaneWade) December 30, 2015

One of the men demanded, “Give me everything you got!” — including his gold caps. Early handed over the caps, cash, two gold chains with medallions and an iPhone 6.

The Uber driver was also robbed and forced to hand over his ID, source said.

Early was shot once in the right knee, sources said. He underwent arthroscopic surgery on the same knee about a year ago, sidetracking his rookie season.

He was taken to Elmhurst Hospital in stable condition Wednesday.

The driver and Early got help around the corner, knocking on a door at a 64th Street home.

“He was really calm. There was no blood on him,” resident Fernando Vergara, 26, told The Post. “He was wearing blue jeans and a black jacket. I didn’t see any blood or marks on him. I didn’t think he was hurt at all. I called the cops as soon as I saw him walking up.”

Another 64th Street resident, Armand Czapkowski, 39, said he also called for help.

“I thought my neighbour was getting robbed at the time. I called 911,” Czapkowski said. “Then I saw my neighbour and he told me what happened. He already called cops.”

Christmas Day the NBA aired a PSA, featuring Carmelo, to draw awareness to gun violence. Five days later, Cleanthony Early is shot & robbed.

— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) December 30, 2015

Pray for my guy @Clearly_BallLyf please.

— Derrick Williams (@DWXXIII) December 30, 2015

Czapkowski also said it didn’t appear Early was seriously wounded.

“I saw him being taken away in an ambulance. He walked. I didn’t see any major limping,” the neighbour said. “This shows that stop-and-frisk should be reinstated. These guys are getting bolder and bolder. Bad guys shouldn’t be walking around with guns.”

While those neighbours said Early appeared to be in good shape, another resident of the block — 54-year-old construction worker Milton Reyes — said the Knicks player seemed to be in distress.

“I woke up and I heard a guy yelling, the guy sounded like he was in pain,” Reyes said. “The guy was yelling and he wasn’t yelling softly.”

The 6-foot-8 basketball player was drafted in the second round, out of Wichita State, by the Knicks in 2014.

“We are aware of what occurred with Cleanthony Early this morning and are relieved that he is not in a life-threatening situation,” said a Knicks spokesman. “We will not comment any further until we receive more information.”

Teammate Jose Calderon tweeted at Early: “Prayers for my teammate and good friend.”

Knicks rookie sensation Kristaps Porzingis also tweeted at his wounded teammate: “Prayers for my brother.”

The robbery comes 11 days after teammate Derrick Williams was robbed of $700,000 of jewellery in the wee hours by two women he had just met at a nightclub.

Police at scene on Maurice avenue maspeth where Knicks forward @Clearly_BallLyf shot in leg #1010WINS pic.twitter.com/oGYTq5POtv

— glenn schuck (@glennschuck) December 30, 2015

Knicks coach Derek Fisher said following that incident that he has no curfew in place.

Early became Knicks president Phil Jackson’s first-ever draft pick at No. 34 in 2014. His rookie season was a bust as he was sidetracked by arthroscopic right knee surgery.

Early, who moved upstate to Middletown as a kid, has not had any more success in his second season. After a solid preseason, he has been inactive for 25 of the Knicks’ 35 games.

In his 10 games, he has totalled just 34 minutes and scored seven points. He was sent to the D-League team in Westchester for two games earlier this month.

Early was a late bloomer, playing at Sullivan County Community College in upstate New York before starring at Wichita State.

Additional reporting by Lorena Mongelli, Kevin Sheehan, Marc Berman and David K. Li

This story originally appeared in the New York Post

Originally published as Cleanthony Early robbed, shot and loses gold teeth in New York