The New York Knickerbockers, known
as the Knicks, are one of only two charter members of
the National Basketball Association still in their
original cities (the other being the Boston Celtics).
The Knicks were among the league's elite in three
different eras, each separated by about two decades.
In the early 1950s New York played for the NBA title
three times. The early 1970s represented the team's
golden age, when the Knicks won two NBA championships
with a roster studded with such Hall of Fame talent
as Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, Dave DeBusschere, Earl
Monroe, and Bill Bradley. Then, in the early to
mid-1990s, the Knicks again became dominant behind
center Patrick Ewing, advancing to the NBA Finals in
1994.
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The Knicks and 10 other franchises
had their beginnings on June 6, 1946, at the Hotel
Commodore in New York City. A group of arena
operators met to discuss the formation of the
Basketball Association of America, the forerunner of
the NBA. The original teams were divided into two
divisions. The East consisted of the New York
Knickerbockers, Boston Celtics, Philadelphia
Warriors, Providence Steamrollers, Washington
Capitols, and Toronto Huskies. The West was composed
of the Pittsburgh Ironmen, Chicago Stags, Detroit
Falcons, St. Louis Bombers, and Cleveland Rebels.
On November 1, 1946, the Knicks
played the first game in the new league's history,
beating the Huskies, 68-66, in Toronto. Neil Cohalan
was coach, and the starting lineup consisted of Ossie
Schectman, Stan Stutz, Jake Weber, Ralph Kaplowitz,
and Leo "Ace" Gottlieb, who was New York's
high scorer with 12 points.
Madison Square Garden had a crowded
schedule of hockey and college basketball games for
the BAA's inaugural season, so New York played most
of its home games at the 69th Regiment Armory. The
Knicks got off to a 10-2 start in November, which
would remain one of the best months in franchise
history. In their debut season they posted a 33-27
record.
Future Hall of Famer Joe Lapchick
replaced Cohalan as coach for the franchise's second
season, and he led the Knicks to the second of nine
consecutive playoff appearances. From his first
season at the helm the club showed steady progress,
improving from 26 wins to 32 and then 40 in
successive campaigns.
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Prior to the 1949-50 season the BAA
merged with the National Basketball League to form
the National Basketball Association. The BAA took in
six teams from the NBL, bringing its total to 17, and
went to a three-division format. New York remained in
the Eastern Division.
The Knicks reached their first NBA
Finals in 1950-51 despite backsliding to a 36-30
record and a third-place finish in the East. The
season also brought more opportunities in the sport
for minorities; New York had opened the door to one
of the first African-American players in the league,
6-7 Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton.
In the playoffs New York got tough
and dumped Boston and the Syracuse Nationals in the
early rounds. Then the Knicks met the Rochester
Royals in the Finals. Rochester won the first three
games; New York stormed back to take the next three.
The decisive game was a pitched battle. The score was
tied at 75 apiece with 40 seconds left when
Rochester's Bob Davies made two foul shots. The rules
called for a jump ball after a successful free throw
in the final three minutes of a game; the Royals
controlled the tip, held the ball, and scored at the
buzzer for a 79-75 victory.
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Although military service caused
him to miss the 1951 run at the crown, the Knicks'
star in the early days was Carl Braun, a deft 6-5
shooter who averaged 13.5 points in a career that
spanned 13 seasons. As a first-year player in 1947-48
he scored 47 points against Providence, a team rookie
record that still stands 47 years later. Braun
retired as the Knicks' career scoring leader with
10,449 points, although he was later surpassed by
Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, and Patrick Ewing.
Braun, rebounder Harry "the
Horse" Gallatin, and 6-foot playmaker Dick
McGuire were perennial All-Stars for the Knicks in
the mid-1950s. Gallatin and McGuire were eventually
enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of
Fame.
Gallatin was a ferocious 6-6,
215-pound rebounder who collected 5,935 boards and
played in a club-record 610 consecutive games. He led
the NBA in rebounding in 1953-54, when he pulled down
1,098 boards for an average of 15.3 rebounds. That
same season, in a game against the Fort Wayne
Pistons, Gallatin set a franchise record (tied by
Reed in 1971) by collecting 33 rebounds. His prowess
on the boards earned him All-NBA First Team honors.
McGuire enjoyed eight standout
years with New York. He led the team in assists for
six consecutive seasons, from 1950-51 through
1955-56, and scored 8.0 points per game as a Knick.
He was a five-time All-Star and was named to the
All-NBA Second Team in 1950-51. After his playing
days McGuire remained affiliated with the franchise
as a head coach, assistant coach, chief scout, and
director of scouting services. The Knicks retired his
uniform No. 15 in 1992, and the following year he was
elected to the Hall of Fame.
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New York made three consecutive
trips to the NBA Finals in the early 1950s. After
being defeated by Rochester in their first grab for
the ring in 1951, the Knicks went 37-29 in 1951-52
and played the Minneapolis Lakers for the title. The
teams split the first six games, but the Lakers,
hosting Game 7, rolled over New York for the crown.
The 1952-53 Knicks had a stellar
season, going 47-23. They got off to a blazing start
but cooled off toward the end of the year when
various injuries dogged the lineup. In a rematch of
the previous year's Finals, they lost to the
Minneapolis Lakers and George Mikan in five games.
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The Knicks were decent through the
remainder of the decade, but from 1959-60 through
1965-66 the club failed to make the playoffs.
Consistency was not a characteristic of the
franchise; the coaching parade included Vince Boryla,
Fuzzy Levane, Carl Braun, Eddie Donovan, and Dick
McGuire. Of New York's 12 campaigns between 1955-56
and 1967-68, only one was a winning season.
The Knicks of that era were bad,
but not boring. In 1957-58 New York led the league
with a 112.1 scoring average while compiling a 35-37
record. Hard-nosed Richie Guerin, a 6-4 shooter out
of Iona, was terrific. A fiery competitor and a high
scorer, he made six consecutive All-Star Teams. Over
an eight-year Knicks career Guerin scored 10,392
points and averaged 20.1 points, ranking among the
team's all-time top five in both categories.
In 1959 Guerin became the first
Knicks player to score 50 points in a game when he
tallied 57 against Syracuse on December 11. It was
one of 11 times in his career in which he scored 40
or more points. Guerin could also pass-on December
12, 1958, he handed out a franchise-record 21 assists
against the St. Louis Hawks.
Guerin was well supported by Willie
Naulls, a 6-6 forward who played six-plus seasons for
the Knicks and averaged 19.3 points over the course
of his New York career. The team also featured Kenny
Sears. The 6-9 inside threat led the league in field
goal percentage for two consecutive seasons, 1958-59
and 1959-60.
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In 1959-60 New York averaged 117.3
points, an all-time franchise high, while going
27-48. Guerin ranked among the NBA's top 10 in
scoring (21.8 ppg) and assists (6.3 apg). On December
11 against Syracuse the Knicks had their
highest-scoring game ever, pouring in 152 points.
Opponents, however, usually scored more-the team
yielded 119.6 points per game for the season. On
January 24 St. Louis set the Knicks' opponent scoring
record by tallying 155 points.
The Knicks experienced a lot of
mediocre years during this stretch, but they hit rock
bottom in 1960-61 with a franchise-low 21 victories.
On November 15, 1960, the Los Angeles Lakers' Elgin
Baylor toasted New York for 71 points. On Christmas
Day, Syracuse handed the Knicks the worst beating in
franchise history, a 162-100 setback.
In 1961-62 the team struggled
again, finishing 29-51. Richie Guerin, however,
averaged 29.5 points, a mark that would survive as a
Knicks record for 23 years, until Bernard King topped
it in 1984-85. Guerin's total of 2,303 points was a
franchise mark that would last even longer, nearly 30
years, until Patrick Ewing surpassed it in 1989-90.
On February 14 Guerin made 23 field goals against
Boston, matching Willie Naulls's team record from the
previous year. The Knicks sent three players-Guerin,
Naulls, and Johnny Green-to the 1962 NBA All-Star
Game.
One of the most legendary games in
NBA history was also played in 1961-62, and New York
held the dubious distinction of being on the wrong
end of the action. On March 2 the Knicks squared off
against the Philadelphia Warriors in Hershey,
Pennsylvania. By the time the dust had settled,
Philadelphia's Wilt Chamberlain had scored 100
points, the best individual scoring performance in
league history. The Warriors won the game, 169-147,
despite strong performances from three Knicks
players: Guerin (39 points), Cleveland Buckner (33),
and Naulls (31).
The Knicks failed to improve in
1962-63, finishing at 21-59. The following season New
York upped their record by a single game to 22-58.
The franchise's fortunes finally began to change in
1964-65 with the drafting of center Willis Reed of
Grambling.
Reed made an immediate impact and
was the first Knicks player to be named NBA Rookie of
the Year. In March he scored 46 points against Los
Angeles, the second-highest single-game total ever by
a Knicks rookie. For the season, Reed ranked seventh
in the NBA in scoring with 19.5 points per game and
fifth in rebounding with 14.7 boards per contest.
Although the team's record that
year was still substandard at 31-49, the pieces were
being pulled together for future success. Jim Barnes
and Howard Komives joined Reed on the NBA All-Rookie
Team.
In 1965-66 New York treaded water,
finishing at 30-50. For the second straight year the
Knicks had a promising youth brigade, and Dick Van
Arsdale was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team. The
club also acquired Dick Barnett from Los Angeles in a
trade for Bob Boozer. The Knicks improved slightly in
1966-67, to 36-45, and Reed was named to the All-NBA
Second Team. That season New York earned its first
playoff berth since 1959, but the Knicks lost a
division semifinal series to the Boston Celtics.
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The team's potential went
unfulfilled until William "Red" Holzman
replaced Dick McGuire as coach midway through the
1967-68 season. After half a season under McGuire,
New York was 15-22. Holzman led the same group of
players to an immediate turnaround and a 28-17
finish. They ended with a 43-39 record, the team's
first winning season since 1958-59.
Bit by bit, things started going
right. Reed and Barnett played in the 1968 NBA
All-Star Game, Reed as a starter. At season's end,
Walt Frazier and Phil Jackson were named to the NBA
All-Rookie Team. The franchise was poised for
dramatic success. Thanks to smart drafting and shrewd
trades, the Knicks were building a dynasty.
In 1968-69 New York won 54 games
and finished in third place in the Eastern Division
behind the Baltimore Bullets and the Philadelphia
76ers. The Knicks stumbled out of the gate, managing
only a 10-14 mark early in the season, then righted
themselves and played stellar ball the rest of the
way. On December 19 they traded Walt Bellamy and
Howard Komives to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for
Dave DeBusschere. The day after the trade the Knicks
pounded the Pistons, 135-87; the 48-point margin of
victory was the club's largest ever. New York put
together a 10-game winning streak from December 17
through January 4, then had an 11-game streak from
January 25 through February 15.
That season the Knicks' emphasis on
stifling defense paid off. The club allowed only
105.2 points per game, leading the NBA in that
category. Willis Reed asserted himself even more and
set a franchise record by grabbing 1,191 rebounds
(14.5 rpg). Walt Frazier was third in the NBA in
assists (7.9 apg), behind Oscar Robertson and Lenny
Wilkens. In the NBA Playoffs, New York swept
Baltimore in the division semifinals but then fell to
Boston in a six-game division finals series.
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In 1969-70 the Knicks won 60
regular-season games for the first time, including a
then NBA-record 18-game winning streak from October
24 through November 28. They started at 9-1 and never
looked back. New York built its success on pressure
defense and a selfless passing game.
Reed, Frazier, and DeBusschere
played in the NBA All-Star Game, with Reed earning
the game's Most Valuable Player Award. Despite a
slight fade to 6-7 over the final weeks of the
season, New York finished with a 60-22 record and the
Eastern Division crown.
In the playoffs New York defeated
Baltimore in seven games and bounced the Milwaukee
Bucks in five. The NBA Finals pitted the Knicks
against a Los Angeles Lakers team led by Jerry West
and Wilt Chamberlain. The games were filled with
drama as the teams traded victories. The two clubs
split Games 3 and 4, both of which went to overtime.
The seventh contest, on May 8,
provided one of the most stirring moments in NBA
history. Reed, the Knicks' captain and center, had
injured his leg in Game 5 and had sat out Game 6 as
the Lakers won easily, 135-113. He was not expected
to play again during the series, and his absence
seemed certain to doom the Knicks. Instead, Reed
limped onto the court at the last minute before the
Game 7 tipoff, started the game, made the first two
baskets, and provided the dose of adrenaline that his
teammates needed. Frazier scored 36 points, handed
out 19 assists, and was a perfect 12-for-12 from the
free throw line. The Knicks beat the Lakers, 113-99,
for the title.
Reed was the regular-season NBA
Most Valuable Player, the All-Star Game MVP, and the
Finals MVP. Reed and Frazier were selected to the
All-NBA First Team, the first Knicks to earn the
honor since Harry Gallatin did so in 1953-54. Red
Holzman was named NBA Coach of the Year. But the key
to the Knicks' success was teamwork.
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Walt Frazier, a 6-4 guard out of
Southern Illinois who had been the fifth pick in the
1967 NBA Draft, was the Knicks' stylish floor
general. He was considered the best on-the-ball
defender of the time. A seven-time All-Star and
six-time All-NBA selection, he retired as the Knicks'
all-time leader in games played (759), minutes
(28,995), assists (4,791), and points (14,617, a mark
later surpassed by Patrick Ewing). Frazier averaged
19.3 points over his 10 seasons with New York.
Although he finished his career in Cleveland in 1980,
the Knicks retired his uniform No. 10 in 1979.
Frazier was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1986.
Dick Barnett, at 6-4, was known for
his unique jump shot, in which he contorted his body
into a question-mark shape and leaned back at a
seemingly impossible angle before releasing the ball.
He spent his first five NBA seasons with Syracuse and
Los Angeles, before being acquired by New York in
1965. He averaged 15.6 points in nine years with the
Knicks. The team retired his uniform No. 12 in 1990.
Willis Reed was the backbone of the
Knicks' championship teams. The 6-10, 240-pound
Grambling graduate played 10 seasons in New York,
appearing in seven All-Star Games. He was Rookie of
the Year in 1964-65, NBA MVP in 1969-70, and Finals
MVP in both 1970 and 1973. When he retired, he was
the club's all-time leader in rebounds (8,414) and
points (12,183, since surpassed by Walt Frazier and
Ewing). He averaged 18.7 points during his career. In
1976 the Knicks retired Reed's uniform No. 19, making
him the club's first player to be so honored. He
coached the team for 11/2 years during the late 1970s
and later became an executive with the New Jersey
Nets. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1981.
Dave DeBusschere, at 6-6 and 235
pounds, was a workmanlike player who provided the
final ingredient in the Knicks' championship mix when
he was acquired from the Pistons in 1968-69. He
earned NBA All-Defensive First Team honors six times
for New York and played in five NBA All-Star Games as
a Knick (and eight overall). After his 12-year
playing career DeBusschere filled executive roles for
the Nets and the Knicks and served as commissioner of
the American Basketball Association. The Knicks
retired his uniform No. 22 in 1981, and the next year
he was elected to the Hall of Fame.
Bill Bradley entered the NBA in
1967 following a legendary collegiate career at
Princeton. The 6-5 college center became a
guard-forward in the NBA and played with the Knicks
for all 10 of his pro seasons. He was known as an
unspectacular but intelligent player. Bradley was
smart off the court, too-he had been a Rhodes Scholar
in college and later had a successful second career
as a U.S. senator from New Jersey. He was elected to
the Hall of Fame in 1982, and two years later the
Knicks retired his uniform No. 24.
New York fell off to 52-30 in the
1970-71 season, which was still good enough for first
place in the newly formed Atlantic Division. The club
started hot, at 31-11, then hovered around .500 for
the final three months of the year. On February 2
Reed tied Harry Gallatin's all-time club record by
hauling in 33 rebounds in a game against the
Cincinnati Royals. Reed, Frazier, and DeBusschere all
played in the All-Star Game, Reed and Frazier as
starters.
The Knicks beat Atlanta in five
games in the opening round of the playoffs, then fell
to Baltimore in seven games in the Eastern Conference
Finals. Game 7 ended with a two-point Bullets win at
Madison Square Garden.
Three games into the 1971-72 season
the Knicks, sensing a need for offensive creativity,
acquired 6-3 guard Earl "the Pearl" Monroe
from Baltimore in a trade for solid backup players
Mike Riordan and Dave Stallworth.
Monroe was a consummate showman, a
flashy ballhandler, and an imaginative shotmaker. He
popularized the reverse-spin move on the dribble.
After four seasons in Baltimore he spent nine with
New York; he averaged 16.2 points as a Knick and made
two All-Star appearances. When he retired in 1980,
Monroe ranked fifth (and is currently sixth) on the
Knicks' career scoring list with 9,679 points. The
team retired his uniform No. 15 in 1986, and he was
elected to the Hall of Fame in 1989.
Monroe's initial effect on the team
was disruptive. He was not able to modify his game
easily, so his teammates had to adjust, and New York
slipped to 48-34 in 1971-72. After a shaky start the
Knicks began to come together again, winning 12 of 17
games in February, and in the playoffs they easily
handled Baltimore and Boston. In the Finals against
Los Angeles, New York won the opening game, 114-92,
at the Forum but then lost four straight to the
Lakers.
Walt Frazier and Dave DeBusschere
led New York's stifling defense, which allowed only
104.7 points per game, third best in the league. Both
players were rewarded by being named to the
All-Defensive First Team at season's end. Frazier was
also selected to the All-NBA First Team.
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The 1972-1973 Knicks won another
NBA title. They finished the regular season with a
57-25 record, second in the Atlantic Division to the
blazing Boston Celtics, who were 68-14. New York
ripped through the first four months of the campaign,
compiling a 43-13 mark before cooling off at season's
end. The Knicks eliminated Baltimore and Boston in
the early rounds of the playoffs, then for the third
time in four seasons faced the Lakers in the NBA
Finals. In a reversal of the previous season's
outcome, the Knicks lost Game 1, then won four
straight. They claimed their second NBA championship
with a 102-93 victory in Game 5.
Led by the pressure and
ball-hawking of Frazier, New York yielded only 98.2
points per game, the stingiest mark in the league.
Bill Bradley set a new team record for free throw
percentage, which he would surpass in each of the
next four seasons.
For the rest of the 1970s, however,
the pendulum swung back to leaner times. The 1973-74
squad still managed a 49-33 record, leading the
league in defense for the fifth time in six seasons,
but they lost to Boston in the Eastern Conference
Finals. Willis Reed retired after the season, and his
departure sent the team into a tailspin that would
last into the next decade.
New York's 1974-75 record was
40-42, the team's first losing mark in eight seasons.
It would be followed by two more subpar campaigns.
Walt Frazier made the sixth of his seven All-Star
Game starts and earned the game's MVP Award. Earl
Monroe joined him in the East All-Star's starting
backcourt. In addition, Frazier was selected to the
All-NBA First Team, for the fourth and final time.
In 1975-76 the Knicks stumbled to a
38-44 record. The only bright spot was Bradley, who
broke his own free-throw percentage mark, averaging
.878. The following season was more of the same, with
the Knicks matching their 1974-75 record of 40-42 and
finishing out of the playoffs.
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Coach Red Holzman, who had guided
the Knicks to both of their championships, was
replaced by Willis Reed before the 1977-78 season.
Reed brought the Knicks back above .500, if only
slightly, to 43-39.
During the late 1970s the Knicks
had well-traveled, 6-10 Bob McAdoo on the roster. As
he did everywhere he went, McAdoo put up impressive
numbers, averaging 26.7 points during his tenure with
New York, the highest scoring average of any Knicks
player who performed at least three years for the
team. In 1977-78 McAdoo scored 2,097 points (26.5
ppg), at the time the second-highest Knicks season
total in history, behind Richie Guerin's 2,303 in
1961-62.
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New York started the 1978-79 season
at 6-8, prompting management to relieve Reed of his
coaching duties and bring back Holzman, who didn't
fare much better, guiding the Knicks to a 31-51
record. For the first time in team history no New
York player made the All-Star Game roster.
In 1979-80 New York went 39-43.
Micheal Ray Richardson, picked fourth overall by the
Knicks in the 1978 NBA Draft, led the league in two
categories that showed his quickness and savvy. He
topped the NBA in both assists (10.1 apg) and steals
(3.23 per game), setting new franchise records in the
process. He also had seven triple-doubles. The Knicks
set one other team record that year, when Joe C.
Meriweather blocked 10 Atlanta shots in a game on
December 12. At season's end, rookie center Bill
Cartwright joined Earvin "Magic" Johnson,
Larry Bird, Calvin Natt, and David Greenwood on the
NBA All-Rookie Team.
This was an era of losing seasons
and missed playoffs for the most part, but Holzman
did manage to get one overachieving campaign out of
the Knicks, winning 50 games in 1980-81. The team got
out to a solid 25-13 start, slumped slightly at
midyear, then finished with a 19-10 mark over the
final two months. In the playoffs the Knicks were
quickly ousted by the Chicago Bulls. For the season,
Mike Glenn broke Bill Bradley's club free throw
percentage record, with an average of .891.
Richardson set a club mark by picking up 9 steals
against Chicago on December 23.
In 1981-82 the team dropped to
33-49. Cartwright set a franchise mark for most free
throws without a miss when he canned 19 straight
against the Kansas City Kings on November 17.
Richardson matched his own club record with seven
triple-doubles on the year.
After the season Red Holzman
retired as the winningest coach in Knicks history
(613-484). He had led the franchise to two NBA titles
(in 1970 and 1973) and had been named 1969-70 NBA
Coach of the Year. His 696 career victories ranked
him among the top 10 winningest coaches in NBA annals
(he currently ranks 11th).
The early 1980s saw a brief upswing
for New York. In 1982-83 new coach Hubie Brown led
the team to a 44-38 record. The Knicks started
slowly, remaining below .500 through January, then
caught fire and played 26-11 ball for the remainder
of the schedule. The team was tough on defense again,
leading the league by allowing only 97.5 points per
game. Marvin Webster and Bill Cartwright combined for
258 blocks. New York advanced to the postseason but
was swept in the conference semifinals by
Philadelphia, the eventual NBA champion.
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In 1983-84 Bernard King, who had
come over from the Golden State Warriors in a trade
for Micheal Ray Richardson, set a club record for
field goal percentage with a .572 mark. He had
back-to-back 50-point games, on January 31 against
the San Antonio Spurs and on February 1 against the
Dallas Mavericks. For the season, King averaged 26.3
points, fifth best in the NBA.
The Knicks went 47-35 that year.
Coach Brown guided the team to a memorable
first-round playoff victory against Detroit. The
teams swapped wins before New York took the decisive
Game 5, 127-123, in overtime. King averaged 42.6
points in the series. In the Eastern Conference
Semifinals the Knicks pushed the eventual
NBA-champion Boston Celtics to seven games before
succumbing. King was named to the All-NBA First Team,
and Darrell Walker made the NBA All-Rookie Team.
In 1984-85 the 6-7 King became the
first Knicks player to lead the league in scoring,
with 32.9 points per game. His scoring average set a
new team record, surpassing Richie Guerin's 29.5 in
1961-62. On Christmas Day, King set a club record by
pouring in 60 points against New Jersey. From
February 1 to March 23 he had 24 consecutive games of
20 or more points, a New York record at the time. He
repeated as an All-NBA First Team selection.
Then on March 23 his season (and,
many feared, his career) came to a crashing halt. In
the season's 55th game at Kansas City, he crumpled to
the floor with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in
his right knee. He missed 24 months of action while
enduring painful physical therapy and rehabilitation.
The team as a whole was going
backwards. It set a franchise mark for consecutive
losses, dropping 12 straight games from March 23
through April 13. New York had its worst month ever
in April, going 0-7, and for the season the club
declined by 23 games in the loss column to 24-58.
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On May 12 the NBA held its first
draft lottery for the seven teams that failed to make
the playoffs. New York won the draw and earned the
right to pick first in the 1985 NBA Draft. The prize
was Patrick Ewing, a 7-foot All-America center from
Georgetown University.
The 1985-86 Knicks went 23-59.
Ewing had a standout rookie season but missed 32
games because of a knee injury. Still, he led all
rookies in scoring (20.0 ppg) and rebounding (9.0
rpg); was named to the NBA All-Star Game, although
the injury kept him from playing; and was chosen NBA
Rookie of the Year, making Ewing the first Knicks
player to win the award since Willis Reed in 1964-65.
The next year was also grim, ending
at 24-58, but after three abysmal seasons things
began to improve. In 1987-88 the postseason dry spell
ended with the hiring of Rick Pitino as head coach.
The Knicks showed a 14-game improvement in the win
column, finishing 38-44, and they snuck into the
playoffs on the final day of the season. New York
lost in the first round to Boston, three games to
one.
The team's success was built on
Ewing, who made the first of his many All-Star Game
appearances that season, and Rookie of the Year guard
Mark Jackson, who provided flashy floor play and set
a new Knicks assists record with 10.6 per game.
The 1988-89 New York team, buoyed
by a club-record 26-game home winning streak, posted
a 52-30 record, the highest victory total since the
championship season of 1972-73. Running and gunning
in Pitino's fast-paced, open-court scheme, the Knicks
won the Atlantic Division for the first time since
1970-71. They filled the basket at a rapid clip,
raining in 116.7 points per game, but also gave up
112.9 per contest. The club advanced to the
postseason and eliminated Philadelphia in the first
round before falling to Chicago in the conference
semifinals.
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To give Ewing some relief on the
boards, the Knicks had acquired rebounding specialist
Charles Oakley from Chicago prior to the season in
exchange for center Bill Cartwright. The Bulls
immediately reaped rewards from the deal as they
claimed three consecutive NBA championships. But
Oakley, who had led the league in total rebounds for
two years, helped the Knicks. On January 3 he set a
club mark by pulling down 14 offensive boards against
Boston. For the season, he ranked sixth in the NBA in
rebounding with 10.5 boards per game.
The 1989-90 Knicks had a slight
relapse. Rick Pitino departed to take the coaching
reins at the University of Kentucky, and Stu Jackson
took over as head coach. New York finished at 45-37.
In the first round of the playoffs the club dropped
the first two games to the Celtics, then became only
the third team in NBA history to rebound from a
two-game deficit to capture a best-of-five series. In
the second round New York faced the Detroit Pistons,
who dispatched the Knicks in five games.
For the season, Oakley averaged a
career-high 14.6 points and was poised to finish
second in the NBA in rebounding (11.9 rpg) when he
broke his hand near the end of the campaign. His 61
games played failed to qualify him for inclusion
among the season's rebounding leaders.
Patrick Ewing had a prodigious
year. His 2,347 points (28.6 ppg) broke a Knicks
record that had survived nearly three decades.
(Richie Guerin had amassed 2,303 points in 1961-62.)
Ewing's .567 field-goal percentage was the second
best in franchise history, and his scoring average
was the third highest ever for the club. Ewing also
set a New York record by scoring 20 or more points in
28 consecutive games from January 25 to March 27. He
posted a career-high 51 points against Boston on
March 24 and set a team single-season record for
blocked shots with 327. Ewing finished among the NBA
leaders in scoring, rebounding, blocks, and field
goal percentage, and was named to the All-NBA First
Team.
The club regressed again in
1990-91, finishing 39-43 and losing in the first
round of the playoffs. Jackson was replaced by John
MacLeod early in the season, but the move didn't seem
to help.
Ewing, however, continued to play
the superstar role, ranking among the league's top
five in scoring (26.6 ppg), rebounding (11.2 rpg),
and blocked shots (3.19 per game). Charles Oakley
ranked third in the league with 12.1 rebounds per
game, the highest average for a Knicks player since
Bob McAdoo's 12.8 in 1977-78.
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On March 1 Dave Checketts was named
club president, and he hired Pat Riley as head coach
for 1991-92. During Riley's nine seasons at the helm
of the Los Angeles Lakers his teams won nine Pacific
Division titles and four NBA championships (1982,
1985, 1987, 1988). At the time, Riley's career
winning percentage of .733 was the best in NBA
history. His Lakers squads never won fewer than 50
games, and in five seasons they won more than 60.
In 1991-92 Riley brought the Knicks
back to prominence with a 51-31 record, tying Boston
for first place in the Atlantic Division. In a March
31 game against Chicago, 6-5 guard John Starks set a
franchise mark by making 8 three-point shots. The
volatile Starks was a fan favorite because of his
unlikely route to the NBA. As an undrafted free agent
out of Oklahoma State, he was signed by the Warriors
but was waived following the 1988-89 season. After a
year in the Continental Basketball Association he
signed with the Knicks in 1990-91. The next season he
emerged as a valuable sixth man, with three-point
range and a competitive temperament.
Patrick Ewing was superb in
1991-92, ranking among the NBA's top 10 in scoring,
rebounding, and blocked shots. His 24.0 points per
game put him in fifth place, his 11.2 rebounds per
contest were good for eighth, and his 2.99 blocks per
game ranked fourth.
In the NBA Playoffs, with newly
acquired Xavier McDaniel providing the muscle, the
Knicks engaged the defending NBA-champion Chicago
Bulls in a physical conference semifinal series. The
series went the distance before Chicago prevailed in
Game 7, 110-81.
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The 1992-93 Knicks featured seven
new players but still managed to turn in the second
60-win season in franchise history (1969-70 was the
first). Before the season the Knicks engineered a
three-team trade with the Orlando Magic and the Los
Angeles Clippers that sent Mark Jackson to the
Clippers and brought Charles Smith, Doc Rivers, and
Bo Kimble to New York. The Knicks also acquired
veteran Rolando Blackman from Dallas and drafted
guard Hubert Davis from North Carolina. Xavier
McDaniel departed for Boston via free agency.
Coach Pat Riley did a masterful job
molding the new players into a cohesive unit,
especially on defense. New York led the league and
established a franchise record by allowing opponents
only 95.4 points per game. At season's end, Riley
edged out the Houston Rockets' Rudy Tomjanovich for
the NBA Coach of the Year Award.
For the season, Ewing hauled down
980 rebounds, the most by a Knicks player since Bob
McAdoo's 1,010 in 1977-78. He finished seventh in the
NBA in rebounding (12.1 rpg) and sixth in scoring
(24.2 ppg).
As the Knicks entered the 1993 NBA
Playoffs many felt that the club, which had finished
60-22, finally had what it would take to unseat the
Chicago Bulls in the East. The Knicks eliminated the
Indiana Pacers and the Charlotte Hornets and then
took a two-game lead over the Chicago Bulls in the
Eastern Conference Finals. The Michael Jordan-led
Bulls, however, stormed back to take the next four
games and leave the Knicks just shy of a Finals
berth.
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When Michael Jordan announced
before the 1993-94 season that he was retiring from
the NBA, the mantle of Eastern Conference favorite
fell squarely onto the shoulders of the Knicks, who
for four straight years had been unable to get past
the Jordan-led Chicago Bulls.
As it turned out, the Knicks were
the "beasts of the East." They topped the
Atlantic Division with 57 wins on the strength of a
defense that allowed an average of 91.5 points per
game, the fourth-lowest total in the 40 years that
the 24-second shot clock had been in use. Patrick
Ewing was a major force with an average of 24.5
points per contest (sixth in the NBA), and Charles
Oakley snared 11.8 rebounds per game (seventh in the
league).
The Knicks suffered a setback in
December when starting point guard Doc Rivers was
lost for the season with a knee injury, but they
averted disaster with the subsequent acquisition of
Derek Harper from the Dallas Mavericks. At midseason
Ewing and John Starks represented the Knicks at the
1994 NBA All-Star Game, Starks for the first time in
his career.
In the playoffs New York defeated
the New Jersey Nets in four games to set up a rematch
with the Bulls in the conference semifinals. This
time the Knicks prevailed, four games to three, and
then needed seven games to drop the Indiana Pacers in
the Eastern Conference Finals. The NBA Finals pitted
New York against the Houston Rockets in a bruising
series in which neither team cracked 100 points in a
single game. Harper practically won two games for the
Knicks single-handedly, but the club's offensive woes
eventually proved its undoing. The series went the
limit, with the Rockets triumphing in Game 7 to claim
the title.
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The New York Knicks were unable to
return to the NBA Finals in 1994-95, although they
enjoyed a successful campaign. The team finished at
55-27, two games behind the Orlando Magic in the
Atlantic Division and with the second-best record in
the Eastern Conference. New York began the playoffs
by ousting the Cleveland Cavaliers in an unsightly,
low-scoring first-round series.
By contrast, the Eastern Conference
Semifinals series between New York and the Indiana
Pacers was a classic. The teams had become rivals as
a result of the previous season's seven-game
conference finals battle, and this series did nothing
to quell that rivalry. The tone was set in Game 1
when the Pacers' Reggie Miller scored eight points in
the final 16 seconds to erase a five-point Knicks
lead, give Indiana the win, and stun the sellout
crowd at Madison Square Garden. The series went the
distance, but as time expired in Game 7, Patrick
Ewing missed a driving layup and a chance to tie the
contest, giving the Pacers the victory. The Knicks
had played stifling defense throughout the year, but
their offensive woes hurt them in the postseason.
Head Coach Pat Riley took the loss especially hard
and resigned the day after the Finals ended. Don
Nelson, who earlier in the season had stepped down as
head coach of the Golden State Warriors, was soon
named as Riley's successor.
The regular season was not without
its moments. Forward Anthony Mason won the NBA Sixth
Man Award after averaging 9.9 points and 8.4 rebounds
while shooting .566 from the floor. Ewing was banged
up for much of the season but held his own, finishing
in the league's top 10 in scoring, rebounding, and
shotblocking. John Starks had a mercurial season; his
average of 15.3 points per game was second best on
the squad, but he shot just .395 from the floor and
.355 from three-point range. Taking advantage of the
closer three-point line, Starks did set new NBA
records for three-pointers.
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The Knicks of 1995-96 were a team
of many changes, yet still highly competitive in the
Eastern Conference. Many of the team's key components
were playing what would amount to their final season
in New York, en route to a 47-35 record, the first
time in five seasons the team failed to reach the
50-win mark.
The changes began on February 8,
when Charles Smith was traded with rookie Monty
Williams to San Antonio, in exchange for J.R. Reid
and Brad Lohaus. Ten days later, Herb Williams and
Doug Christie were traded to Toronto for Willie
Anderson and Victor Alexander. In early March, the
Knicks bid adieu to Coach Don Nelson, Pat Riley's
successor, after only 60 games. Nelson, in his first
year of a multiyear contract, didn't see eye-to-eye
with some of his players. He was replaced by
long-time assistant Jeff Van Gundy, who finished the
season with a 13-9 record in his debut as a head
coach.
New York was led again by the
steady play of Patrick Ewing, who finished in the
league's top ten in scoring, rebounding and blocked
shots. Anthony Mason also shined. Playing a
league-high 42.2 minutes per game, Mason was second
to Ewing in points and rebounds, and led the Knicks
with 4.4 assists per game.
In the playoffs, the Knicks blasted
Cleveland three games to none, setting up a bit of a
nostalgic rematch between the Knicks and the Michael
Jordan-led Chicago Bulls. As was the case in the
early 1990s, the Bulls were too much for New York,
winning the best-of-seven series in five games.
The series would mark the last
appearance in a New York uniform for free agents
Derek Harper and Hubert Davis, as well as Mason, who
was shipped to Charlotte in an offseason trade for
Larry Johnson that brought the Knicks new hope as
they entered a new era under Van Gundy.
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The new New York Knicks made
their debut on Broadway in 1996-97, receiving rave
reviews in their premiere season. With the addition
of Larry Johnson, Allan Houston, Chris Childs and
Buck Williams to complement veterans Patrick Ewing,
John Starks and Charles Oakley, the Knicks improved
by 10 games to 57-25, and a second place Atlantic
Division finish.
The facelift, which also included
the addition of rookies John Wallace and Walter
McCarty, helped the Knicks record the third-best
record in franchise history in Jeff Van Gundy's first
season as head coach. Notable wins included a 92-88
victory at Orlando on November 19 in which Ewing
became the 23rd player in NBA history to score 20,000
points and a 98-86 win over the Nets on December 30
that was the 2,000th win in the history of the
franchise.
Ewing earned his 11th appearance in
the All-Star Game with yet another strong season. He
finished among the league leaders in scoring (22.4
ppg), rebounds (10.7 rpg) and blocked shots (2.42
bpg). Starks won the league's Sixth Man Award,
averaging 13.8 ppg off the bench. Houston (14.8 ppg),
Johnson (12.8 ppg, .512 FG%) and Childs (9.3 ppg, 6.1
apg) quickly proved their worth to the New York
faithful.
As the postseason unfolded, the
Knicks looked poised to make a run at the Chicago
Bulls. After a first-round sweep over the Charlotte
Hornets, the Knicks took a commanding 3-1 lead over
the Miami Heat in the Conference Semifinals. Late in
Game 5, a scuffle erupted and four Knicks (including
Ewing) received automatic one-game suspensions for
leaving their bench area. With the Knicks undermanned
in Games 6 and 7, the Heat became only the sixth team
in NBA history to overcome a 3-1 deficit to win a
playoff series. It was the first time in six months
that the Knicks lost three straight games.
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The Knicks high hopes for 1997-98
were put to the test on December 20 when All-Star
center Patrick Ewing used his wrist to break a fall,
and suffered a dislocated Lunate bone and torn
ligaments in his left wrist. The collapse many
expected never occurred, and while Ewing looked on,
New York responded with a 43-39 record and a
first-round upset of Miami in the playoffs.
New York was 15-11 when Ewing went
down against the Milwaukee Bucks, forcing New York to
count on a solid team effort. Stepping up first and
foremost were Allan Houston and Larry Johnson.
Houston led the team in scoring (18.4 ppg), including
34-point performances against both Portland and
Cleveland and scored 32 points against the Lakers in
a 101-89 win on March 1. Johnson chipped in 15.5
points and 5.7 rebounds per game and, like Houston,
took a more active role around the basket with Ewing
out.
The emotional leader of the Knicks
was once again John Starks. Coming off the bench,
Starks contributed 12.9 points per game, and made a
Knicks' franchise-record 9-of-12 three-pointers
against the Milwaukee Bucks on January 29.
Point guard Charlie Ward started
every game for the Knicks this season, averaging 7.8
points and team highs in 5.7 assists (5.7 apg) and
steals (1.76 spg). Charles Oakley, who passed Ewing
to become the Knicks' all-time leader in playoff
games played with 113, continued to do everything
that was asked of him and more, even filling in at
center when backups Chris Dudley and Buck Williams
were injured. Oakley led the Knicks in rebounding at
6.4 rpg, while contributing off the bench were Chris
Mills ( 9.7 ppg, 5.1 rpg), Chris Childs (6.3 ppg, 3.9
apg ) and mid-season addition Terry Cummings (6.3
ppg, 3.6 rpg).
Ewing reached a few milestones
before being injured in late December. On December
16, he scored his 22,000th career point in an 83-78
win over the Detroit Pistons, and moved past Larry
Bird into 17th place on the NBA all-time scoring list
after scoring 19 points in a 104-84 win over the
Vancouver Grizzlies on Nov. 23.
Without their man in the middle,
the Knicks scrapped their way to the seventh seed in
the Eastern Conference, earning a reprise of their
playoff series with arch-rival Miami. This time New
York got the last laugh, prevailing in another
hard-fought, low scoring series with a 90-81 win to
earn a Semifinal berth with Indiana, and setting the
stage for Ewing's remarkable return for Game 2
against the Pacers. New York pushed the Pacers hard,
but Larry Bird's troops brought New York's unlikely
season to an end in five games.
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The Knicks half season for
1998-99 due to the year's lock-out ended with New
York 27-33 record and last-minute-6-wins that
brought them to the playoffs.
This is what everyone thought they would see
when New York made the offseason trades that
brought Marcus Camby and Latrell Sprewell to New
York. The Knicks are playing their best
basketball of the season, after going through a
lot during a tumultuous regular season.You can't
trade for a superstar like Sprewell, who hadn't
played almost all of the previous season, and
expect those results to happen overnight. That
chemistry takes a lot of time, time the team
didn't have during a short season with little
practice time. Another example is Camby. Early in
the season, they were trying to get production
from him, but he wasn't ready yet for whatever
reason. Now, he's bringing some nice energy to
their second unit. Again, that's an adjustment a
player, especially a young player, has to make to
a new team and new teammates. It took him some
time to do it. It also seems that Sprewell and
Allan Houston feel comfortable with each other
now, more than they did at the beginning of the
season. That's a big key. They're looking for
each other now, and I think that players are more
willing to make the sacrifices during the
postseason, because there is only one common
goal: the championship.
I'm still not sure even they know for sure
what will work from day to day, but their
confidence is at an all-time high. They got into
a series against a Miami team that they matched
up well against, came out on top, and then they
had all the confidence in the world. On top of
that, they eliminated an Atlanta team that was
decimated with injuries
Without Ewing (after game 3)
and Johnson (during game 6), the Knicks pushed
the Pacers hard, and Larry Bird's troops were
brought to an end in six games by New York's
miracle season. Allan Houston scored 32
points as the Knicks eliminated the Pacers 92-80
in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals. New
York is the first No. 8 seed to advance to the
NBA Finals.
The story so far:
First round
New York 3, at Miami 2
Game 1: New York 95, at Miami 75
Game 2: at Miami 83, New York 73
Game 3: at New York 97, Miami 73
Game 4: Miami 87, at New York 72
Game 5: New York 78, at Miami 77
Conference semi-finals
New York 4, at Atlanta 0
Game 1: New York 100, at Atlanta 92
Game 2: New York 77, at Atlanta 70
Game 3: at New York 90, Atlanta 78
Game 4: at New York 79, Atlanta 66
Conference finals
Game 1: New York 93, at Indiana 90
Game 2: at Indiana 88, New York 86
Game 3: at New York 92, Indiana 91
Game 4: Indiana 90, at New York 78
Game 5: New York 101, at Indiana 94
Game 6: at New York 90, Indiana 82
click
here for a zip file
containing all 6 games recaps by NBA.com
1999 NBA finals
Game 1: at San Antonio 97, New York 89
Game 2: at San Antonio 80, New York 67
Game 3: at New York 89, San Antonio 81
Game 4: San Antonio 96, at New York 89
Game 5: San Antonio 78, at New York 77
It would be hard to imagine the Knicks winning
the NBA Championship this season, but the end was
a bit unfair. The Knicks could have won
all 3 games at New York City and then things
would be somehow different...
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