Their finish was good enough to place them second in the Eastern Division and secure a playoff match-up against the Baltimore Bullets where they lost the series two games to one. The Knicks were leery of Schayes' talent, prompting the center to leave to play for the Syracuse Nationals of the struggling National Basketball League.
Despite losing Schayes, the team started the year well going 17—8 before they fell into a slump. They ended the year with a seven-game win streak to finish with a 32—28 record and a third-straight playoff appearance. The Knicks defeated the Baltimore Bullets in a rematch of their previous encounter in , winning the series 2—1. The team however, struggled against the Washington Capitols and lost the series 1—2.
Despite division realignments, the Knicks remained in the Eastern Division. The team continued its dominance under Lapchick, winning 40 games; however, they lost the Eastern Division finals to the Syracuse Nationals. The following season, the Knicks made history signing Sweetwater Clifton to a contract, thus becoming the first professional basketball team to sign an African American player. During this same season, the Knicks finished with a 36—30 record. Though they placed third in their division, they secured a playoff spot and began the first of three consecutive trips to the NBA Finals.
In spite of their success, the Knicks could not overcome the Rochester Royals despite a valiant comeback after losing the first three games of the Finals. It was during this early period, the Knicks developed their first standout players in Carl Braun who retired as the Knicks leading scorer with 10, points before later being surpassed by the likes of Patrick Ewing , Walt Frazier , and Willis Reed.
Following these back-to-back losses, the Knicks made the playoffs in the subsequent two years with no success. Lapchick resigned as the team's head coach in January citing health-related issues.
Vince Boryla made his debut in February as the Knicks' new coach in a win over the St. Louis Hawks. However, after two seasons of poor performances and no playoff appearances, Boryla tendered his resignation from the team in April Looking to regain their former dominance, Andrew Levane was named the head coach and in his first year, the results were significantly better as the team finished with a 40—32 record, securing their playoff spot.
However, the Knicks could not manage to get past the Eastern Division semi-finals. The Levane-led squad fared poorly to begin the —60 season and under mounting pressure Levane resigned and was immediately replaced by Carl Braun, who became the team's first player-coach. The team did not fare much better under Braun and the Knicks hired Eddie Donovan, who helped build up St.
Bonaventure's basketball team, in As a testament to their struggles, on March 2, , the Knicks faced the Philadelphia Warriors in Hershey, Pennsylvania, where they infamously allowed Wilt Chamberlain to score an NBA-record points in a — Warriors victory.
In , the franchise's fortunes began to take a steady turn. However, the leaders of the team still remained in flux. In an attempt to reorganize, the Knicks named former standout Harry Gallatin as head coach while reassigning Donovan to general manager position. After a slow start in , Dick McGuire , another former Knick, replaced his former teammate Gallatin midway through the season. Though he failed to guide the Knicks to the playoffs in , he managed to do so the following season, however, the Knicks lost in the Eastern Division semi-finals.
In , right after the Knicks made it to the playoffs for the first time since , the Knicks hired Red Holzman as their head coach. With Holzman at the helm, and young players such as Bill Bradley and Walt "Clyde" Frazier , the Knicks were a playoff team again in The next season, the team acquired Dave DeBusschere from the Detroit Pistons , and the team went 55— In the ensuing playoffs, the team made it past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since , sweeping the Baltimore Bullets in three games, before falling to the eventual NBA champion Boston Celtics in the Eastern Division finals.
In the —70 season , the Knicks had a then single-season NBA record 18 straight victories en route to 60—22 record, which was the best regular season record in the team's history.
With the series tied at 2—2, the Knicks would be tested in Game 5. Reed tore a muscle in his right leg in the second quarter, and was lost for the rest of the game. Despite his absence, New York would go on to win the game, rallying from a 16—point deficit, and took a 3—2 series lead.
However, without their injured captain, the Knicks would lose Game 6, setting up one of the most famous moments in NBA history. Reed limped onto the court before Game 7, determined to play through his pain.
He scored New York's first two baskets before going scoreless for the remainder of the contest. Although he was not at full strength, Reed's heroics inspired the Knicks, and they won the game by a score of —99, allowing New York to capture the title that had eluded them for so long.
The Knicks' success continued for the next few years. This time, the Knicks fell to the Lakers in five games. The next year , the results were reversed, as the Knicks defeated the Lakers in five games to win their second NBA title in four years.
The team had one more impressive season in —74 , as they reached the Eastern Conference finals, where they fell in five games to the eventual NBA champion Boston Celtics. It was after this season that Reed announced his retirement, and the team's fortunes took a turn for the worse. In the —75 season , the Knicks posted a 40—42 record, their first losing record in eight seasons. However, the record still qualified them for a playoff spot, though the Knicks lost to the Houston Rockets in the first round.
After two more seasons with losing records, Holzman was replaced behind the bench by Reed. In Reed's first year coaching the team, they posted a 43—39 record and made it to the Eastern Conference semifinals, where they were swept by the Philadelphia 76ers. The next season, after the team got off to a 6—8 start, Holzman was rehired as the team's coach. The team did not fare any better that season, finishing with a 31—51 record, their worst in thirteen years.
After improving to a 39—43 record in the —80 season , the Knicks posted a 50—32 record in the —81 season. In the ensuing playoffs, the Chicago Bulls swept them in two games. Holzman retired the following season as one of the winningest coaches in NBA history. The team's record for that year was a dismal 33— However, Holzman's legacy would continue through the players he influenced.
One of the Knicks' bench players and defensive specialists during the s was Phil "Action" Jackson. Jackson has cited Red Holzman as the best coach he ever played for and a major influence on his coaching philosophy. Hubie Brown replaced Holzman as coach of the Knicks, and in his first season , the team went 44—38 and make it to the second round of the playoffs, where they were swept by the eventual champion Philadelphia 76ers.
The next season , the team, aided by new acquisition Bernard King , improved to a 47—35 record and returned to the playoffs. The team beat the Detroit Pistons in the first round with an overtime win in the fifth and deciding game, before losing in second round once again, this time in seven games to the eventual NBA champion Boston Celtics.
The team's fortunes again turned for the worse the next season , as they lost their last twelve games to finish with a 24—58 record. The first of these losses occurred on March 23, , where King injured his knee and spent the next 24 months in rehabilitation. Some figured that his career would end from this injury, but he proved them wrong and resumed his career near the end of the —87 season. During the early s, the Knicks drastically changed their uniforms.
The home uniforms would feature the team nickname below the number and the base color was maroon instead of the traditional orange. However, in the season, they would revert back to the championship-era uniforms and the orange color, which would remain virtually unchanged for the next twelve seasons. Ewing led the Knicks to the Finals in and As a result of the Knicks' dismal performance in the —85 season , the team was entered into the first-ever NBA Draft Lottery.
The team ended up winning the number one pick in that year's NBA Draft. They selected star center Patrick Ewing of Georgetown University. In Ewing's first season with the Knicks, he led all rookies in scoring 20 points per game and rebounds 9 rebounds per game , and he won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award.
The team would not fare as well, though, as they posted a 23—59 record in his first season, and a 24—58 record in his second season. The team's luck changed in the —88 season with the hiring of Rick Pitino as head coach, and selection of point guard Mark Jackson in the draft.
Combined with Ewing's consistently stellar play, the Knicks made the playoffs with a record of 38—44, where they lost to the Boston Celtics in the first round. The team would do even better the next season as the team traded backup center Bill Cartwright for power forward Charles Oakley before the season started and then posted a 52—30 record, which was good enough for their first division title in nearly twenty years.
In the playoffs, they defeated the 76ers in the first round before losing to the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
Before the —90 season began, a couple of major changes occurred. Pitino left the Knicks to coach the University of Kentucky's basketball team and Stu Jackson was named head coach. The Knicks went 45—37 and defeated the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs, winning the final three games after losing the first two. In the —91 season , the team, which replaced Jackson with John McLeod as head coach early that season, had a 39—43 record and were swept by the eventual NBA champion Bulls.
Sensing that the team needed a better coach in order to become a championship contender, new Knicks president Dave Checketts hired Pat Riley prior to the —92 season. Riley, who coached the Los Angeles Lakers to four NBA titles during the s, taught the Knicks hard, physical defense, and immediately gave them a boost. That season, the team, which now included fan favorite John Starks , posted a 51—31 record, good enough for a first place tie in the Atlantic Division.
After defeating the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the playoffs, the team battled with the Chicago Bulls for seven games, before once again letting the Bulls get the best of them. The —93 season proved to be even more successful, as the Knicks won the Atlantic Division with a 60—22 record, matching their record from the season when they won their first NBA championship.
After taking a 2—0 series lead, the Knicks would go on to lose the next four games. After the Bulls' Michael Jordan made what would be his first retirement from basketball to play baseball prior to the —94 season , many saw this as an opportunity for the Knicks to finally make it to the NBA Finals. The team, who acquired Derek Harper in a midseason trade with the Dallas Mavericks , once again won the Atlantic Division with a 57—25 record.
In the playoffs, the team played a then NBA-record 25 games the Boston Celtics played 26 games in the Playoffs ; they started by defeating the New Jersey Nets in the first round before finally getting past the Chicago Bulls , defeating them in the second round in seven games.
In the Eastern Conference Finals, they faced the Indiana Pacers , who at one point held a 3—2 series lead. They had this advantage thanks to the exploits of Reggie Miller , who scored 25 fourth quarter points in Game 5 to lead the Pacers to victory. In the Finals, the Knicks would play seven low-scoring, defensive games against the Houston Rockets.
After splitting the first two games in Houston, the Knicks would win two out of three games at Madison Square Garden , which also hosted the New York Rangers' first Stanley Cup celebration in 54 years following their win over the Vancouver Canucks in Game 7 of their finals during the series. In Game 6, however, a last-second attempt at a game-winning shot by Starks was tipped by Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon , giving the Rockets an 86—84 victory and forcing a Game 7.
The Knicks lost Game 7 90—84, credited in large part to Starks' dismal 2-for shooting performance and Riley's stubborn refusal to bench Starks, despite having bench players who were renowned for their shooting prowess, such as Rolando Blackman and Hubert Davis available. Nevertheless, the Knicks had gotten some inspiration from Mark Messier and the Rangers during the finals.
The next year , the Knicks were second place in the Atlantic Division with a 55—27 record. The team defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round before facing the Indiana Pacers again in the second round. The tone for the Knicks—Pacers series was set in Game 1, as Reggie Miller once again became a clutch nuisance to the Knicks by scoring eight points in the final 8 seconds of the game to give the Pacers a — victory.
The series went to a Game 7, and when Patrick Ewing 's last-second finger roll attempt to tie the game missed, the Pacers clinched the 97—95 win. Riley resigned the next day, and the Knicks hired Don Nelson as their new head coach.
However Nelson's uptempo approach clashed with the Knicks' defensive identity, and during the —96 season , Nelson was fired after 59 games, and, instead of going after another well-known coach, the Knicks hired longtime assistant Jeff Van Gundy , who had no prior experience as a head coach. The Knicks ended up with a 47—35 record that year, and swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs before losing to the eventual champion Chicago Bulls who had an NBA record 72 wins in the regular season in five games.
Van Gundy was previously the assistant head coach of the Knicks from to In the —97 season , the Knicks, with the additions of such players as Larry Johnson and Allan Houston , registered a 57—25 record. In the playoffs, the Knicks swept the Charlotte Hornets in the first round before facing the Miami Heat coached by Riley in the second round.
The Knicks took a 3—1 lead in the series before a brawl near the end of Game 5 resulted in suspensions of key players. Many of the suspended Knicks players, Ewing in particular, were disciplined not for participating in the altercation itself, but for violating an NBA rule stipulating that a benched player may not leave the bench during a fight the rule was subsequently amended, making it illegal to leave the "bench area".
The —98 season was marred by a wrist injury to Ewing on December 22, which forced him to miss the rest of the season and much of the playoffs. The team, which had a 43—39 record that season, still managed to defeat the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs before having another meeting with the Indiana Pacers in the second round. Ewing returned in time for game two of the series. This time, the Pacers easily won the series in five games, as Reggie Miller once again broke the hearts of Knicks fans by hitting a tying three-pointer with 5.
For the fourth straight year, the Knicks were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs. Prior to the lockout-shortened —99 season , the Knicks traded Starks in a package to the Golden State Warriors for shooting guard Latrell Sprewell whose contract was voided by the Warriors after choking Warriors' head coach P. Carlesimo during the previous season , while also trading Charles Oakley for Marcus Camby. After barely getting into the playoffs with a 27—23 record as the eighth seed, the Knicks started a Cinderella run.
It started with the Knicks eliminating the 1 seeded Miami Heat in the first round after Allan Houston bounced in a running one-hander off the front of the rim, high off the backboard, and in with 0. This remarkable upset marked only the second time in NBA history that an 8-seed had defeated the 1-seed in the NBA playoffs.
After sweeping the Atlanta Hawks in the second round four games to none, they faced the Indiana Pacers yet again in the Eastern Conference Finals. Despite losing Ewing to injury for the rest of the playoffs prior to Game 3, the Knicks won the series aided in part to a four-point play by Larry Johnson in the final seconds of Game 3 to become the first eighth-seeded playoff team to make it to the NBA Finals. The remarkable Game 5 of the Finals is remembered for its 2nd half scoring duel between the Spurs' Tim Duncan and the Knicks' Latrell Sprewell , and was decided by a long jumper by Avery Johnson with 47 seconds left to clinch the title for the Spurs.
The — season would prove to be the last one in New York for Ewing, as the Knicks, who had a 50—32 record that season, swept the Toronto Raptors in the first round, then defeated the Miami Heat in the semifinals in another dramatic 7-game series in which Ewing's dunk with over a minute remaining in Game 7, provided the winning margin in a 1-point road victory.
After the season, Ewing was traded on September 20, , to the Seattle SuperSonics , and the Ewing era, which produced many successful playoff appearances, but no NBA championship titles, came to an end. Despite the loss of Ewing, the Knicks remained successful in the regular season, as they posted a 48—34 record. In the NBA playoffs, however, they fell in five games to the Toronto Raptors , failing to get past the first round of the playoffs for the first time in a decade.
Soon, the Knicks began suffering through a steep decline. After starting the season 10—9, the team was stunned on December 8, by the sudden resignation of Van Gundy , who explained that he had "lost focus" and would no longer be able to properly coach the team. The team named longtime assistant Don Chaney as their new head coach, ending up with a 30—52 record, and for the first time since the —87 season , they did not qualify for the playoffs.
The Knicks attempted to improve during the —02 season by initiating a number of trades and free agent signings. Among these included acquiring guards Shandon Anderson and Howard Eisley , both of whom carried expensive, long-term contracts. These moves were criticized by many analysts and Knicks fans, as it was considered that not only were these players overpaid in light of their recent performances, but also because the contracts took up valuable salary-cap space.
Such trades heavily contributed to the Knicks sky-rocketing payroll, which would burden them in the years to come. The Knicks improved slightly in —03 , but still delivered a disappointing season, posting a 37—45 record and failing to qualify for the playoffs for the second straight season. Isiah Thomas was the President of Basketball Operations for the New York Knicks from to , and was even the head coach of the Knicks from to After a 10—18 start to the —04 season , the Knicks underwent a massive overhaul.
Isiah Thomas was named the Knicks' president on December 22, after the firing of Scott Layden , and eventually replaced Don Chaney with Lenny Wilkens behind the bench. At the same time, Thomas orchestrated several trades, including one that brought point guard Stephon Marbury to the team.
The team seemed to have good chemistry following the Marbury trade as he executed the pick and roll successfully with the team's two jump-shooting big men, Michael Doleac and Keith Van Horn.
However, that chemistry unravelled when the latter two were traded in a three team trade with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Atlanta Hawks , bringing in Tim Thomas and Nazr Mohammed. The team qualified for the playoffs that year with a 39—43 record, but were swept by the defending Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Nets in the first round.
The series included a much publicized spat between the Knicks' Tim Thomas and Nets' Kenyon Martin , in which Thomas challenged Martin to a fight in the newspapers and called him "Fugazy". Walt Frazier, point guard for the Kincks looked at the Lakers players reaction and thought:. Reed played a half only scoring 4 points however, he managed to get numerous boards and played hard defence on Wilt Chamberlain. The Knicks won the game and went on to win the Championship. This was the first championship title in the history of the franchise.
Of course, the Knicks were massively praised by their fans. The second and last championship title came 3 years later, against the Lakers and with Red Holzman main coach. The series was a repeat of the previous Finals, in which the Lakers won The Finals ended with the same score, with the difference being that the Knicks emerged victorious in the end.
The Lakers in their turn beat the Warriors Everyone anticipated a tough matchup between these two teams. The Lakers won the first match but lost the consecutive 4. The match was close however and it was the final game that Chamberlain played in the NBA. Willis Reed, the captain of the team once again became an MVP. The Knicks really deserved to win the title.
A season after they once again made it to the Eastern Conference Finals, but unfortunately were beaten by the Boston Celtics in 5 games.
After 2 successful seasons, the Knicks struggled to add another championship title to their tally. When Patrick Ewing emerged as a leader of the team, the New York Knicks had a great chance to clinch another title. Hornacek C. Anthony 4. Fisher , K. Rambis C. Anthony 6. Fisher C. Anthony 2. Woodson C. Anthony Semis M. Anthony 9. D'Antoni , M. Woodson T. Chandler 9. D'Antoni A. Stoudemire 8. D'Antoni D. Lee Lee 9. Thomas D.
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Jackson , J. MacLeod P. Semis S. Jackson P. Semis R. Pitino P. Ewing 8. Brown , B. Hill B. Cartwright 5. Brown T. Tucker 4. Brown B.
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