New York Knicks

Team information

• Inaugural season: 1946
• Home arena: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
• Owner: Madison Square Garden Company
• Team colors: Blue, orange, silver, black, and white

Overview

The New York Knicks is a National Basketball Association (NBA) team that plays in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Originally established as one of the founding members of the Basketball Association of America (BAA), the Knicks first took the court in 1946. Over the course of their long history, the Knicks have won two NBA championships. By the 2019–2020 season, the Knicks amassed an all-time record of 2,799 wins and 2,988 losses for an overall .484 winning percentage. Known for their competitive play and history of great players, the Knicks are traditionally counted among the NBA’s premiere teams. The Knicks are also the league’s most financially successful franchise, worth an estimated $4.6 billion in 2020.

In addition to their on-court activities, the Knicks also maintain an active commitment to philanthropic endeavors. Much of the team’s work in this realm is performed through the Garden of Dreams Foundation. With help from the Madison Square Garden Company and MSG Networks, the Garden of Dreams Foundation works to provide young people in need across the New York metropolitan area with potentially life-changing access to a variety of educational opportunities, mentoring programs, and other memorable experiences. In addition to serving children facing health or financial issues, the Garden of Dreams Foundation also focuses on children of uniformed personnel who have been lost or wounded in the line of duty. Among other things, the Knicks also honor those who have served their country in the military through the Hoops for Troops program.

History

The history of the New York Knicks began with the formation of the BAA. In June 1946, a group of arena owners and sports executives gathered at New York to found a new professional basketball league. This meeting resulted in the creation of the eleven-team BAA. Among the teams included in the newly-formed league was a New York franchise owned by college basketball promoter Ned Irish. Seeking a unique name that would serve as a nod to the city of New York, Irish eventually settled on the name Knickerbockers. “Knickerbocker” was a term originally coined by author Washington Irving in his 1809 work A History of New York. The name was associated with New York’s original Dutch settlers and, later, the broader people of New York. Although the franchise is still formally known as the Knickerbockers, the team is usually referred to as the Knicks.

The Knicks took the court for the first time on November 1, 1946, in a 68–66 win over the Toronto Huskies. Over their first few seasons, the Knicks were one of the BAA’s best teams. They finished with nine straight winning seasons and appeared in three consecutive championship finals from 1951 to 1953. By that time, the BAA had absorbed a rival league called the National Basketball League (NBL) and was rebranded as the NBA.

Starting in the mid-1950s, the Knicks entered a prolonged downturn, failing to make the playoffs in nine out of ten years. The situation finally began to improve when the team drafted center Willis Reed in 1964. With Reed at the helm, the Knicks returned to form and again became regular playoff contenders. The highlight of the era came in the 1969–1970 season, when Reed and All-Star teammates Walt “Clyde” Frazier and Bill Bradley took the Knicks on a historic postseason run. The effort culminated in an NBA Finals matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers and, ultimately, the franchise’s first championship. Over the next two years, the Knicks and Lakers would continue to battle for NBA supremacy, regularly meeting in the Finals. While the Lakers won the teams’ initial rematch in 1972, the Knicks won in 1973 to claim their second NBA championship.

After their two championship wins, the Knicks again entered a slide that continued into the early 1980s. Much like their earlier downturn , this slide ended with the arrival of a rookie who quickly improved the team’s fortunes. At the 1985 NBA draft, the Knicks selected center Patrick Ewing with the first pick. Once he took the court, Ewing revitalized the sagging Knicks and led the team back to playoff contention. During his fifteen-year tenure in New York, the Knicks made the postseason every year and even returned to the NBA Finals on two occasions. The first of these appearances came in 1994, when the Knicks fell short of a third championship during a competitive seven game series against the Houston Rockets. The second came in 1999, when Ewing found himself sidelined with a partially torn Achilles tendon as the Knicks fell to the San Antonio Spurs in five games. During this era, the Knicks also developed a heated rivalry with the Chicago Bulls, a then-dominant team that knocked the Knicks out of the playoffs more than once.

Following Ewing’s departure from the team in 2000, the Knicks again slipped into mediocrity, enduring a long run of losing seasons with few playoff appearances. In an effort to turn things around, the Knicks hired formed Detroit Pistons star Isiah Thomas as team president in 2003. Although Thomas lured many talented players to the team with high-priced contracts, the Knicks continued to underperform. This lack of success, together with a number of off-court scandals, eventually led to Thomas’ ouster in 2008. Soon thereafter, the Knicks began a rebuilding process that brought players like Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony to the team. Stoudemire, Anthony, and other newly acquired players gradually pulled the team out of the league’s basement and back to respectability. In the 2012–2013 season, the team won a division title for the first time in almost two decades. However, the improvement did not last long. The next year, the Knicks embarked on yet another slide, during which they would twice tie for the worst record in franchise history.

Notable players

A number of former New York Knicks players have been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. Chief among these honorees was all-time Knicks great Patrick Ewing. Known for his smooth baseline jumper, Ewing was a force to be reckoned with on the court. During his fifteen-year career in New York, Ewing scored more than 23,000 points and pulled in more than 10,000 rebounds. Point guard Walt “Clyde” Frazier was one of the Knicks’ top players in the 1960s and 1970s. A threat on both offense and defense, Frazier was a key contributor to both of the Knicks’ championships in the 1970s. Through his ten years with the team, Frazier scored more than 14,000 points and recorded more than 4,500 rebounds. One of Frazier’s most valuable teammates was small forward Bill Bradley. An especially intelligent, scientific player, Bradley became one of the NBA’s best offensive players and was an important part of the Knicks’ championship squads. During his ten years in New York, Bradley scored more than 9,000 points and recorded more than 2,300 rebounds. After retiring, Bradley served three terms as a US Senator from New Jersey.

Center and power forward Willis Reed was a star in the 1960s and 1970s and was an instrumental part of the team’s two championship wins. During his ten-year career, Reed scored more than 12,000 points and totaled more than 8,400 rebounds. Forward Dave DeBusschere was a defensive powerhouse and another key member of the Knicks’ championship teams. DeBusschere scored nearly 7,000 points over six years with New York. One of the NBA’s first African American players, power forward Nat Clifton played with the Knicks from 1950 to 1957, after first proving his skills as a member of the Harlem Globetrotters. During his time in New York, Clifton scored nearly 5,000 points and pulled in more than 4,000 rebounds. Some other notable Knicks Hall of Famers include Walt Bellamy, Harry Gallatin, Richie Guerin, and Carl Braun.

There have been many other notable New York Knicks as well. Center and power forward Amar’e Stoudemire played with the Knicks from 2010 to 2015. During that time, he scored more than 4,000 points and corralled more than 1,700 rebounds. Forward Carmelo Anthony spent seven years with the Knicks from 2010 to 2017 and was one of the team’s top players during that period. By the time he left, Anthony scored more 10,000 points and totaled more than 2,800 rebounds. Shooting guard Allan Houston played nine seasons with the Knicks in the 1990s and 2000s, scoring more than 11,000 points. Center and power forward Charles Oakley was with the Knicks for a decade from 1988 to 1998. Known for his high basketball IQ and physical style of play, Oakley scored more than 7,500 points and pulled in more than 7,200 rebounds during his time in New York.

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