The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at Madison Square Garden, an arena they share with the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). They are one of two NBA teams located in New York City; the other team is the Brooklyn Nets. Alongside the Boston Celtics, the Knicks are one of two original NBA teams still located in its original city.
Patrick Aloysius Ewing Sr. is a Jamaican-American basketball coach and former professional player who last coached for the Georgetown University men's team. He played most of his career as the starting center for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) before ending his playing career with brief stints with the Seattle SuperSonics and Orlando Magic. Ewing is regarded as one of the greatest centers of all time, playing a dominant role in the New York Knicks 1990s success.
Reginald Wayne Miller is an American former professional basketball player who played his entire 18-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Indiana Pacers. Widely recognized as one of the greatest shooters in NBA history, he was known for his precision three-point shooting, especially in pressure situations and most notably against the New York Knicks, for which he earned the nickname "Knick Killer". A five-time All-Star selection, Miller was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012 and named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.
Walter "Clyde" Frazier Jr. is an American former professional basketball player of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As their floor general and top perimeter defender, he led the New York Knicks to the franchise's only two championships, and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987. Upon his retirement from basketball, Frazier went into broadcasting; he is currently a color commentator for telecasts of Knicks games on the MSG Network. In 1996, Frazier was honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 50th Anniversary Team. In October 2021, Frazier was again honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
Charles Oakley is an American former professional basketball player. Oakley played most of 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association with the New York Knicks. As a power forward, he consistently ranked as one of the best rebounders and defensive players in the NBA. He also played for the Chicago Bulls, Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards, and Houston Rockets. Since 2017, he has been the coach of the Killer 3's of the BIG3.
The Heat–Knicks rivalry is a National Basketball Association (NBA) rivalry between the Miami Heat and New York Knicks. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, the two teams met in the NBA playoffs four years in a row from 1997–2000, with the Knicks winning three of those series and the Heat winning one. The teams most recently met in the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the 2023 NBA playoffs, which the Heat won in six games.
The Bulls–Knicks rivalry is a rivalry between the Chicago Bulls and the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The two basketball teams have played each other every year since the Bulls first joined the NBA in 1966.
The Curse of 1940, also called Dutton's Curse, was a superstitious explanation for why the National Hockey League (NHL)'s New York Rangers did not win the league's championship trophy, the Stanley Cup, from 1940 through 1994.
The 1994 NBA Finals was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1993–94 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion Houston Rockets played the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks for the championship, with the Rockets holding home-court advantage in the best-of-seven series. The Rockets defeated the Knicks 4 games to 3 to win the team's first NBA championship.
The 1985–86 NBA season was the 40th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning their third championship of the decade, beating the Houston Rockets 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals.
John Levell Starks is an American former professional basketball player who was a shooting guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was undrafted in the 1988 NBA draft after attending four colleges in his native Oklahoma, including Oklahoma State University. Starks was named an NBA All-Star while playing for the New York Knicks in the 1990s.
Patrick Aloysius Ewing Jr. is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach and general manager of the Newfoundland Growlers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL). He is the eldest son of Hall of Fame basketball player and New York Knicks legend Patrick Ewing. He has three brothers and three sisters.
The 1994 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1993-94 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Houston Rockets defeating the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals. Hakeem Olajuwon was named NBA Finals MVP.
The Trent Tucker Rule is a basketball rule that disallows any regular shot to be taken on the court if the ball is put into play with under 0.3 seconds left in game or shot clock. The rule was adopted in the 1990–91 NBA season and named after New York Knicks player Trent Tucker, and officially adopted in FIBA play starting in 2010. When the WNBA was established in 1997, this rule was adopted too.
The Knicks–Pacers rivalry is a basketball rivalry between the New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The rivalry started in 1977 and quickly became one of the most bitter in NBA history. They met in the playoffs 6 times from 1993 to 2000, fueling a rivalry epitomized by the enmity between Pacer Reggie Miller and prominent Knick fan Spike Lee. Miller likened it to the Hatfield–McCoy feud, and The New York Times said in 1998 that it was "as combustible as any in the league". There is a mutual level of respect for both teams consistently demonstrating effort, grit, and physicality during each encounter.
The 1993–94 NBA season was the 48th season for the Knicks in the National Basketball Association in New York City. This marked the last season in which the Knicks were owned by Paramount Communications, which was sold near the end of the season to Viacom, which in turn sold them to ITT Corporation and Cablevision. A couple of years later, ITT would sell their share to Cablevision. The Knicks' current owner, The Madison Square Garden Company, is a spin-off of Cablevision.
The 1994–95 New York Knicks season was the 49th season for the Knicks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Knicks entered the season as runner-ups of the 1994 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Houston Rockets in seven games. During the off-season, the Knicks acquired Doug Christie from the Los Angeles Lakers. In the 1994 NBA draft, the team selected small forward Monty Williams out of Notre Dame University with the 24th overall pick, and selected point guard Charlie Ward out of Florida State University with the 26th overall pick. However, Christie only played twelve games, because of an ankle injury, and Ward only played ten games due to a wrist injury. In December, the team released Doc Rivers to free agency; Rivers later signed as a free agent with the San Antonio Spurs. The Knicks had a 12–12 start to the season, but then won 17 of their next 19 games, held a 30–16 record at the All-Star break, and posted a 55–27 record in the Atlantic Division. They finished in second place, two games behind the top-seeded Orlando Magic. By earning the #3 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Knicks qualified for the NBA playoffs for the eighth consecutive season.
Madison Square Garden was an indoor arena in New York City, the third bearing that name. Built in 1925 and closed in 1968, it was located on the west side of Eighth Avenue between 49th and 50th streets in Manhattan, on the site of the city's trolley-car barns. It was the first Garden that was not located near Madison Square. MSG III was the home of the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League and the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association, and also hosted numerous boxing matches, the Millrose Games, the National Invitation Tournament, concerts, and other events. In 1968 it was demolished and its role and name passed to the fourth Madison Square Garden, which stands at the site of the original Penn Station. One Worldwide Plaza was built on the arena's former 50th Street location.
Games held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) on Christmas Day, December 25, have been an annual tradition since the league's second season in 1947. Since 2008, five games have been played on Christmas. Unlike the National Football League (NFL)'s traditional Thanksgiving Day games, the NBA's Christmas Day games have no fixed opponents; rather, they feature some of the best teams and players.
The New York Knickerbockers, better known as the New York Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City that competes in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Knicks play in the Eastern Conference's Atlantic Division. In its 77 seasons, the franchise has reached the NBA Finals eight times and won two championships. As of the end of the 2021–22 season, New York has won more than 2,900 regular season games, and the team had the fourth-highest victory total in NBA history. Since 1968, the Knicks have played home games at Madison Square Garden.