The New York Knicks are one of the premier franchises in the history of the NBA, despite the fact that they have not had anywhere near the championship success as teams like the Boston Celtics or Los Angeles Lakers.
The Knicks have not won an NBA championship since 1973. The 52 seasons since that title is one of the longest droughts in the NBA behind the Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks, Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers. And it’s probably felt just as long since their last trip to the NBA Finals.
The last title for the orange and blue came in 1973.
The New York Knicks joined the NBA in 1949. Led by Hall of Famers Dick McGuire and Harry Gallatin, they lost three straight NBA Finals from 1951 to 1953 losing to George Mikan’s Los Angeles Lakers twice.
In 1951 they lost to the Rochester Royals who were led by Hall of Famers Arnie Risen and Bob Davies. The Royals also featured a point guard named Red Holzman.
Holzman would eventually make the Hall of Fame himself after turning the Knicks into contenders in the late 1960’s as their head coach.
The Knicks won their first NBA championship in the 1970 NBA Finals. After missing Game 6 of the series with an injury, Willis Reed helped will his team to a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 7, hitting his first two shots of the game.
Three years later the Knicks won again in a Finals rematch against the Lakers. Led by Holzman, Reed, Walt Frazier and future New Jersey senator Bill Bradley, the Knicks beat Jerry West and the Lakers in five games.
The Knicks have not won a title since that era.
The Knicks haven’t been to the NBA Finals since 1999. They also haven’t been to the conference finals since 2000 when they lost to the Indiana Pacers, Reggie Miller, Jalen Rose and head coach Larry Bird. Having not been to the conference finals in a quarter century they own the longest drought in the NBA behind the Washington Wizards (46 years) and Charlotte Hornets who have never been in 37 years.
The Knicks’ last NBA Finals appearance was in the lockout-shortened 1998-1999 season. The Knicks went 27-23 and finished one game ahead of the Charlotte Hornets for the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. That Knicks team was led by Latrell Sprewell, Allan Houston, Patrick Ewing and Larry Johnson. Ewing went down with an injury during the conference finals and the team advanced to the Finals for the first time since drafting him; The Ewing Theory was born.
It’s also worth mentioning that second-year guard RIck Brunson appeared in nine games during the Knicks last Finals run. His son, Jalen, was two years old at the time.
The New York Knicks have played in eight NBA Finals, winning two. Those two titles tie them with the Houston Rockets and Milwaukee Bucks for the ninth most all-time.
|
Knicks Title Year |
Finals Opponent |
Series Result |
Finals MVP |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1970 |
Los Angeles Lakers |
4-3 |
Willis Reed |
|
1973 |
Los Angeles Lakers |
4-1 |
Willis Reed |
The Knicks’ six NBA Finals loses tie them with the Philadelphia 76ers for the second most of all-time. The Los Angeles Lakers have the most NBA Finals loses of all-time with 15, including the two they lost to the Knicks in the early 70’s.
