The New York Knicks, whose name is short for "Knickerbockers," play at the well-known Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Knicks used to be in the Basketball Association of America, which no longer exists. In 1949, the Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball League merged to form the National Basketball Association. In the first ten years of the NBA, from 1951 to 1953, the Knicks played in three straight NBA Finals games. They are one of only two original NBA teams that are still in the same city today. The Knicks beat the Toronto Huskies 68-66 in their first game. In the 1950s, the Knicks continued to have good teams, but in the 1960s, they went down a lot.
From 1960 to 1966, the Knicks were always at the bottom of their division. During this time, the Knicks lost to the Los Angeles Lakers 162-100, and Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points against them on March 3, 1962. These are two of the worst losses in Knicks history. Over the next few years, the Knicks drafted some good players, including future NBA Rookie of the Year Willis Reed, Bill Bradley, and Dave Stallworth. The Knicks showed promise in 1967, so their general manager hired Red Holzman to be their head coach. That year, the Knicks again made the playoffs. The Knicks made it to the finals in 1969, but the Boston Celtics beat them.
During the 1969–1970 season, the Knicks won 18 games in a row. They ended the year with a 60–22 record, which was the best in the team's history. In 1970, the Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers would play for the NBA title. In game seven, they won in a very exciting way when an injured Willis Reed walked on the court and made two baskets. This was later voted one of the best moments in the history of Madison Square Garden. The jersey numbers of the first five players on the 1970 Knicks team have all been retired.
In 1971, the team didn't make it back to the NBA Championships. In 1972, they played in the NBA Finals again, but this time the Los Angeles Lakers beat the New York Knicks in five games. The next year, the Knicks beat the Lakers and won their second NBA title in three years. They did this by beating them in five games. The Knicks had another great season in 1973-1974. They made it to the Eastern Conference finals, but lost to the Celtics in five games. Willis Reed is retiring at the end of this season, which makes the future of the Knicks uncertain.
The rest of the 1970s weren't very exciting for the New York Knicks, except for the fact that a young bench player and defensive specialist named Phil Jackson was on those teams. Jackson went on to coach the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers to a total of nine championships, which tied him with legendary basketball coach Red Auerbach.
After a bad 1984–85 season, the Knicks won the first pick in the first-ever NBA Draft Lottery. They chose Georgetown University centre Patrick Ewing. In 1986, Ewing won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, but the team didn't do as well. With Ewing, the Knicks won four division titles and two Conference titles.
The Knicks seem to be in another one of their multi-year slumps right now. If the past is any guide, some new players will shake up the team again and put the Knicks on the path to winning another NBA title.
