History of the New York Knicks

The New York Knicks are a professional basketball team playing in the National Basketball Association. The team has been in existence since 1946.

In 1946 the team began play in the Basketball Association of America. The team was one of the original teams in the league. The league eventually merged with the National Basketball League to start the National Basketball Association.

The Knicks have been one of America’s favorite teams for almost the entire existence of the team. New York is the biggest market available in the United States and the team draws a lot of money and attention regardless of the amount of success that the team achieves. The team has been in the dumps for years now, but they were once a successful, powerful team.

The late 60’s and early 70’s treated the New York Knicks very well. The team was led by star player Walt “Clyde” Frazier and coached by Red Holzman. The team had just been on a streak of not making the playoffs for the better part of 10 years when things were revived in 1968.

The team went on to become a solid contender for the championship each year for nearly a decade. The team really started to hit its stride in 1970. In 1970 the team put together a record 18 straight victories(the record is not still intact) and won 60 games. Those 60 wins represent the highest total of wins that the team has had in team history to this day.

As the playoffs came the team began to march through their Eastern Conference opponents. The team beat the Bullets and Bucks before facing the Los Angeles Lakers for the title.

The Lakers and Knicks started out the series tied 2-2. Game 5 would be crucial in deciding the outcome of the series. Unfortunately for the Knicks, Willis Reed was injured and could not play the rest of the game. Despite the loss of Reed the team went on to take a come from behind victory in game 5. The team could not close out the series in game 6 without Reed and the series would be stretched to the limit of 7 games. The 7th game held one of the classic moments in NBA history. Willis Reed had been injured and was not expected to play. Against all odds Reed came limping to the sideline and onto the court, ready to play in the game. He did not play one of his best games, but did score the first 2 buckets of the game. That was inspiring enough to get the team motivated to take the championship in 1970.

That victory marked the first NBA Championship for the New York Knicks. In 1973 the team was able to bring home another NBA Championship to New York. This was the capstone of the run that the Knicks made in the 70’s. These two championships would help the team be remembered as one of the greatest teams in the early 70s.

The Knicks have never been the same since those glory days. They have managed to make NBA Finals and to win games in the playoffs, but they have not been able to bring home a championship for nearly 40 years.