New York Knicks
The New York Knicks are one of the original eleven franchises of the Basketball Association of America (1946-49, the league that became the NBA after the 1949 merger with the National Basketball League). They are one of only two charter franchises (alongside the Boston Celtics) that have never relocated or been sold out of their original city. They have won two NBA championships (1970 and 1973), both with largely the same roster under head coach Red Holzman. They have reached six NBA Finals. They have, since 1968, played their home games at Madison Square Garden, which is still the most-cited basketball arena in American professional sports. Their playoff drought between 2013 and 2023 (no playoff series win in ten seasons) is, by any reasonable accounting, the worst of any large-market NBA franchise of the 2010s decade. They have, in 2026, recovered to sustained competitiveness behind Jalen Brunson and head coach Tom Thibodeau.
Founding (1946) and the Basketball Association of America
The Knicks were a 1946 charter member of the Basketball Association of America. They played their first game on November 1, 1946 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto against the Toronto Huskies; the Knicks won 68-66. The founding owner was Ned Irish, the Madison Square Garden Corporation executive who had run the Garden’s college basketball events since the early 1930s. The team was named the “Knickerbockers” after the Dutch settlers of early New York, later shortened to “Knicks.” They finished the first BAA season at 33-27 and made the playoffs.
The 1970 and 1973 championships
The Red Holzman era (1967-78) produced the only two championships in franchise history. The 1969-70 Knicks went 60-22, the best regular-season record in NBA history at that point. Head coach Red Holzman installed a defensive system based on switching every screen and communicating every possession. The starting lineup of Walt Frazier, Dick Barnett, Dave DeBusschere, Bill Bradley, and Willis Reed reached the 1970 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. In Game 7 at Madison Square Garden on May 8, 1970, Willis Reed, nursing a torn thigh muscle that had ruled him out of Game 6, limped onto the court for pre-game warmups to a standing ovation that is still the single most-replayed pre-game moment in American basketball broadcast history. Reed scored the first two baskets of the game, played 27 minutes on one leg, and the Knicks won 113-99. Reed was the Finals MVP. Walt Frazier was the offensive centerpiece (36 points, 19 assists in Game 7).
The 1972-73 Knicks, with the same core plus the addition of Earl “The Pearl” Monroe (acquired from the Baltimore Bullets), beat the Lakers 4-1 in the Finals. Reed was again the Finals MVP. It was the last NBA championship the Knicks have won. Harvey Araton’s When the Garden Was Eden (Harper, 2011) is the definitive account of both championship teams and the era that produced them.
The post-Holzman drought (1978–1985)
The Knicks missed the playoffs five times in the eight seasons between Holzman’s 1978 resignation and 1985. The team was rebuilding around Bill Cartwright, Michael Ray Richardson, and a revolving cast of head coaches.
The 1985 Lottery and the Patrick Ewing era (1985–2000)
On May 12, 1985, at the first NBA Draft Lottery, Commissioner David Stern pulled an envelope bearing the Knicks’ logo, giving New York the first pick of the 1985 draft. The Knicks took Patrick Ewing (detailed on our Patrick Ewing biography). The Ewing era spanned 15 seasons. The Knicks were perennial playoff teams throughout the 1990s under head coaches Rick Pitino, Stu Jackson, Dave Oakley (interim), and, most consequentially, Pat Riley (1991-95) and Jeff Van Gundy (1995-2001).
The 1993-94 Knicks reached the 1994 Finals and lost to the Houston Rockets in seven. The 1998-99 Knicks reached the 1999 Finals as an 8 seed and lost to the San Antonio Spurs in five (with Ewing injured for the Finals). Both series are covered in detail on our Patrick Ewing biography and our Hakeem Olajuwon biography.
Pat Riley resigned abruptly in June 1995 and signed with the Miami Heat, a move the Knicks ownership considered a breach of contract and which produced three years of arbitration. Jeff Van Gundy took over head-coaching duties and led the Knicks to the 1999 Finals.
The Isiah Thomas era (2003–2008)
The 2003-08 Knicks, under Isiah Thomas as president of basketball operations, are the single most-mocked competitive era in franchise history. The team went 142-252 across five seasons. Thomas drafted and traded a series of players (Stephon Marbury, Eddy Curry, Jamal Crawford, Zach Randolph) in configurations that produced zero playoff appearances and multiple front-office lawsuits. He was fired in April 2008.
The Carmelo Anthony era (2011–2017)
On February 22, 2011, the Knicks acquired Carmelo Anthony from the Denver Nuggets in a multi-team trade (details on our Carmelo Anthony biography). The 2012-13 Knicks went 54-28 and won the Atlantic Division (the first division title since 1994). They beat Boston in the first round and lost to Indiana in the second round. It remains the only playoff series victory the franchise has had between 2000 and 2023.
The 2013-2017 Knicks, under Phil Jackson as president (hired in March 2014), missed the playoffs four consecutive years. Anthony was traded to Oklahoma City in September 2017.
The playoff drought (2013–2023) and the Jalen Brunson revival
The Knicks missed the playoffs in nine of ten seasons from 2013 to 2023. The drought was the worst sustained run in franchise history.
On June 22, 2022, the Knicks signed Jalen Brunson as an unrestricted free agent from the Dallas Mavericks to a four-year, $104 million contract. The signing is, in 2026, widely considered the single best free-agent signing of the 2020s decade. Head coach Tom Thibodeau (hired in 2020) and president Leon Rose built around Brunson. The 2023-24 Knicks went 50-32 and reached the Eastern Conference Finals, losing to the Boston Celtics (detailed on our Jayson Tatum biography). The 2024-25 Knicks went 51-31 and lost in the second round to the Indiana Pacers. The 2025-26 Knicks are entering the final weeks of the regular season tied for the East’s three seed.
Madison Square Garden
The Knicks have played at Madison Square Garden since February 11, 1968. The current building is the fourth to bear the name and the second Knicks home Garden (the team previously played at the Garden III, which closed in 1968). It is the oldest active arena in the NBA. It is also, by concession revenue and game-night economic impact, the most valuable arena in American professional sports. Tickets to Knicks playoff games at Madison Square Garden are routinely the most expensive in the NBA.
Retired numbers and franchise records
The Knicks have retired nine jersey numbers: Walt Frazier (#10), Dick Barnett (#12), Willis Reed (#19), Earl Monroe (#15), Bill Bradley (#24), Dave DeBusschere (#22), Patrick Ewing (#33), Red Holzman (#613 for his career win total), and Dick McGuire (#15). Charles Oakley’s #34 is expected to be retired in the 2026-27 season.
Patrick Ewing is the franchise’s all-time leading scorer, rebounder, and shot-blocker. Walt Frazier is the all-time leader in assists. Willis Reed is the all-time leader in win shares.
Legacy
The Knicks are one of four NBA franchises that have never relocated. They are one of two charter franchises (with Boston) that remain in their original city with their original name. They have won two championships in 80 years, a ratio that is below the league median. The single-city market value of the franchise, however, is among the highest in the NBA; Forbes’s 2025 valuation placed the Knicks second in the league behind only the Golden State Warriors. Madison Square Garden as a venue and the Knicks as a brand are, by every reasonable measurement, the most valuable basketball property in American sports.
The 2023-2026 Thibodeau-Brunson era has given the franchise its first sustained playoff run of the 21st century. The 2024 Eastern Conference Finals appearance was the deepest playoff run since the 2000 Eastern Conference Finals. The 2026 playoffs will test whether the trajectory is sustainable.
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Sources
Basketball-Reference is the primary franchise statistical source. The 1970 and 1973 championship narrative is documented in Harvey Araton’s 2011 book When the Garden Was Eden (Harper). The 1985 Lottery context is from Chris Ramsay’s 2015 ESPN retrospective. The Ewing-era Finals narrative is from The New York Times’s Knicks coverage archive. The Thibodeau-Brunson era is from the New York Post and New York Times NBA beat coverage.
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