New York Knicks

The New York Knicks, originally named, The New York Knickerbockers was established by Ned Irish in the year 1946. Irish was also one of the founding members of the BAA, Basketball Association of America, which later became the NBA after merging with its rival National Basketball League (NBL) in 1949. Along with the Boston Celtics, the Knicks are one of two original teams located in its original city.?

The Knicks held their first training camp in the Catskill Mountains at the Nevele Country Club. Twenty-five players were invited to attend this three-week session. With a roster now, the Knicks held their first game on November 1, 1946, at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens against the Toronto Huskies. It would also be the league's first game. The Knicks defeated the Huskies 68?66 with Leo Gottlieb leading the Knicks in scoring with 14 points.?

New York Knicks in a Glimpse

Conference

Eastern

Division

Atlantic
Location

New York City, New York

Team Colours

Royal Blue, Orange, Silver, Black, White
Ownership?

Madison Square Garden Sports

Affiliation

Westchester Knicks

Championships?

TWO (1970, 1973)

Conference Titles

FOUR (1972, 1973, 1994, 1999)

Division Titles

EIGHT (1953, 1954, 1970, 1971, 1989, 1993, 1994, 2013)

via Imago

History of Knicks throughout the years

The Knicks had great success in its initial phase under the franchise's first head coach Joe Lapchick. His coaching style focused on fast ball movement. The Knicks signed six new players, including guards Carl Braun and Wataru Misaka. Under Lapchick, the Knicks made three consecutive appearances in the NBA Finals, all of which were losing efforts. Lapchick resigned in 1956 citing health reasons. The team subsequently began to falter.

It wasn't until the late 1960s that the Knicks managed to get back on top under head coach Red Holzman. In the 1969-70 season, the Knicks faced off against the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA finals. The 1964 draft pick Willis Reed was the captain at the time. When it comes down to it, it was Reed's determination that inspired his team to fight. Despite tearing a? muscle in his right leg in the second quarter, he went back on the court for the seventh game. Though he couldn't do much, his genuineness didn't go unnoticed. They won the game by a score of 113?99, allowing New York to capture the title that seemed to have been slipping through their fingers for so long. NY Knicks would go on to win their second title in 1972 after defeating the Lakers in five games.?

1970s to 1990s

From 1973 through to 1996, the Knicks would go through a volley of division wins, and playoff losses, getting just that much closer to semi-finals, trades, resignations, draft picks and more. These years also saw some top names like Bernard King, Patrick Ewing, Mark Jackson, Charles Oakley, etc.

USA Today via Reuters

Pat Riley accepted the head coach position in 1991 and immediately implemented a rough and physical style emphasizing defense. The 1993-94 season saw the Knicks reach their first NBA Finals since 1973. Unfortunately, the season ended with the Houston Rockets defeating the Knicks 4 games to 3, taking the title with them.?

Mid 1990s to early 2010

From 1993 to 2013, the Knicks went through a massive downfall. From frequent changes in coaches to trading off players like changing socks, the New York Knicks had their more than fair share of problems.

A well-known example of what the team went through would be the 2007 controversy of Anucha Brown Sanders, a former Knicks executive. She filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against the then-president Isaiah Thomas and Madison Square Garden. This resulted in a hefty fine of $11.5 million in settlement between the two parties, not to mention some major questions regarding the management.?

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A few notable players around this time would include Carmelo Anthony. He sealed the franchise's first winning season since 2001 on April 10, 2011, by scoring the game-winning basket and making a key block in the final seconds.

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Another noteworthy player would be Jeremy Lin. Lin was praised for his ability to facilitate the offense, something the Knicks had struggled to do for the first 23 games of the season.

He guided the Knicks to a seven-game winning streak, bringing the team back to a .500 winning percentage. This got national media coverage, which led to this period being termed as "Linsanity".?

2013 to present

The Knicks also saw changes to business operations in late 2013, replacing general manager Glen Grunwald with former MSG president Steve Mills. They then proceeded to appoint former coach Phil Jackson as president under Mills. In 2014, Forbes ranked the Knicks as the most valuable basketball team at $1.4 billion. On March 2, 2020, Leon Rose was named president of the team, with Tom Thibadeau as the head coach.

The 2022 off-season brought a lot of change to the Knicks' roster. On June 12, 2022, the Knicks signed point guard Jalen Brunson to a four-year contract, with hopes he could bring some much-needed stability to the position. The Knicks completed the 2022?23 season with a 47?35 record, finishing in fifth place in the Eastern Conference.?

Ownership of the New York Knicks

USA Today via Reuters

  • James L Dolan is the current owner of the New York Knicks. He also serves as the Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MSG Entertainment.?

  • The President of the Knicks is Leon Rose.

  • Scot Perry is the General Manager of the Knicks.

  • Walter Perrin works as the Assistant GM of the Knicks.

  • Thomas Joseph Thibodeau Jr., popularly called as ?Thibs? is the head coach of the team.

  • The associate head coach is Johnnie Bryant, with Daniel Brady, Rick Brunson, Darren Erman, Andy Greer, Larry Greer, and Othella Harrington as assistant coaches.?

Overall Stats of the Knicks (2022-23)

OVERALL2022-23
GP82
MIN48.7
PTS116.0
W47
L35
WIN%.573
FGM42.0
FGA89.4
FG%47.0
3PM12.6
3PA35.7
3P%35.4
FTM19.4
FTA25.5
FT%76.1
OREB12.6
DREB34.0
REB46.6
AST22.9
TOV13.0
STL6.4
BLK4.1
PF20.3

The New York Knicks Roster

  1. Jaylen Martin?

  2. Jacob Toppin

  3. Donte DiVincenzo

  4. Miles McBride

  5. Josh Hart

  6. Duane Washington Jr.

  7. Immanuel Quickley

  8. Quentin Grimes

  9. DaQuan Jeffries

  10. RJ Barrett

  11. DylanWindler

  12. Jalen Brunson

  13. Evan Fournier

  14. Nathan Knight

  15. Charlie Brown Jr.

  16. Isaiah Roby

  17. Mitchell Robinson

  18. Julius Randle

  19. Jericho Sims

  20. Ryan Arcidiacono

  21. Isaiah Hartenstein

via Imago

Top-paid players of the New York Knicks

PG Jalen Brunson: $27,733,332

  • Contract: 4 years, $104,000,000

PF Julius Randle: $23,760,000

  • Contract: 4 years, $117,089,280

SG Evan Fournier: $18,000,000

  • Contract: 4 years, $73,000,000

C Mitchell Robinson: $17,045,454

  • Contract: 4 years, $60,000,000

PG Derrick Rose: $14,520,730

  • Contract: 3 years, $43,562,189

Official Handles and Team Information

Website

Knicks.com

Official Instagram handle

New York Knicks IG
Official Twitter handle

New York Knicks X

Official YouTube handle

New York Knicks YT

Arena

Madison Square Garden

First Knicks game in Arena

February 14, 1968

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