New York Knicks

Lore & Background

Established in 1946 by Ned Irish, the New York Knicks were among the founding members of the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which merged with the National Basketball League (NBL) in 1949 to form the NBA. Under their first head coach, Joe Lapchick, the Knicks were a perennial playoff contender, reaching three consecutive NBA Finals between 1951 and 1953 but never winning a championship. After Lapchick resigned in 1956, the franchise entered a prolonged decline, reaching the playoffs once between 1956 and 1966. The Knicks returned to prominence in the late 1960s under head coach Red Holzman, winning their first NBA championships in 1970 and 1973. They made six playoff appearances in the 1980s but did not reach the NBA Finals. In the 1990s, led by Hall of Fame center Patrick Ewing and the team's physical, defense-oriented style under head coaches Pat Riley and Jeff Van Gundy, the Knicks reached the NBA Finals in 1994 and 1999, but did not win a championship. After Ewing's departure, the Knicks entered another prolonged period of playoff absences, and although Hall of Fame forwards Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire led the team to a division title in 2013 (their first in 19 years), the team suffered their worst-ever regular season records thereafter. After signing guard Jalen Brunson in 2022, and acquiring Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Karl-Anthony Towns between 2023 and 2024, the Knicks returned to playoff contention and won the NBA championship in 2026, ending their 53-year championship drought.

In Their Own Story

The arena is half-empty by the fourth quarter, but the noise is a living thing. You can feel it in the floorboards, in the way the hardwood vibrates under the sneakers of a Knicks forward setting a screen that looks more like a tackle. The scoreboard reads 87–84, and the clock is bleeding down. You are in the lower bowl, three rows back from the scorer's table, and your hands are cold despite the March heat. The Pacers guard brings the ball up, calls the play, and for one breath you think—maybe, maybe this is the one. Then the Knicks' big man rotates, takes the charge, and the whistle cuts the arena in half. You look up at the jumbotron. You look at the Knicks bench, where they are already clapping, already smiling. You look back at the court. The ball is inbounded. The clock reads 2:14. And you know, with the quiet certainty of a man who has watched this exact sequence four times in six years, that you are going to drive home in the dark and not say a word until you pull into the driveway. The Knicks don't need to be the best team in the building. They just need to be there, in the round, in the way, in the way that turns your season into a footnote and their season into a story they will tell for a decade.

Reader's Guide

The Knicks' history includes early success under Joe Lapchick, three consecutive NBA Finals appearances from 1951 to 1953, and championships in 1970 and 1973 under Red Holzman. The team reached the NBA Finals in 1994 and 1999 but did not win. After a long drought, they won the championship in 2026.

Did You Know?

• The Knicks were named after the pseudonym used by Washington Irving in his book A History of New York.
• The Knicks played some of their early home games at the 69th Regiment Armory due to Madison Square Garden's crowded schedule.
• The Knicks signed Nathaniel Clifton in 1950, becoming the first professional basketball team to sign an African American player.