New York Knicks

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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 Knicks' early years were shaped by Ned Irish, a college basketball promoter and then president of Madison Square Garden, who won the franchise at the June 6, 1946 meeting at the Commodore Hotel. Irish wanted a distinct name for his franchise that was representative of the city of New York. He called together members of his staff for a meeting to cast their votes in a hat. After tallying the votes, the franchise was named the Knickerbockers. The 'Knickerbocker' name stems from the pseudonymous pen name used by Washington Irving in his A History of New York, a name that became applied to the descendants of the original Dutch settlers of what later became New York, and later, by extension, to New Yorkers in general. In search of a head coach, Irish approached successful St. John's University coach Joe Lapchick in May 1946. Lapchick readily accepted after Irish promised to make him the highest-paid coach in the league; however, he requested he remain at St. John's one more season in hopes of winning one last championship. Irish obliged, hiring former Manhattan College coach Neil Cohalan as interim coach for the first year. The Knicks held their first training camp in the Catskill Mountains at the Nevele Country Club. Twenty-five players were invited to attend the three-week session. With a roster assembled, the Knicks faced the Toronto Huskies at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens on November 1, 1946, in what would be the franchise's first game—as well as the first in league history. In a low-scoring affair presented in front of 7,090 spectators, the Knicks defeated the Huskies 68–66, with Leo Gottlieb leading the Knicks in scoring with 14 points. The Knicks went on to finish their inaugural campaign with a 33–27 record and achieved a playoff berth under Cohalan despite a dismal shooting percentage of 28 percent. The Knicks faced the Cleveland Rebels in the quarterfinals, winning the series 2–1. However, the Knicks were swept by the Philadelphia Warriors in two games in the semifinals. As promised, Lapchick took over in 1947, bringing with him his up-tempo coaching style, which emphasized fast ball movement. Six new players were signed, including guard Carl Braun and Japanese-American guard Wataru Misaka, the first non-Caucasian basketball player in the BAA. Under Lapchick, the Knicks made nine straight playoff appearances beginning in 1947. Braun, who averaged 14.3 points, emerged as the team's star and paired with Dick Holub and Bud Palmer to account for half of the team's offense. Despite this, the Knicks struggled throughout the year, compiling a 26–22 record. Their finish was good enough to place them second in the Eastern Division and secure a playoff match-up against the Baltimore Bullets, where they lost the series two games to one. In the 1948 NBA draft, the Knicks selected two future Hall of Fame players in center Dolph Schayes and Harry Gallatin. The Knicks were leery of Schayes' talent, prompting the center to leave to play for the Syracuse Nationals of the struggling National Basketball League. Despite losing Schayes, the team started the year well, going 17–8 before they fell into a slump. They ended the year with a seven-game win streak to finish with a 32–28 record and a third-straight playoff appearance. The Knicks defeated the Bullets in a rematch of their previous encounter in 1947, winning the series 2–1. The team however struggled against the Washington Capitols and lost the series 1–2. Prior to the beginning of the 1949–50 season, the BAA merged with the National Basketball League to form the National Basketball Association, which initially comprised 17 teams. Despite division realignments, the Knicks remained in the Eastern Division. The team continued its dominance under Lapchick, winning 40 games; however they lost the Eastern Division finals to the Syracuse Nationals. The following season, the Knicks made history signing Nathaniel Clifton to a contract, thus becoming the first professional basketball team to sign an African American player. During this same season, the Knicks finished with a 36–30 record. Though they placed third in their division, they secured a playoff spot and made the first of three consecutive trips to the NBA Finals. In the 1951 Finals, the Knicks could not overcome the Rochester Royals despite a valiant comeback after losing the first three games of the series. The next two years, in 1952 and 1953, New York fell to the Minneapolis Lakers in the Finals. In the first couple of seasons following the BAA's merger with the NBL to become the NBA, the Knicks under Ned Irish's ownership and management would threaten to leave the newly-merged league multiple times in relation to some of the things going on with the NBL's teams that were entering the newly-merged NBA in question (such as location problems or conduct that was seen as 'disgraceful' toward the Knicks), though they ultimately never left the league despite the threats being perceived as serious ones at the time due to the team's status within the league. It was during this early period that the Knicks developed their first standout player in Carl Braun, who retired as the Knicks leading scorer with 10,449 points before later being surpassed by the likes of Patrick Ewing, Walt Frazier and Willis Reed. Harry Gallatin and Dick McGuire were also well-known standouts on the team and were later enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Following these back-to-back Finals losses, the Knicks again made the playoffs in the subsequent two years, but with no success. Lapchick resigned as the team's head coach in January 1956, citing health-related issues. Vince Boryla made his debut in February 1956 as the Knicks' new coach in a win over the St. Louis Hawks. However, after two seasons of poor performances and no playoff appearances, Boryla tendered his resignation.

Did You Know?

• The Knicks' first game was on November 1, 1946, against the Toronto Huskies at Maple Leaf Gardens, which was also the first game in league history; the Knicks won 68–66.
• The Knicks were named by Ned Irish after a hat vote among his staff; the name 'Knickerbockers' comes from Washington Irving's pseudonym in A History of New York.
• Carl Braun retired as the Knicks' all-time leading scorer with 10,449 points, later surpassed by Patrick Ewing, Walt Frazier, and Willis Reed.
• The Knicks won their first NBA championship in 1970 under head coach Red Holzman, and won again in 1973.