Editing New York Knicks (section)

===1985–2000: the Patrick Ewing era===
[[File:Patrick Ewing ca. 1995 cropped.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Patrick Ewing played for the Knicks from 1985 to 2000, leading them to the Finals in 1994 and 1999.]]
In the summer of 1985, the Knicks were entered into the first-ever [[NBA draft lottery]].<ref name="Ewing era">{{Citation |title=The Draft That Changed It All. Tanks to '84, the lottery was born |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/sports/2005/05/22/2005-05-22_the_draft_that_changed_it_al.html |work=New York Daily News |author=Bondy, Flip |date=May 22, 2005 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240525100547/https://www.webcitation.org/600WDBDwj?url=http://articles.nydailynews.com/2005-05-22/sports/18292722_1_lottery-flips-draft-ladder |archive-date=May 25, 2024 |access-date=July 7, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The Knicks ended up winning the number one pick in that year's [[1985 NBA draft|NBA draft]]. They used the pick to select star [[forward (basketball)|center]] [[Patrick Ewing]] of [[Georgetown University]].<ref name="Ewing era"/> In Ewing's first season with the Knicks, he led all rookies in scoring (20 points per game) and [[rebound (sports term)|rebounds]] (9 rebounds per game), and he won the [[NBA Rookie of the Year Award]].<ref>{{cite web |title=1985–86 NBA Awards Voting: Rookie of the Year |url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/awards/awards_1986.html#roy |publisher=Basketball Reference |access-date=July 7, 2011 |archive-date=August 5, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805093814/http://www.basketball-reference.com/awards/awards_1986.html#roy |url-status=live}}</ref> The team would not fare as well, though, as they struggled to a 23–59 record in his first season.<ref name="Franchise index"/>

During Ewing's second season, the team started with a 4–12 record and head coach Hubie Brown was dismissed in favor of assistant [[Bob Hill]].<ref>{{Citation |title=Knicks, 4–12 And Going Nowhere, Dismiss Brown |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/12/02/sports/knicks-4-12-and-going-nowhere-dismiss-brown.html?scp=4&sq=Hill+to+replace+Brown+in+New+york&st=nyt |work=The New York Times |author=Johnson, Roy S. |date=December 2, 1986 |access-date=July 7, 2011 |archive-date=March 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306021600/http://www.nytimes.com/1986/12/02/sports/knicks-4-12-and-going-nowhere-dismiss-brown.html?scp=4&sq=Hill+to+replace+Brown+in+New+york&st=nyt |url-status=live}}</ref> Under Hill, the Knicks had brief successes but went on to lose seventeen of their twenty-one final games of the season to finish 20–46 under Hill and 24–58 on the season.<ref>{{Citation |title=Pro Basketball; Knicks' Streak At 4 In Rout Of Clippers |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/08/sports/pro-basketball-knicks-streak-at-4-in-rout-of-clippers.html |work=The New York Times |author=Johnson, Roy S. |date=March 8, 1987 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306021557/http://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/08/sports/pro-basketball-knicks-streak-at-4-in-rout-of-clippers.html |archive-date=March 6, 2014 |access-date=July 7, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=1986–87 New York Knicks Schedule and Results |url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NYK/1987_games.html |publisher=Basketball Reference |access-date=July 7, 2011 |archive-date=August 7, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807071207/http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NYK/1987_games.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Hill was dismissed at season's end.<ref name="Pitino turnaround">{{Citation |title=Knicks, Ending 84-Day Search, Name Pitino Coach; He Leaves Providence to '{{sic|Fufill |nolink=y}} Dream' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/07/14/sports/knicks-ending-84-day-search-name-pitino-coach-he-leaves-providence-fufill-dream.html?scp=1&sq=Knicks+name+Pitino+as+coach&st=nyt |work=The New York Times |author=Johnson, Roy S. |date=July 14, 1987 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306021547/http://www.nytimes.com/1987/07/14/sports/knicks-ending-84-day-search-name-pitino-coach-he-leaves-providence-fufill-dream.html?scp=1&sq=Knicks+name+Pitino+as+coach&st=nyt |archive-date=March 6, 2014 |access-date=July 7, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The team immediately turned around in the [[1987–88 NBA season|1987–88 season]] with the hiring of [[Rick Pitino]] as head coach, who, only months prior to his hiring, led [[Providence Friars men's basketball|Providence College]] to the [[Final Four]], turning around a program that had struggled prior to his arrival.<ref name="Pitino turnaround"/> Combined with the selection of point guard [[Mark Jackson (basketball)|Mark Jackson]], who won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award and garnered MVP consideration, in the [[1987 NBA draft|draft]] and with Ewing's consistently stellar play, the Knicks made [[1988 NBA playoffs|the playoffs]] with a record of 38–44, where they were defeated by the Celtics in the first round.<ref>{{cite web |title=1987–88 New York Knicks Roster and Statistics |url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NYK/1988.html |publisher=Basketball Reference |access-date=July 7, 2011 |archive-date=June 4, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604141640/http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NYK/1988.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=1987–88 NBA Awards Voting |url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/awards/awards_1988.html |publisher=Basketball Reference |access-date=July 7, 2011 |archive-date=August 5, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805093624/http://www.basketball-reference.com/awards/awards_1988.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

The resurgence continued [[1988–89 NBA season|the following season]] as the team traded backup center [[Bill Cartwright]] to the Bulls for [[power forward (basketball)|power forward]] [[Charles Oakley]] before the season started and then posted a 52–30 record, which was good enough for their first [[Atlantic Division (NBA)|division]] title in 18 years and their fifth division title in franchise history.<ref>{{cite web |title=1987–88 New York Knicks Transactions |url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NYK/1988_transactions.html |publisher=Basketball Reference |access-date=July 19, 2011 |archive-date=January 26, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126082155/http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NYK/1988_transactions.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="88-89 record">{{cite web |title=1988–89 New York Knicks Roster and Statistics |url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NYK/1989.html |publisher=Basketball Reference |access-date=July 19, 2011 |archive-date=April 16, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416114318/http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NYK/1989.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=Knicks Win a Title On Day Off |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/04/12/sports/knicks-win-a-title-on-day-off.html?scp=1&sq=Knicks,+division+title&st=nyt |work=The New York Times |author=Goldaper, Sam |date=April 12, 1989 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181126135105/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/04/12/sports/knicks-win-a-title-on-day-off.html?scp=1&sq=Knicks,+division+title&st=nyt |archive-date=November 26, 2018 |access-date=July 19, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In [[1989 NBA playoffs|the playoffs]], they defeated the 76ers in the first round before losing to the [[Chicago Bulls]] in the [[Eastern Conference (NBA)|Eastern Conference]] semi-finals.<ref name="88-89 record"/>

Prior to the start of the [[1989–90 NBA season|1989–90 season]], Pitino departed from New York to coach for the [[Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball|University of Kentucky]] leaving many stunned by his departure.<ref>{{Citation |title=Reactions Emotional As Pitino Makes Move |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/31/sports/reactions-emotional-as-pitino-makes-move.html |work=The New York Times |author=Wolff, Craig |date=May 31, 1989 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140405001100/http://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/31/sports/reactions-emotional-as-pitino-makes-move.html |archive-date=April 5, 2014 |access-date=July 19, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Assistant [[Stu Jackson]] was named as Pitino's replacement becoming the team's 14th head coach and the youngest head coach in the NBA, at the time, at the age of 32.<ref>{{Citation |title=Jackson, Pitino Assistant, to Coach Knicks |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/07/08/sports/jackson-pitino-assistant-to-coach-knicks.html |work=The New York Times |author=Goldaper, Sam |date=July 8, 1989 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140405002341/http://www.nytimes.com/1989/07/08/sports/jackson-pitino-assistant-to-coach-knicks.html |archive-date=April 5, 2014 |access-date=July 19, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Under Jackson's direction, the Knicks went 45–37 and defeated the Celtics in the first round of [[1990 NBA playoffs|the playoffs]], winning the final three games after losing the first two. They went on to lose to the eventual NBA champion [[Detroit Pistons]] in the next round.<ref>{{cite web |title=1989–90 New York Knicks Roster and Statistics |url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NYK/1990.html |publisher=Basketball Reference |access-date=July 19, 2011 |archive-date=August 7, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807011714/http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NYK/1990.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Jackson and the Knicks struggled to a 7–8 record to begin the [[1990–91 NBA season|1990–91 season]] and Jackson was replaced by [[John MacLeod (basketball)|John MacLeod]] who led the Knicks to a 32–35 record, ending the season with a 39–43 record overall that was good enough to earn the team another playoff appearance. The Knicks were swept in the first round by the eventual NBA champion, Chicago Bulls.<ref>{{cite web |title=1990–91 New York Knicks Roster and Statistics |url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NYK/1991.html |publisher=Basketball Reference |access-date=July 19, 2011 |archive-date=August 4, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110804025123/http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NYK/1991.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

====1991–1996: the Pat Riley/Don Nelson years====
After the conclusion of the season, MacLeod left the team to become the head coach at the [[University of Notre Dame]]. President [[David Checketts]] reached out to [[Pat Riley]], who was working as a [[Sports commentator|commentator]] for the [[National Broadcasting Company]] (NBC), to see if he was interested in returning to coaching. Riley accepted the Knicks proposition on May 31, 1991.<ref name="Riley challenge">{{cite news |title=Basketball;Now the Hard Part for Riley: Coaching Knicks |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/01/sports/basketball-now-the-hard-part-for-riley-coaching-knicks.html?scp=5&sq=Pat+riley&st=nyt |work=The New York Times |author=Brown, Clifton |date=June 1, 1991 |access-date=January 13, 2012 |archive-date=March 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306021616/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/01/sports/basketball-now-the-hard-part-for-riley-coaching-knicks.html?scp=5&sq=Pat+riley&st=nyt |url-status=live}}</ref> Riley, who coached the Lakers to four NBA titles during the 1980s, implemented a rough and physical style emphasizing defense.<ref name="Riley challenge"/> Under Riley, the team, led by Ewing and guard [[John Starks (basketball player)|John Starks]], who scored 24 points per game and 13.9 points per game respectively, improved to a 51–31 record, tying them for first place in the Atlantic Division.<ref>{{cite web |title=John Starks |url=http://www.nba.com/playerfile/john_starks/bio.html |publisher=National Basketball Association |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090131153505/http://www.nba.com/playerfile/john_starks/bio.html |archive-date=January 31, 2009 |access-date=January 12, 2012}}</ref><ref name="92 Riley">{{cite web |title=1991–92 New York Knicks Roster and Statistics |url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NYK/1992.html |publisher=Basketball Reference |access-date=January 12, 2012 |archive-date=January 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111041237/http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NYK/1992.html |url-status=live}}</ref> After defeating the Pistons in the first round of [[1992 NBA playoffs|the playoffs]], the team faced the Bulls, losing the series 4–3 in seven games.<ref name="92 Riley"/> The [[1992–93 NBA season|1992–93 season]] proved to be even more successful, as the Knicks won the Atlantic Division with a 60–22 record. Before the season, the Knicks traded [[Mark Jackson (basketball)|Mark Jackson]] to the [[Los Angeles Clippers]] for [[Charles Smith (basketball, born 1965)|Charles Smith]], [[Doc Rivers]], and [[Bo Kimble]] while also acquiring [[Rolando Blackman]] from the [[Dallas Mavericks]]. After defeating the [[Indiana Pacers]] and [[Charlotte Hornets]] in the first two rounds of the [[1993 NBA playoffs|playoffs]], the Knicks made it to the Eastern Conference finals, where once again they met the Bulls. After taking a 2–0 series lead, the Knicks lost the next four games.

After the Bulls' [[Michael Jordan]] made what would be his first retirement from basketball prior to the [[1993–94 NBA season|1993–94 season]], many saw this as an opportunity for the Knicks to finally make it to the NBA Finals. The team, who acquired [[Derek Harper]] in a midseason trade with the [[Dallas Mavericks]], once again won the Atlantic Division with a 57–25 record. In [[1994 NBA playoffs|the playoffs]], the team played a then NBA-record 25 games (the [[Boston Celtics]] played 26 games in the [[2008 NBA playoffs|2008 playoffs]]); they started by defeating the [[New Jersey Nets]] in the first round before finally getting past the Bulls, defeating them in the second round in seven games. In the Eastern Conference Finals, they faced the [[Indiana Pacers]], who at one point held a three games-to-two lead. They had this advantage thanks to the exploits of [[Reggie Miller]], who scored 25 fourth-quarter points in Game 5 to lead the Pacers to victory. However, the Knicks won the next two games to reach their first NBA Finals since 1973.

In [[1994 NBA Finals|the finals]], the Knicks would play seven low-scoring, defensive games against the [[Houston Rockets]]. After splitting the first two games in Houston, the Knicks would win two out of three games at [[Madison Square Garden]], which also hosted the [[New York Rangers]] [[Curse of 1940|first Stanley Cup celebration in 54 years]] following their win over the [[Vancouver Canucks]] in Game 7 of [[1994 Stanley Cup Finals|their finals]] during the series. (A Knicks win would have made the Garden the first building to host a Cup winner and an NBA champ in the same season.) In Game 6, however, a last-second attempt at a game-winning shot by Starks was tipped by Rockets center [[Hakeem Olajuwon]], giving the Rockets an 86–84 victory and forcing a Game 7. The Knicks lost Game 7 90–84, credited in large part to Starks's dismal 2-for-18 shooting performance and Riley's stubborn refusal to bench Starks, despite having bench players who were renowned for their shooting prowess, such as [[Rolando Blackman]] and [[Hubert Davis]] available. The loss denied New York the distinction of having both NBA and NHL championships in the same year. Nevertheless, the Knicks had gotten some inspiration from [[Mark Messier]] and the Rangers during the finals.

The next year, the Knicks were second place in the Atlantic Division with a 55–27 record. The team defeated the [[Cleveland Cavaliers]] before facing the Pacers again in the second round. The tone for the Knicks–Pacers series was set in Game 1, as Miller once again became a clutch nuisance to the Knicks by scoring eight points in the final 8 seconds of the game to give the Pacers a 107–105 victory. The series went to a Game 7, and when [[Patrick Ewing]]'s last-second [[finger roll]] attempt to tie the game missed, the Pacers clinched the 97–95 win. Riley resigned the next day,<ref>{{cite web |date=1995-06-16 |title=Pat Out Of Control Riley Resigns As Knicks Coach In Management Power Fight |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/1995/06/16/pat-out-of-control-riley-resigns-as-knicks-coach-in-management-power-fight/ |access-date=2025-04-19 |work=New York Daily News}}</ref> and the Knicks hired [[Don Nelson]] as their new head coach.

While Nelson had been a successful coach before joining the Knicks, his offensive-oriented [[Nellie Ball]] philosophy failed to mesh with the team, and during the [[1995–96 NBA season|1995–96 season]], Nelson was fired after 59 games, and, instead of going after another well-known coach, the Knicks hired longtime assistant [[Jeff Van Gundy]], who had no prior experience as a head coach. Van Gundy, who restored the team's defense-first style of his mentor Pat Riley, went 13–10 the rest of the way. The Knicks ended up with a 47–35 record that year, and swept the Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs before losing to the eventual champion Bulls (who had an NBA record 72 wins in the regular season) in five games.

====1996–2000: the Jeff Van Gundy years====
In the [[1996–97 NBA season|1996–97 season]], the Knicks, with the additions of such players as [[Larry Johnson (basketball, born 1969)|Larry Johnson]] and [[Allan Houston]], registered a 57–25 record. In the playoffs, the Knicks swept the [[Charlotte Hornets]] in the first round before facing the [[Miami Heat]] (coached by Riley) in the second round. The Knicks took a 3–1 lead in the series before a brawl near the end of Game 5 resulted in suspensions of key players. Many of the suspended Knicks players, Ewing in particular, were disciplined not for participating in the altercation itself, but for violating an NBA rule stipulating that a benched player may not leave the bench during a fight (the rule was subsequently amended, making it illegal to leave the "bench area"). With Ewing and Houston suspended for Game 6, Johnson and Starks suspended for Game 7, and [[Charlie Ward]] suspended for both, the Knicks lost the series.

The [[1997–98 NBA season|1997–98 season]] was marred by a wrist injury to Ewing on December 22, which forced him to miss the rest of the season and much of the playoffs. The team, which had a 43–39 record that season, still managed to defeat the Heat in the first round (a series, which saw another violent bench-clearing brawl at the end of Game 4, this time between Johnson and former Hornets teammate [[Alonzo Mourning]]) of the playoffs before having another meeting with the Pacers in the second round. Ewing returned in time for game two of the series. This time, the Pacers easily won the series in five games, as [[Reggie Miller]] once again broke the hearts of Knicks fans by hitting a tying three-pointer with 5.1 seconds remaining in Game 4, en route to a Pacers overtime victory. For the fourth straight year, the Knicks were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs.

Prior to the lockout-shortened [[1998–99 NBA season|1998–99 season]], the Knicks traded [[Charles Oakley]] to the [[Toronto Raptors]] for [[Marcus Camby]] while also trading [[John Starks (basketball)|John Starks]] in a package to the [[Golden State Warriors]] for 1994's 1st team all-league shooting guard [[Latrell Sprewell]] (whose contract was voided by the Warriors after choking Warriors' head coach [[P. J. Carlesimo]] during the previous season). After barely getting into the playoffs with a 27–23 record, the Knicks started a [[Cinderella (sports)|Cinderella]] run. It started with the Knicks eliminating the #1 seeded Heat in the first round after [[Allan Houston]] bounced in a running one-hander off the front of the rim, high off the backboard, and in with 0.8 seconds left in the deciding 5th game. This remarkable upset marked only the second time in NBA history that an 8-seed had defeated the 1-seed in the NBA playoffs, and also the first time it happened in the Eastern Conference. After defeating the [[Atlanta Hawks]] in the second round four games to none, they faced the Pacers yet again in the Eastern Conference Finals. Despite losing Ewing to injury for the rest of the playoffs prior to Game 3, the Knicks won the series (aided in part to a four-point play by Larry Johnson in the final seconds of Game 3) to become the first eighth-seeded playoff team to make it to the NBA Finals. However, in the Finals, the [[San Antonio Spurs]], with superstars [[David Robinson (basketball)|David Robinson]] and [[Tim Duncan]], proved too much for the injury-laden Knicks, who lost in five games. The remarkable fifth game of this Finals is remembered for its 2nd half scoring duel between the Spurs' [[Tim Duncan]] and the Knicks' [[Latrell Sprewell]], and was decided by a long jumper by [[Avery Johnson]] with 47 seconds left to clinch the title for the Spurs.

The [[1999–2000 NBA season|1999–2000 season]], would prove to be the last one in New York for Ewing, as the Knicks, who had a 50–32 record that season swept the [[Toronto Raptors]] a team led by [[Vince Carter]], [[Antonio Davis]] and a young [[Tracy McGrady]] in three games in the first round, defeated the [[Miami Heat]] in another dramatic seven-game series in which Ewing's dunk with over a minute remaining in game 7, provided the winning margin in a 1-point road victory. They would, however, lose in the Eastern Conference Finals to the [[Reggie Miller]]-led [[Indiana Pacers]] in six games. After the season, Ewing was traded<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2000/09/21/spt_ewing_traded_to.html |title=Ewing traded to Sonics in four-team deal |publisher=Enquirer.com |date=September 21, 2000 |access-date=July 1, 2013}}</ref> on September 20, 2000, to the [[Seattle SuperSonics]], and the Ewing era, which produced many successful playoff appearances but no NBA championship titles, came to an end.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Getting It Done |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/news/2000/09/20/ewing_trade_ap/ |magazine=Sports Illustrated |agency=Associated Press |date=September 21, 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120627084739/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/news/2000/09/20/ewing_trade_ap/ |archive-date=June 27, 2012 |access-date=January 13, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>