5 Lesser Known Facts about the New York Knicks

Kaushal
Boston Celtics v New York Knicks - Game Three
Spike Lee

New York, New York

I want to wake up in a city, that doesn't sleep, and find the king of the hill on top of the list, a number one

There has always been something magical about this song by Frank Sinatra, in fact, it's probably one of the best songs ever dedicated to a city. When we think of New York, something’s immediately come to our mind, Manhattan Island, Statue of Liberty, Times Square, the hustle and bustle of the city and of course Madison Square Garden, the home of the New York Knicks.

The Knickerbockers or the New York Knicks as they are fondly known have been one of the iconic teams of the NBA and have perennially represented the fans and the city in the true spirit. The Knicks franchise over the years has become one of the most valuable franchises in the NBA, valued in 2018 at 3.6 Billion Dollars, almost double the league average.

The Knickerbocker’s

The Knicks actually stands for the Knickerbockers a type of pants which ends just around the knee, originally worn by the Dutch Settlers. It’s also the pseudonym of the writer Washington Irving, who wrote many classic short stories such as Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, but also wrote a book “A history of New York “under the name Knickerbocker.

Team owner Ned Irish decided to call the team the Knickerbockers supposedly after pulling out the name from a hat. The Knicks are one of the oldest and founding member teams of the BAA and NBA and one of two teams that have never moved cities, the other being Boston.

Championship DNA

The Knicks have reached the finals 8 times in its history and have won twice. It has had two glorious runs in its history, the 1st from the late 60's to the mid-70's when they were coached by Red Holzman. They won two rings in 1970 and 1973 both against arch West Coast Rivals – Los Angeles Lakers. The 2nd run they had been from end 80's to the early 2000’s, under Pat Riley and Jeff Van Gundy.

In those years, the Knicks came to the finals twice amidst excellent eastern conference runs and also run-in’s against the Michael Jordan led Bulls, & Reggie Miller led Pacers, however both the finals outings ended in defeat against the Rockets and Spurs respectively.

Celebrity Knicks

San Antonio Spurs v New York Knicks
Spike Lee

No New York Knicks game is complete without showing Spike Lee, the famous director at courtside, reverently cheering the Knicks, a team he has supported with passion over the years. But he is not the only star supporter of the Knicks. Other famous personalities perennially on the Garden courtside are Howard Stern, Woody Allen, Actresses Olivia Wilde, Kate Upton, Drew Barrymore and Katie Holmes. Several famous comics, such as Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, and Jon Stewart also turn up regularly at Knicks Games. The music world is well represented by 50 Cent and Sean Diddy Combs.

Patrick’s Court

There have been several players who have represented New York, and have gone down in folklore at the Garden, be it Wills Reed famously limping out of the locker room to lead the team or John Stark's crazily dunking over the Bulls, or the talented but tough duo of Mason and Oakley or the wizardry of Bernard King and the most recent, gifted power forward Carmelo Anthony.

But there has been no one who has been more a dominant face of the team then Patrick Ewing, a draft pick from Georgetown who became one of the most dominant centers of the NBA, Patrick spent most of his 18 year career in New York and leads the team in several categories such as Games Played, Mins Played, Field Goals Attempted, Field Goals Made, Points, Rebounds, Steals, Blocks and was one of the centerpieces of their great run in the 80's.

Blunders by Knicks

Dallas Mavericks v New York Knicks
Kristaps Porzingis

When Kristaps Porzingis a virtually unknown player from Latvia was picked 4th by the Knicks in 2015, the brickbats were out too early, but luckily Porzingis has panned out well for the Knicks yet. However there have been some glaring mistakes, the most notable ones being, in 2006, the Knicks picked local Renaldo Balkman, instead of Rajan Rondo who was picked next by Boston. Balkman was a bust and Rondo is still creating records for the teams he is playing for.

The 2009 draft was even more cringe-worthy, the Knicks got a Top 10 pick and missed Curry who went one pick earlier and instead picked Jordan Hill and passed on to a host of other players of the likes of Demar DeRozan, Jeff Teague, Darren Collison, Taj Gibson & Patrick Beverly to name a few.

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Edited by Yash Matange