History of the New York Knicks
60s - Steady Uptrend
The beginning of the decade came with very little success as they missed the playoffs 6 years in a row. After drafting Hall of Famer, Willis Reed, they had a superstar to build around. They then drafted Hall of Famer point guard Walt Frazier and traded for Hall of Famer Dave DeBusschere who together won their first championship.
70s - “When the Garden Was Eden”
They then acquired two more Hall of Famers in Jerry Lucas and Earl Monroe and which created the most dominant Knicks team in their franchise history. They ran into Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, and the rest of the Lakers in the finals two years in a row in 1972 and 1973, losing the first and winning the second.
80s - The Future of the Franchise
Since the 1973 championship, they never made it back to the contenders they once were. They hoped all of that would change after drafting Patrick Ewing in 1985, one of the most hyped draft picks of all time. They hoped to also land on a coach after bouncing between 5 coaches in the decade including Rick Pitino.
90s - The Bruising Knicks
When Pat Riley took over in 1991, they gained the reputation of having one of the toughest, hard-nosed styles of play. They lost to Jordan’s bulls multiple times in the playoffs but finally made it to the finals in 1994, a year when Jordan retired. Here they lost to the Rockets and didn’t make it back until 1998 when they lost to the Spurs.
00s - Hard Times
Not much good can be said about this decade for the Knicks franchise. They had some exciting players like sharpshooter, Allan Houston, the hot-head, Latrell Sprewell, and an aging Stephon Marbury. Aside from that, they only made the playoffs two years and there was no clear path to success in the future.
10s - False Hope
After signing a young star in Amare Stoudemire and trading for superstar Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks thought they were back to a championship-contending team. However, even with defensive of the year winner Tyson Chandler and other role players such as J.R. Smith, they never made it out of the second round of the playoffs.
