The All Time Knicks Team

Is New York in the house? You bet! New York – the Big Apple – is home to some of the ‘biggest and baddest’ sports superstars on the planet. For New York NBA fans, nobody does it better than the Knicks. These superstars light up the court with power plays and gravity-defying moves. Let's check out some of the best New York Knicks teams of all time. Lace up, suit up, it's time to shoot some hoops with the New York Knicks!

Let's Raise the Roof for the New York Knicks

As a big fan of the New York Knicks, I can personally tell you that I feel like I've grown with this team. Back in the early 2000s, they went 10 seasons without even winning a play-off game. It was a bitter pill to swallow for me and my homeys, since this is one of our favorite NBA teams. Sadly, the New York Knicks aren't going to win kudos for being the winningest NBA team of all time. But I'll level with you, when you have a team that plays hard, every win is a victory that must be savored and that's what New York Knicks fans do!

Over the years, this professional basketball team has racked up 2X National Basketball Association Championships. They did this first in 1970 and again in 1973. Clearly, the teams that played in those years are regarded as the best New York Knicks teams of all time. They began their foray into professional basketball back in 1946 when the BAA was born. The Basketball Association of America later transformed into the National Basketball Association, or NBA, in 1949. It's notable to mention that the Knickerbockers (just to get you guys acquainted with their real name) did pretty well between 1951 and 1953. They were in the finals 3 years in a row. After that, the teams were lackluster for the rest of the decade.

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Enter, Willis Reed - The Draft Pick Who Transformed the Knicks

Things turned around in a big way back in 1964 when a player by the name of Willis Reed was drafted. He earned the prestigious Rookie of the Year Award for 1964/1965 and he was instrumental in the team's successes in rankings during his career. Thanks to Reed’s outsized performance against the LA Lakers (he scored 1 of 2 baskets) and led his team to their first NBA title. In fact, it was against this very team that some of the greatest rivalries in basketball ever occurred – New York Knicks versus LA Lakers. Such was the prodigious form of the New York Knicks in those years that they beat the LA Lakers again in 1973. Let's take a second to list the winning teams back in 1970 and 1973 – these were probably the greatest New York Knicks teams of all time.

1970 – Willis Reed, Dave DeBusschere, Dick Barnett, Walt Frazier, Bill Bradley, Cazzie Russell, Dave Stallworth, Mike Riordan, Nate Bowman, Bill Hosket, John Warren.

Incidentally, the New York Knicks won the NBA championship series in the best-of-seven playoffs series, with 4 games going to the Knicks and 3 to the Lakers.

1973 – Dick Barnett, Henry Bibby, Bill Bradley, Dave DeBusschere, Walt Frazier, John Gianelli, Phil Jackson, Jerry Lucas, Dean Meminger, Earl Monroe, Luther Rackley, Willis Reed, Tom Riker, Harthorne Wingo.

The team was coached by Red Holzman and Dick Maguire. This time around, the Eastern Conference beat the Western Conference by 4 games: 1 game. This is the opposite of the previous year's result where the Knicks won 1 game and the Lakers won 4.

The Knicks Regrew Under Patrick Ewing

After that, many of the superstars from the New York Knicks team faded away into obscurity. There was a time in the 1980s when the likes of Bernard King reigned supreme. However, by 1984/85, Patrick Ewing brought victory back to the Knicks again. The team once again qualified for plenty of postseason play, and even made it into 2X NBA finals. Unfortunately, despite his larger-than-life presence, Patrick Ewing was unable to bring the Knicks victory during his 15 seasons with the team.

It was the inimitable Michael Jordan who put paid to many of New York’s hopes and dreams, as he led relentless assaults against them on court. By the year 2000, Patrick Ewing was traded and the Knicks went into a ‘death spiral’. Don't get me wrong – the team raised a ton of cash over the years, but it didn't translate into championship titles.

In the last 10 years, this team has come back into contention as a truly great NBA team. Back in 2018/19, they had a 17-win streak, but a horrid record during that season. Currently for 2019/2020, the Eastern Conference team – the New York Knicks are ranked #13, with 17 wins, 38 losses, and a win percent of just .309. There is certainly room for improvement and the only way is up!

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*New York Knicks Photographs Courtesy of AP and Todd Kirkland