NEW YORK KNICKS

The New York Knicks

The New York Knicks are a professional basketball team that plays in the National Basketball Association (NBA) based in New York City. They play their home games at Madison Square Garden. The “Knicks” moniker is the shortened form of Knickerbockers and is one of only two teams of the original National Basketball Association still located in its original city - the other being the Boston Celtics. It refers to the style of pants the settlers wore; pants that rolled up just below the knee, which became known as “Knickerbockers,” or “knickers”. With the help of all-star center Patrick Ewing, the Knicks had two of their best showings in regular season play. In 1993, they won 60 games, and the following year tallied 58, on the way to an NBA Finals loss to the Houston Rockets. They are one of only 4 teams to never have lost 60 games in a season. The other teams are the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers, the Rochester/Cincinnati Royals/Sacramento Kings, and the New Orleans/Utah Jazz.

On November 1, 1946, the Knicks played their first game against the Toronto Huskies where they won a score of 68-66. During the first decade of the NBA's existence, the Knicks made the NBA Finals in three straight years (1951–53), and they were highly respected by basketball players and fans. For the remaining years, they played spectacular teams and made the playoffs in several seasons. The acquisition of star center Patrick Ewing, made the team very competitive on their campaign in the NBA. In fact, in his first season with the Knicks, he led all rookies in scoring (20 points per game) and rebounds (9 rebounds per game), and also won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award.

As one of the more famous and storied franchises in the NBA, the New York Knicks hope to bring prominence back to the Garden. The Knicks have a balanced mix of seasoned veterans and young talent. In recent time, they acquired the former Phoenix Suns coach Mike D’Antoni as their new head coach. He signed a four year, $24 million deal to coach the team. The Knicks also received the 6th pick in the 2008 NBA draft via the Draft Lottery. They selected Italian Danilo Gallinari with that pick and also signed veteran guard Chris Duhon using a portion of their salary cap exemption.

The Knicks are considered one of the most valuable basketball franchises in the United States, valued at approximately $608 million. The team from New York has had its share of regular season success. In fact, the Knicks payroll topped $100 million in 2007 NBA season for a third straight season. Their $45 million luxury tax bill was $38 million higher than Dallas, the second highest spending club. The team is owned by James Dolan with several major corporate sponsors such as T-Mobile, Foot Locker, Coca-Cola, Continental Airlines, and Capital One.

For more information please visit: www.nyknicks.com

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