Knicks' NBA Finals appearances: A look at their previous 8 trips

The Knicks have been to the NBA Finals eight times in franchise history, winning titles in 1970 and 1973.

Here’s a historical breakdown.

1951: Lost to Rochester Royals, 4-3

The Royals (now the Sacramento Kings) took a 3-0 lead in the series before the Knicks made an incredible comeback by winning the next three games. Rochester, however, earned the title with a 79-75 win in Game 7. 

For the Knicks: Shooting guard Max Zaslofsky led the Knicks, averaging 19 points per game in the series. The Knicks had three Hall of Famers on their roster: forward Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton, forward Harry Gallatin, who averaged 10.9 points and 10 rebounds in the series, and guard Dick McGuire.

For the Royals: Future Knicks coach Red Holzman, who would lead the franchise to their titles in 1970 and 1973, was a point guard for the Royals, appearing in all seven games in the series.

1952: Lost to Minneapolis Lakers, 4-3

The Knicks and Lakers traded wins in the series with Minneapolis winning Games 1, 3, 5 and 7 and the Knicks taking Games 2, 4 and 6. The Lakers won Game 7 comfortably with Hall of Fame center George Mikan scoring 22 points and grabbing 17 rebounds in the 82-65 win.

For the Knicks: Center/power forward Connie Simmons led the Knicks by averaging 14.7 points in the series. The Knicks had three other double-digit scorers in the series with Zaslofsky (13 points per game), Clifton (10.4), and shooting guard/small forward Ernie Vandeweghe (10.1).

For the Lakers: Mikan had a huge series for Minneapolis, averaging 21.7 points and 17.4 rebounds.

1953: Lost to Minneapolis Lakers, 4-1

The rematch started off well for the Knicks as they took Game 1 in Minneapolis, 96-88. The Lakers, however, swept the next four games and repeated as champions. It was the Lakers’ third title in four years. It was the Knicks’ last appearance in the Finals until 1970.

For the Knicks: Hall of Fame guard Carl Braun and Simmons led the Knicks in scoring in the series at 14.8 points per game.

For the Lakers: Mikan dominated again. He was the leading scorer for either team in four of the five games in the series and averaged 20.8 points per game.

1970: Beat Los Angeles Lakers, 4-3

This remains arguably the greatest moment in franchise history. The image of captain and center Willis Reed limping onto the court with a severely torn thigh muscle before Game 7 inspired the Knicks, stunned the Lakers, and energized the Madison Square Garden crowd. Reed knocked down his first two shots and didn’t score again, but he didn’t need to. Just his presence and his defense on Wilt Chamberlain was enough as he played 27 minutes. Walt Frazier had the best game of his career with 36 points, 19 assists, and seven rebounds as the Knicks claimed their first title with a 113-99 win.

For the Knicks: The Knicks had a balanced attack in the highly competitive series. Reed led the way with 23 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Dave DeBusschere averaged 19 points and 12.6 rebounds, Dick Barnett averaged 18.6 points, Frazier averaged 17.6 points, 10.4 assists and 7.7 rebounds, and Bill Bradley averaged 12.1 points. All five players are in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

For the Lakers: The trio of Hall of Famers had huge series. Jerry West averaged 31.1 points, Chamberlain averaged 23.3 points and 24.1 rebounds, and Elgin Baylor averaged 17.9 points and 11.3 rebounds.

1972: Lost to Los Angeles Lakers 4-1

The Lakers got their revenge two years later. The Knicks easily won Game 1 by 22 points, but the Lakers swept the next four games, winning three of the games by double digits. There was plenty of history for the Lakers that season. They won 69 games during the regular season (an NBA record at the time) and had a 33-game winning streak. It was also the first title for the Lakers since moving from Minneapolis to Los Angeles.

For the Knicks: Reed missed most of the 1971-72 regular season and the entire NBA Finals with a left knee injury. Hall of Famer Jerry Lucas, acquired in May 1971, filled in for Reed and averaged 20.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and 6.2 assists in the series. Frazier averaged 23 points, eight assists and eight rebounds.

For the Lakers: Hall of Fame guard Gail Goodrich led the way with 25.6 points per game. Jerry West averaged 19.8 points per game. Chamberlain had another huge series by averaging 19.4 points and 23.2 rebounds.

1973: Beat Los Angeles Lakers, 4-1

The Knicks and Lakers met for the third time in four seasons with an NBA title at stake. Much like 1972, the team that won Game 1 then lost the next four, as the Knicks captured their second title in franchise history. The Knicks won their four games by a combined 22 points. The Knicks haven’t won a title since. 

For the Knicks: Reed was healthy again and claimed his second NBA Finals MVP by averaging 16.4 points and 9.2 rebounds. Reed became the first player to win multiple NBA Finals MVP awards. Bradley led the Knicks by averaging 18.6 points in the series. Frazier averaged 16.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.2 assists. Hall of Fame guard Earl Monroe, acquired by the Knicks in 1971, averaged 16 points, and DeBusschere averaged 15.6 points and 11.6 rebounds.

For the Lakers: Chamberlain never played in the NBA again after Game 5 of the series. He played an amazing 48 minutes per game in the series and averaged 11.6 points and 18.6 rebounds. Goodrich led a balanced scoring attack with 21.8 points per game, followed by Jim McMillan (21.6) and West (21.4).

1994: Lost to Houston Rockets, 4-3

The Knicks made their first NBA Finals appearance in 21 years in what turned out to be a highly competitive and, at times, contentious series. Neither team scored over 100 points in any of the games. The Knicks took a 3-2 series lead back to Houston for Games 6 and 7 but couldn’t win the title. The Rockets won a dramatic Game 6, 86-84, as Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon deflected a potential game-winning three-pointer by John Starks in the closing seconds. The Knicks lost Game 7, 90-84, as Starks went ice cold, shooting 2-for-18 from the field and 0-for-11 from three-point range. On June 17, the Knicks played Game 5 at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers held a ticker-tape parade in Manhattan for their Stanley Cup win, and the nation was glued to their television sets as O.J. Simpson, riding in a white Ford Bronco, was pursued by police.

For the Knicks: Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing had a very strong series in his duel against Olajuwon, averaging 18.9 points, 12.4 rebounds, 4.3 blocks, 1.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Starks averaged 17.7 points, Derek Harper averaged 16.4 points and 6 assists, and Charles Oakley averaged 11 points and 11.9 rebounds.

For the Rockets: This was the Rockets’ first NBA title in franchise history. Olajuwon led the way, averaging 26.9 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.9 blocks, 3.6 assists and 1.6 steals as he was named Finals MVP. Vernon Maxwell averaged 13.4 points. It was also the first of Robert Horry’s seven NBA titles as a player.

1999: Lost to San Antonio Spurs, 4-1

The Knicks made an improbable run and returned to the Finals in the strike-shortened season but without Ewing, who tore his left Achilles tendon in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers. The Knicks became the first No. 8 seed to make the Finals but were overpowered by the Spurs’ Tim Duncan and David Robinson, both of whom would end up in the Hall of Fame. San Antonio won the first two games and clinched it in Game 5 at the Garden after Avery Johnson's jumper with 47 seconds left gave the Spurs the lead for good.

For the Knicks: Latrell Sprewell, who was coming off a lengthy suspension while with Golden State, was acquired by the Knicks in January 1999 for Starks and other players. Sprewell led the Knicks in the series, averaging 26 points per game. Allan Houston averaged 21.6 points and Marcus Camby averaged 9.6 points and 7.8 rebounds.

For the Spurs: Duncan averaged 27.4 points and 14 rebounds, and Robinson averaged 16.6 points and 11.8 rebounds. It was the first of Gregg Popovich’s five NBA titles as a head coach.