Image via Complex Original
The New York Knicks are one the NBA’s signature franchises, a team steeped in history playing in the “World’s Most Famous Arena.” They have one of the league’s most rabid, passionate fanbases, one that not only is obsessed with their team but knows the game of basketball inside and out. They also have an owner who, while being exceptionally stubborn and making some poor choices, at least has a ton of money to spend (which, to his credit, he does). It would stand to reason, then, that this would be a team in contention every single season.
And yet, the Knicks of have gone through some the biggest swoons professional basketball has seen this side of the Clippers. They have only won two titles (1970 and 1973) despite the cavalcade of Hall of Famers like Walt Frazier and Patrick Ewing who have worn the blue and orange, and most recently had nine consecutive losing seasons between 2002 and 2010. Things have certainly gotten off to a rocky start this season, as the team currently sports a 6-15 record despite high expectations. While there has certainly been plenty of success in New York, there’s also been a fair amount of failure; let’s look at the Worst Seasons in New York Knicks History.
12. 2004-05
Record: 33-49
Key Player(s): Stephon Marbury, Jamal Crawford
Coach(es): Lenny Wilkens, Herb Williams
Even one of the greatest NBA coaches of all time was powerless to pull the Knicks out of the abyss, as Lenny Wilkens resigned during the season amid a 1-9 stretch from a disinterested, overpaid group of Knicks players who had grown weary of their Hall of Fame coach. Wilkens' successor Herb Williams didn't fare much better, going 16-27 the rest of the way and cementing the Knicks' status as a team in huge long-term trouble; they got all of 57 combined games out of their two highest-paid players (Allan Houston and Penny Hardaway), while Tim Thomas got paid nearly $13 million to average 12.0 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. And this season was probably the happiest Stephon Marbury ever was in New York. Yikes.
11. 1961-62
Record: 29-51
Key Player(s): Richie Guerin, Willie Naulls
Coach(es): Eddie Donovan
The 1961-62 certainly unfolded in a not-uncommon way for the Knicks during that era; they lost a lot of games, and wasted another fine season from star player Richie Guerin. But it was one night in Hershey, PA that makes this season a true low point for the franchise. On March 2, 1962, the Philadelphia Warriors' Wilt Chamberlain scored a tidy 100 points against the hapless Knicks, going 36-of-63 from the field and dominating backup centers Darrall Imhoff and Cleveland Buckner. It was but one in a series of low points for New York, who between 1960 and 1966 never won more than 31 games in a season.
10. 2008-09
Record: 32-50
Key Player(s): Al Harrington, David Lee, Nate Robinson
Coach(es): Mike D'Antoni
Things were very grim for the 2008-09 Knicks. Saddled with a lot of horrible contracts thanks to the reign of Isiah Thomas, new General Manager Donnie Walsh swapped those contracts for some slightly-less-bad contracts and the product on the court actually improved moderately over the previous season. Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford were out; Tim Thomas and Al Harrington were in. Mike D'Antoni attempted to usher in his "Seven Second or Less" offense, and the Knicks tried to play some semblance of entertaining basketball. The on-court result, though, was predictably unpretty. They finished with the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference and suited up a total of 23 different players over the course of the year, although better things were on the horizon.
9. 2009-10
Record: 29-53
Key Player(s): David Lee, Al Harrington, Danilo Gallinari
Coach(es): Mike D'Antoni
The Knicks were all about tanking for LeBron James in 2009-10, and in typical Knicks fashion it did not quite go as planned. A team that was ranked at or near the bottom of the league in most defensive metrics limped to a feeble 29 wins, getting little help from much-maligned first round pick Jordan Hill and featuring entirely too much Chris Duhon and Toney Douglas. While they managed to successfully carve out about $34.5 million in cap space for the offseason, rather than LeBron they ended up with an injury-prone and uninsured Amare Stoudemire.
8. 1985-86
Record: 23-59
Key Player(s): Bill Cartwright, Patrick Ewing
Coach(es): Hubie Brown
It's truly amazing how bad the Knicks were under Hubie Brown in both 1984-85 and 1985-86. At least in this season, though, there was a glimmer of hope on the horizon: rookie Patrick Ewing looked like he might be able to pull the Knicks out of the Eastern Conference basement. In winning Rookie of the Year honors, he averaged 20.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game; however, the Knicks' next best player was either Pat Cummings or Gerald Wilkins, and with that as a nucleus you're going to lose a lot of games. Coupled with Ewing's injury problems, the Knicks' lack of talent led them to their most abysmal season since 1963-64.
7. 2001-02
Record: 30-52
Key Player(s): Latrell Sprewell, Allan Houston
Coach(es): Jeff Van Gundy, Don Chaney
The Knicks were a contender every year Patrick Ewing was around, and hung around even after he and the team parted ways. But things fell apart for the Knicks in 2001-02, as dysfunction and poor play led the team to some very dark places. They dropped eight games in a row during January, punctuating the streak with a 111-68 loss to the Charlotte Hornets that was (at the time) the most lopsided defeat the Knicks had ever been handed at home. Jeff Van Gundy clearly saw the writing on the wall, as he resigned 19 games into the season when the team was actually still above .500, saying that he "didn't have the focus that I would want."
6. 1978-79
Record: 31-51
Key Player(s): Bob McAdoo, Earl Monroe, Micheal Ray Richardson
Coach(es): Willis Reed, Red Holzman
The Knicks thought they had made a move that would put them over the top when they hired the legendary Willis Reed to be their coach for the 1977-78 season. They did decently enough that first year, going 43-39 before falling the Eastern Conference semifinals; the next season, though, the troubles Reed had both relating to his own players and working with the Knicks' management team resulted in him abruptly quitting just 14 games into the season. Red Holzman-who had been on the bench when the Knicks won both their titles in 1970 and 1973-took the reins and steered the team to a disastrous 25-43 record after Reed's departure.
5. 2007-08
Record: 23-59
Key Player(s): Zach Randolph, David Lee, Jamal Crawford
Coach(es): Isiah Thomas
After being the architect of bad Knicks teams for several years, Isiah Thomas was handed the keys by owner James Dolan and told to make his band of misfits into a winner. He failed, going 33-49 in 2006-07 and then posting an even worse effort in 2007-08. The off-court product wasn't much better, either, as early in the season a jury awarded former Knicks employee Anucha Browne Sanders $11.6 million as a result of sexual harassment she suffered at the hands of Thomas while she worked for the team. A draft day trade that brought Zach Randolph to New York flopped, as combined with Eddy Curry the duo created one of the most lethargic frontcourt units in the NBA and came to symbolize the sloppy, disinterested style of play that pervaded the entire team. Not surprisingly, Thomas was relieved of his duty after the season and the true rebuilding mercifully began.
4. 1981-82
Record: 33-49
Key Player(s): Micheal Ray Richardson, Bill Cartwright
Coach(es): Red Holzman
Michael Ray Richardson's drug problems and their contribution to his and the Knicks' struggles are well-known. However, if a scintillating New York Post article is to be believed, there may have been other forces at work during the 1981-82 season. There may or may not have been a point shaving scandal going on, with as many as three Knicks players throwing games as a favor to their cocaine dealer (the players' names have been redacted from the report). While the case was closed in the mid-1980s due to a lack of sufficient evidence to prosecute, there's no denying that Richardson's proclamation that "the ship be sinkin" was undoubtedly true as the Knicks fell to the bottom of the bottom of the division and second-worst record in the Eastern Conference.
3. 2013-14
Record: 6-15*
Key Player(s): Carmelo Anthony, J.R. Smith
Coach(es): Mike Woodson
The New York Knicks are one the NBA’s signature franchises, a team steeped in history playing in the “World’s Most Famous Arena.” They have one of the league’s most rabid, passionate fanbases, one that not only is obsessed with their team but knows the game of basketball inside and out. They also have an owner who, while being exceptionally stubborn and making some poor choices, at least has a ton of money to spend (which, to his credit, he does). It would stand to reason, then, that this would be a team in contention every single season.
2. 1984-85
Record: 24-58
Key Player(s): Bernard King
Coach(es): Hubie Brown
To younger NBA fans, Bernard King is a name that few recognize. However, in his day he was seen as a potentially all-time great, a transcendent scorer who was one of the best ever in the open floor. On Christmas Day in 1984 he put up 60 in a game, including 40 in the first half. However, it all came to a crashing halt in March when King tried to plant his leg and jump, only to tear his right ACL. An injury that would not be nearly as big a deal now sidelined King for the better part of two years, and when he returned he was a shadow of his former self. After King went down, everything fell apart for the already-struggling Knicks; including the night of King's injury, they closed out the season with 12 consecutive losses.
1. 2005-06
Record: 23-59
Key Player(s): Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis
Coach(es): Larry Brown
Larry Brown’s one season at the helm in New York was one loaded with public problems with his players off the court and terrible basketball on it. The Knicks ended the year with the highest payroll in the NBA, paying exorbitant sums to the likes of Allan Houston ($19.1 million), Stephon Marbury ($16.4 million), Penny Hardaway ($15.8 million), and Antonio Davis ($13.9 million) while managing to have that terrible tetrarchy combine to play in just 100 total games all season. Their 23 wins were the second-fewest in the league behind Portland, and Brown’s contract was bought out for a reported $18.5 million after the season mercifully concluded. This was also the year of the dreaded Jerome James signing and Eddy Curry trade, two of the worst moves in recent NBA history.