1991–92 New York Knicks season

The 1991–92 New York Knicks season was the 46th season for the New York Knicks in the National Basketball Association.^[1] During the off-season, the Knicks hired Pat Riley as their new head coach; Riley previously coached the Los Angeles Lakers two years ago.^[2][3][4] The team also acquired former All-Star forward Xavier McDaniel from the Phoenix Suns,^[5][6][7] and signed free agent Anthony Mason.^[8][9] In addition, the Knicks selected point guard Greg Anthony from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas with the twelfth overall pick in the 1991 NBA draft.^[10][11][12]

Under Riley and with the addition of McDaniel, Mason and Anthony, the Knicks struggled with a 4–5 start to the regular season, but then posted a six-game winning streak between November and December afterwards, and later on held a 30–16 record at the All-Star break.^[13] At mid-season, the team traded Brian Quinnett to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for former All-Star center James Donaldson.^[14][15][16] The Knicks posted a seven-game winning streak in March, and finished in second place in the Atlantic Division with a 51–31 record, earning the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference;^[17][18] the team qualified for the NBA playoffs for the fifth consecutive year.^[1]

Patrick Ewing averaged 24.0 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. In addition, John Starks played an increased role as the team's sixth man, averaging 13.9 points and 1.3 steals per game off the bench, while McDaniel provided the Knicks with 13.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, Gerald Wilkins contributed 12.4 points per game, and Mark Jackson provided with 11.3 points, 8.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Meanwhile, Mason also played a sixth man role off the bench, averaging 7.0 points and rebounds per game each, Charles Oakley averaged 6.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, Kiki Vandeweghe contributed 7.0 points per game, and Anthony provided the Knicks with 5.5 points and 3.8 assists per game.^[19]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Orlando Arena in Orlando, Florida, Ewing was selected for the 1992 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team,^[20][21][22] while Starks participated in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.^[23][24] Ewing also finished in fifth place in Most Valuable Player voting,^[25] while Starks finished tied in fourth place in Sixth Man of the Year voting, and also finished tied in sixth place in Most Improved Player voting,^[25] and Riley finished in second place in Coach of the Year voting, behind Don Nelson of the Golden State Warriors.^[26][25]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1992 NBA playoffs, the Knicks faced off against the 5th–seeded Detroit Pistons, who were led by the All-Star trio of Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, and rebound-specialist Dennis Rodman. The Knicks took a 2–1 series lead before losing Game 4 to the Pistons on the road, 86–82 at The Palace of Auburn Hills.^[27][28][29] With the series tied at 2–2, the Knicks won Game 5 over the Pistons at home, 94–87 at Madison Square Garden to win in a hard-fought five-game series.^[30][31][32]

In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, and for the second consecutive year, the team faced off against the top–seeded, and defending NBA champion Chicago Bulls, who won the Central Division title, and were led by the trio of All-Star guard, and Most Valuable Player of the Year, Michael Jordan, All-Star forward Scottie Pippen, and Horace Grant. The Knicks frustrated the Bulls with their physical play, winning Game 1 on the road, 94–89 at the Chicago Stadium,^[33][34][35] but then lost the next two games. With the Bulls holding a 3–2 series lead, the Knicks managed to win Game 6 at Madison Square Garden, 100–86 to tie the series at 3–3.^[36][37][38] However, the Knicks lost Game 7 to the Bulls at the Chicago Stadium, 110–81, thus losing in a hard-fought seven-game series, as the Bulls–Knicks rivalry was born.^[39][40][41] The Bulls would go on to defeat the Portland Trail Blazers in six games in the 1992 NBA Finals, winning their second consecutive NBA championship.^[42][43][44]

The Knicks finished sixth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 726,608 at Madison Square Garden during the regular season.^[19][45] Following the season, McDaniel signed as a free agent with the Boston Celtics after only one season with the Knicks,^[46][47][48] while Jackson was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers,^[49][50][51] Vandeweghe signed as a free agent with the Clippers,^[52][53][54] Wilkins signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers,^[55][56][57] and Donaldson was released to free agency.