1992–93 New York Knicks season

The 1992–93 New York Knicks season was the 47th season for the team in the National Basketball Association.^[1] During the off-season, the Knicks acquired Charles D. Smith, Doc Rivers and Bo Kimble from the Los Angeles Clippers,^[2][3][4] acquired All-Star guard Rolando Blackman from the Dallas Mavericks,^[5][6][7] and Tony Campbell from the Minnesota Timberwolves,^[8][9][10] and later signed free agent Herb Williams in November.^[11][12] The team also selected shooting guard Hubert Davis from the University of North Carolina with the 20th overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft.^[7][13][14]

For the season, the Knicks redesigned their primary logo; the team added a silver triangle with a blue outline, behind a redesigned text of the team name "Knicks" in orange letters with blue and black shadows, and an orange basketball with blue seams.^[15][16] The team also slightly updated their home and road uniforms, replacing the previous Knicks logo with the newer logo on the right leg of their shorts.^[17][18] The Knicks' new primary logo would remain in use until 1995, where they would add the city name "New York" in blue letters above their logo;^[19] the updated uniforms would last until 1997.^[17][18]

With the addition of Smith, Rivers and Blackman,^[20] the Knicks got off to a 4–4 start to the regular season, but then won 12 of their next 15 games.^[21] The team posted a seven-game winning streak in February, and held a 34–16 record at the All-Star break.^[21][22] The Knicks finished the season by winning 24 of their final 28 games, including a nine-game winning streak in March and five straight victories to end the season.^[21] The Knicks won the Atlantic Division title with a 60–22 record, which earned them the first seed in the Eastern Conference, and qualified for the NBA playoffs for the sixth consecutive year;^[1][23] the team also posted a successful 37–4 home record at Madison Square Garden during the regular season.^[21]

Head coach Pat Riley was named the NBA Coach of the Year for the second time,^[24][25][26] while Patrick Ewing averaged 24.2 points, 12.1 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game,^[20] and was named to the All-NBA Second Team.^[23] In addition, John Starks became the team's starting shooting guard, averaging 17.5 points and 5.1 assists per game, and leading the Knicks with 108 three-point field goals,^[20] as he was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team,^[23] and Smith, who switched from the power forward position to small forward under Riley's request,^[27][28] provided the team with 12.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, sixth man Anthony Mason averaged 10.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game off the bench,^[20] while Blackman contributed 9.7 points per game, and Rivers provided the team with 7.8 points, 5.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Campbell contributed 7.7 points per game, Charles Oakley averaged 6.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, and second-year guard Greg Anthony provided the Knicks with 6.6 points, 5.7 assists, and 1.6 steals per game.^[20]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, Ewing was selected for the 1993 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team, while Riley was selected to coach the Eastern Conference.^[29][30][31] Ewing also finished in fourth place in Most Valuable Player voting,^[32][33] while Starks finished in fourth place in Most Improved Player voting,^[33][34] and Mason finished tied in second place in Sixth Man of the Year voting, behind Clifford Robinson of the Portland Trail Blazers;^[33][35] Ewing, Starks and Oakley all finished tied in fifth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting.^[33]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1993 NBA playoffs, the Knicks faced off against the 8th–seeded Indiana Pacers, a team that featured Reggie Miller, All-Star forward Detlef Schrempf, and Rik Smits.^[23][36] The Knicks won their first two home games at Madison Square Garden,^[37][38] before losing Game 3 to the Pacers on the road, 116–93 at Market Square Arena;^[39] the Knicks won Game 4 over the Pacers on the road in overtime, 109–100, to win the series in four games, and advance to the Eastern Conference Semi-finals.^[40][41][42]

In the Semi-finals, the team then faced off against the 5th–seeded Charlotte Hornets, who were led by the trio of All-Star forward Larry Johnson, rookie center Alonzo Mourning, and Muggsy Bogues.^[23][43] The Knicks took a 2–0 series lead before losing Game 3 to the Hornets on the road in double-overtime, 110–106 at the Charlotte Coliseum.^[44] After winning Game 4 on the road, 94–92,^[45] the Knicks returned to Madison Square Garden to defeat the Hornets in Game 5, 105–101, to win the series in five games, and gain a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals.^[46][47][48]

In the Conference Finals, the Knicks faced off against the 2nd–seeded, and 2-time defending NBA champion Chicago Bulls,^[23][49] who won the Central Division title, and were led by the trio of All-Star guard Michael Jordan, All-Star forward Scottie Pippen, and Horace Grant;^[50] the Bulls had eliminated the Knicks from the NBA playoffs in three of the previous four years.^[51][49] With home-court advantage in the series,^[23] the Knicks took a 2–0 series lead,^[52][53][54] but then lost the next two road games to the Bulls at Chicago Stadium.^[55][56] The Knicks returned to Madison Square Garden for Game 5, in which they lost to the Bulls, 97–94,^[57] then lost Game 6 on the road, 96–88, thus losing the series in six games to end their season.^[58][59][60] The Bulls would go on to defeat the Phoenix Suns in six games in the 1993 NBA Finals, winning their third consecutive NBA championship.^[61][62][63]

The Knicks finished fourth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 804,840 at Madison Square Garden during the regular season.^[23][20] Following the season, Kimble was released to free agency, and left to play overseas in France; Kimble had previously been selected by the Los Angeles Clippers with the eighth overall pick in the 1990 NBA draft, after a successful college career at Loyola Marymount, where he averaged 35.3 points per game during the 1989–90 season. However, he failed to live up to expectations after three seasons in the NBA.^[64][65][66]

One notable incident of the regular season occurred on March 23, 1993, during a road game against the Suns at the America West Arena. A brawl occurred when Suns guard Kevin Johnson ran into Rivers at the end of the first half; Rivers chased Johnson in retaliation, and Anthony, who was dressed in street clothes because of a sprained ankle, came off the Knicks' bench and punched Johnson.^[67][68][69] Anthony was fined $20,500 and suspended for five games, while Johnson was fined $15,000 and suspended for two games, and Rivers was fined $10,000 and suspended for two games.^[70][71][72] The Knicks lost to the Suns by a score of 121–92.^[73]