1996–97 New York Knicks season

The 1996–97 New York Knicks season was the 51st season for the Knicks in the National Basketball Association.^[4] For the season, the Knicks celebrated their 50th anniversary in the NBA by revealing an anniversary version of the team's primary logo.^[5] During the off-season, the team acquired All-Star forward Larry Johnson from the Charlotte Hornets,^[6][7][8] and signed free agents Allan Houston, Chris Childs,^[9][10][11] and former All-Star forward Buck Williams.^[12][13][14] The Knicks also had three first-round draft picks in the 1996 NBA draft, selecting small forward John Wallace out of Syracuse University with the 18th overall pick, small forward Walter McCarty from the University of Kentucky with the 19th overall pick, and small forward Dontae' Jones out of Mississippi State University with the 21st overall pick.^[15][16][17] However, Jones would miss the entire regular season due to a foot injury, and would never play for the Knicks.^[18][19][20]

In the regular season, and with the addition of Johnson, Houston, Childs and Williams,^[21] the Knicks won eight of their first ten games, and later on held a 34–14 record at the All-Star break.^[22][23] The team finished in second place in the Atlantic Division with a 57–25 record, earning the third seed in the Eastern Conference,^[21][24] and qualifying for the NBA playoffs for the tenth consecutive year.^[4] The team also posted three seven-game winning streaks during the regular season, which were its longest this season.^[22] The Knicks enjoyed a successful season, with their 57 wins tied for the third-most in franchise history.^[4] In the final game of the regular season, at the United Center on April 19, 1997, the Knicks defeated the then-69–12 Chicago Bulls, 103–101, preventing them from posting two consecutive 70-win seasons, and tying the best home record at 40–1,^[25][26][27] which was set by the 1985–86 Boston Celtics, and later on matched by the 2015–16 San Antonio Spurs.^[28]

Patrick Ewing averaged 22.4 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game,^[21] and was named to the All-NBA Second Team,^[24] while Houston finished second on the team in scoring with 14.8 points per game, and with 148 three-point field goals.^[21] In addition, and with Houston as the Knicks' starting shooting guard, John Starks played a sixth man role off the bench,^[29][30] averaging 13.8 points per game and leading the team with 150 three-point field goals;^[21] he was named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year, receiving 84 out of a possible 115 first-place votes from the media.^[31][32][33] Meanwhile, Johnson averaged 12.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, Charles Oakley provided the team with 10.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game, and Childs contributed 9.3 points and 6.1 assists per game.^[21] Off the bench, Williams averaged 6.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, while Charlie Ward provided the Knicks with 5.2 points and 4.1 assists per game, and Wallace contributed 4.8 points per game.^[21]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, Ewing was selected for the 1997 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team,^[34][35][36] while Wallace was selected for the NBA Rookie Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference Rookie team.^[37][38] However, Ewing did not participate in the All-Star Game due to a groin injury,^[39][40][41] despite playing 78 games this season;^[21] it would also be his final All-Star selection, having played in his final All-Star Game the previous year.^[42] Ewing also finished in eighth place in Most Valuable Player voting,^[43][44] and was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.^[45]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1997 NBA playoffs, the Knicks faced off against the 6th–seeded Charlotte Hornets, a team that featured All-Star forward Glen Rice, Anthony Mason, and Vlade Divac.^[24][46] The Knicks won their first two home games at Madison Square Garden,^[47][48] before winning Game 3 over the Hornets on the road, 104–95 at the Charlotte Coliseum to win the series in a three-game sweep, and advance to the Eastern Conference Semi-finals.^[49][50][51] In the Semi-finals, the team faced off against the 2nd–seeded, and Atlantic Division champion Miami Heat, who were led by All-Star guard Tim Hardaway, All-Star center Alonzo Mourning, and Jamal Mashburn;^[24][52] this would eventually become the first chapter of one of the fiercest NBA rivalries of the period.^[24][53]

The Knicks held a 3–1 lead in the series after defeating the Heat in Game 4 at Madison Square Garden, 89–76.^[54][55][56] One notable incident of the series occurred in Game 5 at the Miami Arena, in which the Knicks lost to the Heat by a score of 96–81.^[57] During the fourth quarter, a brawl erupted when Heat forward P.J. Brown picked up Ward and threw him off the court, and several Knicks players—Ewing, Houston, Johnson and Starks—came off the bench during the altercation.^[58][59][60] Five Knicks players were suspended, with four of them receiving automatic one-game suspensions for leaving the bench during an altercation; Ewing, Houston and Ward were all suspended for Game 6, while Johnson and Starks were both suspended for Game 7, and Brown was suspended for two games.^[61][62][63] The Knicks lost Game 6 to the Heat at Madison Square Garden, 95–90,^[64] and then lost Game 7 at the Miami Arena, 101–90, despite a 37-point performance from Ewing, thus losing in a hard-fought seven-game series.^[65][66][67]

The Knicks finished fifth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 790,520 at Madison Square Garden during the regular season.^[21][24] Following the season, Wallace was traded to the Toronto Raptors in a three-team trade,^[68][69] and McCarty and Jones were both traded to the Boston Celtics.^[70][71]