You wanna hear something funny? This morning, news came out that New York Knicks owner James Dolan expects his team to win the NBA Championship this year. This is funny because, one, the Knicks aren’t called the Miami Heat. And, two, the Knicks are cursed.
That’s not hyperbole, either. This franchise is cursed. Despite the confidence of Knicks fans, this team hasn’t won a championship since 1973, when this dude led the team to the promise land:
Don’t get it twisted: there have been some good Knicks moments. Like, the ’90s were fun, with Patrick Ewing and John Starks always leading the Knicks to decent playoff runs.
But, moments like that are exceptions, not the rule.
To celebrate the NY Knicks kicking off their new season this year, here are the saddest Knicks moments of all time.
10) Eddie Curry
The Knicks once gave the man you see above a six-year $60 million contract. And, at one point, it didn’t seem like it was the worst contract in the world. In his second year with the team, the 2006-07 season, Curry averaged 19.5 points and seven rebounds. That would be his peak: Curry would never have a notable role in the team again, mostly because of his effort. (There was a time where he weighed 350 pounds, kid).
9) The Allan Houston contract
Listen, any real Knicks fan will tell you that they LOVE Allan Houston, mostly because he hit one of the greatest shots in Knicks history.
Any real Knicks fan will also tell you that they HATE Allan Houston because of the six-year $100 million contract they gave the shooting guard in 2001 — at age 30, mind you. Allan was basically useless by the 2005 season.
8) James Dolan era
We already know that the Knicks are cursed, but why? We think it’s because of James Dolan, a man universally known as the second worst owner in basketball. (Number one still goes to Donald Sterling, who just seems like a terrible human being).
We were going to list all the awful shit Dolan’s done, but, man, just read this and come back to us.
7) The fight with the Heat
The New York Knicks vs. The Miami Heat was one of the most heated rivalries in the ’90s. There have been many great games and moments, but there’s nothing that compares to the brawl that happened during the Eastern Conference Semifinals in 1997. A number of players would get involved in the melee, and there were many suspensions that hurt the Knicks. The Knicks would lose the series because they didn’t have Patrick Ewing, Allan Houston, Larry Johnson and John Starks for game six and seven.
6) Pat Riley bounces
How did the Heat and Knicks series get so heated in the ’90s? It was because of the man you see above, Pat Riley. After taking the Knicks on a number of deep playoff runs throughout the ’90s, Riley would leave the Knicks after the 1995 playoffs. He would end up joining the Heat, as coach and GM. There’s an argument to be made that both franchises were never the same.
5) Trading Patrick Ewing for Glen Rice
For years, hall-of-fame center Patrick Ewing wasn’t appreciated by the New York City fan base. In fact, they didn’t fully embrace Pat until the 2001 season, when the Knicks traded the aging center for — gasp — the super average small forward Glen Rice. You’re not supposed to treat a legend like that.
4) Reggie Miller going cray
To this day, it’s one of the craziest things you’ll ever see on a basketball court: 9 points in 11 seconds. There’s no amount of words that will give that justice, just watch the clip above.
3) Patrick and “the lay-up”
Say lay-up to a Knicks fan and then watch him or her cry. Because he or she will most likely be thinking about this moment: when Patrick Ewing missed a series winning lay-up against the Indiana Pacers. WHY DIDN’T YOU DUNK IT, PATRICK?
2) “Smith, Smith, Smith”
In 1993, the Eastern Conference’s best team was the Patrick Ewing-led New York Knicks, not the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls. The Knicks had the best record in the conference that year, and they were almost unbeatable at Madison Square Garden. We say “almost” because the Knicks would lose at the Garden: it came in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. With the series tied 2-2, all New York forward Charles Smith had to do was hit a freaking’ lay-up. (Or, maybe, the refs could have called a foul there, just saying). The series would go to Chi-town the next game, and the Knicks would lose.
1) The 1994 NBA Finals
Honestly, the New York Knicks were supposed to win the NBA championship in 1994. The Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan retired before the season, so the only team in NY’s way was the Houston Rockets, the team they played in the Finals that year. The Knicks had two opportunities to win that series: in Game 6 when John Starks had his shot blocked in the last second…
…and then in Game 7, when Starks would go 2 for 18 shooting. 2 FOR 18. Ugh, we’re done.
