How many championships have the Knicks won? History of New York’s NBA Finals appearances and record | Sporting News

The Knicks have been one of the NBA’s longer-suffering franchises. Since 2001, New York has reached the postseason only seven times and has made it past the first round just three times.

But New York appears as well poised as any team to go on a deeper run in 2024. The Knicks entered the field as the second seed in the Eastern Conference and have received a star performance from Jalen Brunson in the postseason so far.

The Knicks are still going to have to get past the Pacers despite a pair of injuries and will then likely be set to face the NBA’s regular-season leader in the Celtics.

How many times have the Knicks reached the NBA Finals and won it all? Here’s what you need to know.

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How many NBA Finals have the Knicks won?

The Knicks have won a pair of NBA Finals while losing in the series six times.

Here is a review of each of the past two NBA Finals wins.

1970 NBA Finals: Knicks 4, Lakers 3

Los Angeles had been a frequent runner-up in the NBA Finals. Before the 1970 NBA Finals, the Lakers had been to two straight and had appeared in six of the past eight NBA Finals. Los Angeles lost all six. Going up against the 60-22 Knicks, the top team from the NBA’s regular season, wasn’t going to be an easy feat.

The series was a back-and-forth affair throughout the contest. No team ever won back-to-back games in the series, alternating evens and odds. Unfortunately for the Lakers, the Knicks were odds, winning Games 1, 3, 5 and 7.

The series is perhaps most remembered for West’s half-court 3 in Game 3, Willis Reed playing on a severe thigh injury in Game 7 to play standout defense and a 36-point effort from Walt Frazier to deliver the Knicks their first title in franchise history.

Reed and Dave DeBusschere averaged double-doubles in the series with 23.0 points and 10.5 rebounds per game for Reed, and 19.0 points and 12.6 rebounds for DeBusschere. That wound up being enough to overcome Jerry West averaging 31.3 points per game, and Wilt Chamberlain averaging 23.3 points and 24.1 rebounds per game.

1973 NBA Finals: Knicks 4, Lakers 1

Stop if you’ve heard this before: despite big games from West and Chamberlain, the Lakers came up short in another NBA Finals. Chamberlain led all players in rebounds each game with no fewer than 13, though the averages for Chamberlain (11.6 points, 18.6 rebounds) and West (21.4 points) were less gaudy than the first meeting.

The series was still closer than it appeared on paper. There were no double-digit victories on either side. Los Angeles won Game 1 115-112, but the Knicks rattled off four straight victories with wins of 99-95, 87-83, 103-98 and 102-93.

The matchup also played out the exact opposite as the 1972 NBA Finals in which the Knicks won Game 1 but lost the remaining four contests. 

The Knicks saw five players average at least 15 points per game in the series, led by Bill Bradley (18.6) and Frazier (16.6). It also proved to be the lone NBA Finals ring in the careers of Earl Malone and Jerry Lucas.

Knicks NBA Finals appearances

The Knicks have been to the NBA Finals eight times with two victories.

Here’s a look at all their appearances:

When is the last time the Knicks played in the NBA Finals?

The Knicks last made the NBA Finals in the 1998-99 season. New York faced against the Spurs. It was the third year of the Gregg Popovich era and it was the second year of Tim Duncan on the roster.

Though New York reached the Finals, it was missing star center Patrick Ewing, who was injured against the Pacers in the playoffs. The “Twin Towers” of Duncan and David Robinson dominated the series, with Duncan averaging 27.4 points and 14.0 rebounds while Robinson averaged 16.6 points and 11.8 rebounds to overcome both Latrell Sprewell and Allan Houston averaging 26.0 and 21.6 points per game, respectively. No other Knick averaged double digits.

Which team has won the most NBA Finals?

The Lakers and Celtics still share the title for the most NBA Finals with 17 each. No one else has reached double-digits.

Below are all the teams that have won multiple NBA Finals.