Six Numbers to Know About Knicks 2024-2025 Schedule

The ultimate number, of couse, is 82. But several smaller digits will further define the 2024-25 New York Knicks season.

The path for the most legitimately hopeful season in recent metropolitan memory was laid out on Thursday, as the Knicks and their NBA brethren received 80 of their 82 dates (the exceptions being the NBA Cup shakeouts that have yet to be determined).

Among the 80, there are plenty of numerical subplots to sort out, some of whch we sort out below …

One would think that head coach Tom Thibodeau himself designed this schedule: save for the week-plus off for All-Star Weekend in San Francisco, the Knicks’ longest stretch between games is four: they’ll get a quartet between Jan. 21 (@ Brooklyn) and Jan. 25 (Sacramento) and one more just before the break between Feb. 4 (@ Toronto) and 8 (Boston).

The Knicks will be home for the (New Year’s and Martin Luther King Jr.) holidays: between Jan. 6 and Feb. 1, New York’s sneakers will be firmly planted in the tri-state area, as all 14 games they have in that span will be held in either New York or Pennsylvania.

A dozen will reside at MSG with the exceptions being a playoff rematch in Philadelphia (Jan. 15) and Mikal Bridges’ return to Brooklyn (Jan. 21). If recent history is any indicator, however, some Knicks fans would be so bold as to assume they have a stretch of 14 consecutive home games.

Patience is a virtue, but Knicks fans might not need it as often as usual: the team carries 15 back-to-backs on its schedule, right in line with the league average of 14.9. It’ll be jam-packed rush to the finish, as four of the occasions go down between Mar. 25 and the final day of the regular season on Apr. 13.

The Knicks had a dozen back-to-back on last year’s slate,earning five sweep and six splits while dropping both halves only once.

Knicks owner James Dolan’s critical comments about the Association’s new television deals didn’t scare away the league’s national partners: the Knicks appear on the league’s national networks (ABC, ESPN, TNT, NBA TV) on 34 occasions, tied with the defending champion Celtics for third-most in the league (behind only the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors at 39 and 36 respectively).

Knicks fans can rest assured, as the other 48 occasions are set to be narrated by the talents of MSG Network, namely Mike Breen and Walt “Clyde” Frazier.

There’s no rest for the wicked and none for the New York Knicks either: the schedulemakers opted to throw the Knicks into the proverbial fire immediately, as their first 10 games feature seven opponents from last year’s playoffs. The opening decalogue features a combined winning percentage of .535 from the year prior and that number shoots up to .595 if the 14-win Detroit Pistons are removed from the equation.

On the 57th day of Christmas, the Knicks’ true loves at the league office gave to them a matchup with Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs. It will mark the 57th time the Knicks play on the holiday, extending their own NBA record. A Christmas matchup with the Spurs also comes 25 years after the two sides did battle in the 1999 NBA Finals.

While Knicks fans often expect a lump of coal (posting a 24-32 record in Christmas games), recent Yuletide showdowns have been merrier: after enduring a two-year absence, the Knicks have won two of their last three games held on Dec. 25, including last season’s 129-122 win over Milwaukee at Madison Square Garden.

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