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Last time Knicks were in NBA Finals: Revisiting 1999 Cinderella run led by Patrick Ewing, Allan Houston originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The New York Knicks trip to the NBA Finals is a long time coming, with the team clinching the Eastern Conference title for the first time in almost three decades.
As the Knicks have dominated the playoffs thus far, fans are reminded of the last time the Knicks went far in the NBA playoffs, doing so in a much different fashion. While the Knicks were favorites in each of their three Eastern Conference series this year, they were underdogs in each series the last time they won the conference.
If the Knicks can finish the job in the NBA Finals, they would break a 52-year drought to bring a title back to New York. Until then, Knicks fans can celebrate being able to watch their team play in the NBA Finals for the first time since the 1990s.
Here's a breakdown of the last time the Knicks reached the NBA Finals.
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Last time Knicks were in NBA Finals
The Knicks haven't been in the NBA Finals since the 1999 season, when they made an unlikely run in a shortened season. The NBA had a lockout that year and didn't begin the season until the middle of January, which resulted in a 50-game season instead of the usual 82 games.
New York went just 27-23 in the regular season and earned the No. 8 seed in the playoffs, but executed three-straight upsets to make the NBA Finals. It was the Knicks' second NBA Finals appearance of the 1990s but, like was th case in 1994, ended in a series loss.
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1999 Knicks finals roster
| Player | Position |
| Rick Brunson | Point Guard |
| Marcus Camby | Center |
| Chris Childs | Point Guard |
| Ben David | Power Forward |
| Chris Dudley | Center |
| Patrick Ewing | Center |
| Allan Houston | Shooting Guard |
| Larry Johnson | Power Forward |
| Dennis Scott | Small Forward |
| Latrell Sprewell | Small Forward |
| Kurt Thomas | Power Forward |
| Charlie Ward | Point Guard |
| Herb Williams | Center |
| David Wingate | Shooting Guard |
The Knicks 1999 team was of course headlined by Patrick Ewing, the long-time Knick who anchored the team for most of his career. Ewing was 36 years old during this playoff run and near the end of his career, but still led the team in points per game in the regular season. However, Ewing was injured throughout the playoff run, which ended up limiting the team's upside.
The rest of the Knicks roster was much different than the one that made the Finals just five years prior. Allan Houston was their best player, producing a strong season for a Knicks team that was a changing of the guard from the Ewing era. Charlie Ward and Kurt Thomas also joined Houston as the only players to play in all 50 games that year.
New York also had Latrell Sprewell coming off the bench as one of the best sixth men in the league. Sprewell and Houston both averaged over 16 points per game and, in the playoffs, were the team's top two leading scorers.
Larry Johnson filled out the starting rotation while Chris Childs, Chris Dudley and Marcus Camby came off the bench.
The head coach of this team was Jeff Van Gundy, who took over for Don Nelson in 1996.
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1999 Knicks playoff run
First round: Miami Heat
The Knicks first playoff series was the team's hardest in the Eastern Conference. New York drew the No. 1 seeded Miami Heat led by Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway and former Knicks head coach Pat Riley.
The five-game series went the distance, as the Knicks took Games 1 and 3 along with the deciding Game 5. In that final game of the series, Allan Houston hit the game-winning shot in Miami to seal the deal and produce won of the iconic moments in Knicks history.
Second round: Atlanta Hawks
The second round of the playoffs was pretty nondescript, as New York swept the No. 4 Atlanta Hawks in the seven game series. That Hawks team included Steve Smith, Mookie Blaylock and Dikembe Mutombo, but had no answers for New York despite the seed disparity.
Eastern Conference Finals: Indiana Pacers
The Knicks and Indiana Pacers had a fierce rivalry in the 1990s, meeting in the playoffs several times. With Reggie Miller leading the charge, the Pacers always gave the Knicks a tough time, the two teams played each other six times in the playoffs between 1993 and 2000.
New York once again took Games 1, 3 and 5 before closing it out in New York during Game 6. The biggest highlight of this series was in Game 3, when Larry Johnson executed a game-winning four-point play to take the game and secure a 2-1 lead en route to the series victory.
NBA Finals: San Antonio Spurs
Once the Knicks made the NBA Finals, New York finally ran into a team that was too tough to beat. The Spurs were 37-13 that year and were the best team in basketball, going 15-2 in the playoffs while dominating their competition.
Tim Duncan and David Robinson led the way for a balanced Spurs team. Patrick Ewing was injured for this series, forcing Latrell Sprewell and Allan Houston to try and carry the team. Ultimately, though, San Antonio won the series in five games.
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