| During the Knicks' slide into uselessness, there were | | | | The entire starting line up for the 69-70 Knicks had |
| signs of better things to come. In 1964, the Knicks | | | | their jerseys retired by the New York Knicks. The |
| draft Willis Reed, who went on to become 1965's | | | | jerseys of Walt Clyde Frazier #10, Willis Reed #19, |
| NBA Rookie of the Year. In 1967, right after the | | | | Dave DeBusschere #22, Bill Bradley #24, and Dick |
| Knicks made it to the playoffs for the first time since | | | | Barnett #12 all hang from the rafters at Madison |
| 1959; the Knicks hired Red Holzman as their head | | | | Square Garden. Reed walking on to the court was |
| coach. With Holzman at the helm, and young players | | | | voted the greatest moment in Madison Square |
| such as Bill Bradley and Walt "Clyde" Frazier, the | | | | Garden history. |
| Knicks were a playoff team once more in 1968. | | | | The Knicks' success continued for the next few |
| The next season, the Knicks team acquired Dave | | | | years. After losing to the Bullets in the 1971 Eastern |
| DeBusschere from the Detroit Pistons, and the team | | | | Conference finals, the team, aided by the acquisitions |
| went 54-28. In the ensuing playoffs, the Knicks team | | | | of Jerry Lucas and Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, returned |
| made it past the first round of the playoffs for the | | | | to the Finals in 1972. This time the Knicks fell to the |
| first time since 1953, sweeping the Baltimore Bullets in | | | | Lakers in five games. The next year, the results |
| three games, before falling to the Boston Celtics in | | | | were reversed, as the Knicks defeated the Lakers in |
| the Eastern Division finals. | | | | five games to win their second NBA title. The team |
| In the 1969-70 seasons, the Knicks had a then-NBA | | | | had one more impressive season in 1973-74, as they |
| record 18 straight victories en route to 60-22 record, | | | | reached the Eastern Conference finals, where they |
| which was the best regular season record in the | | | | fell in five games to the Celtics. It was after this |
| team's history. After defeating the Bullets in the | | | | season that Reed announced his retirement, and the |
| Eastern Division semifinals and the Milwaukee Bucks in | | | | team's fortunes took turn for the worse. |
| the Eastern Division finals, the Knicks defeated the | | | | In the 1974-75 season, the Knicks posted a 40-42 |
| Los Angeles Lakers in seven games to capture their | | | | record, their first losing record in eight seasons. |
| first NBA title. | | | | However, the record still qualified them for a playoff |
| Without question, the important moment in the series | | | | spot, though the Knicks lost to the Houston Rockets |
| occurred in Game 7, where an injured Reed limped | | | | in the first round. After two more seasons with losing |
| onto the court right previous to the start of the | | | | records, Holzman was replaced behind the bench by |
| game. Marv Albert described it: "Here comes Willis! | | | | Reed. In Reed's first year coaching the team, they |
| The crowd is going wild! Willis passes the scorers | | | | posted a 43-39 record and made it to the Eastern |
| table, he grabs a basketball. The Lakers have | | | | Conference semifinals, where they were swept by |
| congested (shooting), the Lakers are watching Willis!" | | | | the Philadelphia 76ers. The next season, after the |
| He scored the game's first two baskets before | | | | team got off to a 6-8 start, Holzman was rehired as |
| sitting out for the remainder of the contest. Despite | | | | the team's coach. The Knicks team did not fare any |
| his absence for most of the game, Reed's heroics | | | | better that season, finishing with a 31-51 record, their |
| inspired the team, and they won the game by a | | | | worst in thirteen years. |
| score of 113-99. | | | | |