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