The New York Knicks along with the Boston Celtics are the only two teams that are original members of the NBA in their original city. Named after the Dutch settlers that landed in New York in the 1600's, the Knickerbockers played their first game on November 1, 1946 against the Toronto Huskies where the Knicks barely outscored the Huskies 68-66.
The Knicks won two NBA Championships in the early 1970's with hall of fame players Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, Earl Monroe, and Bill Bradley. New York struggled for years after the team's "golden age" until all star center Patrick Ewing came along to lead the Knicks to two NBA finals appearances in 1994 and 1999.
Many fans around New York City today are unhappy with the coaching and ownership of the team. During the 2006 NBA Draft, ESPN broadcasted Knicks fans booing at the team's first-round pick Renaldo Balkman, who was considered a bad choice and projected to go into the 2nd round or possibly even be undrafted.
The Knicks are under .500 for the 2008-2009 season and are in 3rd place in the Eastern Atlantic Division. Al Harrington and David Lee are the scoring leaders followed by Nate Robinson and Wilson Chandler. New York is definitely showing signs of improvement as their players play more and more to their potential as the season continues.
