1992–93 New York Knicks season

1992–93 New York Knicks season
Division champions
Head coachPat Riley
General managerErnie Grunfeld
OwnersParamount Communications, Inc.
ArenaMadison Square Garden
Results
Record6022 (.732)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Atlantic)
Conference: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finishEastern Conference finals
(lost to Bulls 2–4)

Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
TelevisionMSG Network
RadioWFAN

The 1992–93 NBA season was the 47th season for the New York Knicks in the National Basketball Association. During the off-season, the Knicks acquired Charles D. Smith, Doc Rivers and Bo Kimble from the Los Angeles Clippers, acquired All-Star guard Rolando Blackman from the Dallas Mavericks, and Tony Campbell from the Minnesota Timberwolves, and later signed free agent Herb Williams in November. The team also selected shooting guard Hubert Davis from the University of North Carolina with the 20th overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft.

For the season, the Knicks changed their primary logo, adding a silver triangle behind a redesigned text of the word "Knicks" and an orange basketball. The team slightly redesigned their uniforms, replacing the previous Knicks logo with the newer logo on the right leg of their shorts. The Knicks' new logo remained in use until 1995, when they added the city name "New York" above their logo, while the uniforms lasted until 1997.

The Knicks got off to a 4–4 start to the regular season, but then won 12 of their next 15 games, held a 34–16 record at the All-Star break, and finished the season by winning 24 of their final 28 games, including a nine-game winning streak in March and five straight victories to end the season. The team won the Atlantic Division title with a 60–22 record, which earned them the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference; they also posted a successful 37–4 home record at Madison Square Garden during the regular season.

Head coach Pat Riley was named the NBA Coach of the Year for the second time, while Patrick Ewing averaged 24.2 points, 12.1 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team; Ewing and Riley both represented the Eastern Conference at the 1993 NBA All-Star Game in Salt Lake City, Utah. In addition, John Starks became the team's starting shooting guard, averaging 17.5 points and 5.1 assists per game, and leading the Knicks with 108 three-point field goals, as he was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, and Smith, who switched from the power forward position to small forward under Riley's request, provided the team with 12.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.

Meanwhile, sixth man Anthony Mason averaged 10.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game off the bench, while Blackman contributed 9.7 points per game, and Rivers provided the team with 7.8 points, 5.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Campbell contributed 7.7 points per game, Charles Oakley averaged 6.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, and second-year guard Greg Anthony provided the Knicks with 6.6 points, 5.7 assists, and 1.6 steals per game.

Ewing also finished in fourth place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Starks finished in fourth place in Most Improved Player voting, and Mason finished tied in second place in Sixth Man of the Year voting; Ewing, Starks and Oakley all finished tied in fifth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting.

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1993 NBA playoffs, the Knicks defeated the Indiana Pacers, three games to one, and advanced to the Eastern Conference Semi-finals. The Knicks won their series over the 5th-seeded Charlotte Hornets in five games, and gained a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals, where they faced off against Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and the 2-time defending champion Chicago Bulls, who had eliminated the Knicks from the playoffs in three of the previous four years. However, after taking a 2–0 series lead, the Knicks lost the next four games to the 2nd-seeded Bulls, thus losing the series in six games to end their season. The Bulls would go on to defeat the Phoenix Suns in six games in the 1993 NBA Finals, winning their third consecutive championship.

The Knicks finished fourth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 804,840 at Madison Square Garden during the regular season. Following the season, Kimble was released to free agency, and left to play overseas in France; Kimble had previously been selected by the Los Angeles Clippers with the eighth overall pick in the 1990 NBA draft, after a successful college career at Loyola Marymount, where he averaged 35.3 points per game during the 1989–90 season. However, he failed to live up to expectations after three seasons in the NBA.

On March 23, 1993, during a road game against the Suns, a brawl occurred when Suns guard Kevin Johnson ran into Rivers at the end of the first half; Rivers chased Johnson in retaliation, and Anthony, who was dressed in street clothes because of a sprained ankle, came off the Knicks' bench and punched Johnson. Anthony was fined $20,500 and suspended for five games, while Johnson was fined $15,000 and suspended for two games, and Rivers was fined $10,000 and suspended for two games. The Suns defeated the Knicks, 121–92.