1993–94 New York Knicks season

The 1993–94 NBA season was the 48th season for the New York Knicks in the National Basketball Association. This marked the last season in which the Knicks (and all other MSG properties) were owned by Paramount Communications (formerly Gulf+Western), which was sold near the end of the season to Viacom, which in turn sold them to ITT Corporation and Cablevision. A couple of years later, ITT would sell their share to Cablevision. The Knicks' current owner, The Madison Square Garden Company, is a spin-off of Cablevision. During the off-season, the team signed free agent Anthony Bonner.

The Knicks got off to a fast start by winning their first seven games of the regular season. However, they would lose Doc Rivers for the remainder of the season to a knee injury after only just 19 games, while Charles D. Smith and second-year guard Hubert Davis also missed parts of the season with injuries. At mid-season, the Knicks traded Tony Campbell to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Derek Harper, who filled in the void left by Rivers at the point guard position. Despite the injuries, the Knicks had another successful season holding a 34–14 record at the All-Star break, and then posting a 15-game winning streak late in the season, including a 14–0 record in March, finishing in first place in the Atlantic Division with a 57–25 record, and earning the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Patrick Ewing had a stellar season averaging 24.5 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game, but was not selected to an All-NBA Team at season's end, while John Starks averaged 19.0 points, 5.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game, and also led the Knicks with 113 three-point field goals, but only played 59 games due to a knee injury, which forced him to miss the remainder of the regular season, and Charles Oakley provided the team with 11.8 points and rebounds per game each, contributed 1.3 steals per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team.

In addition, Davis contributed 11.0 points per game in 56 games, while Smith provided with 10.4 points per game in 43 games, and Greg Anthony contributed 7.9 points, 4.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Meanwhile, Rivers averaged 7.5 points, 5.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game, Rolando Blackman contributed 7.3 points per game off the bench, sixth man Anthony Mason averaged 7.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game also off the bench, and Bonner provided with 5.1 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.

Ewing, Starks and Oakley were all selected for the 1994 NBA All-Star Game in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Ewing also finished in fifth place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Oakley finished in ninth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, Mason finished tied in sixth place in Sixth Man of the Year voting, and head coach Pat Riley finished tied in fifth place in Coach of the Year voting.

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1994 NBA playoffs, the Knicks defeated the New Jersey Nets in four games. In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, they faced off against the Chicago Bulls for the fourth straight year; Michael Jordan had retired prior to the season to pursue a baseball career, and the team was now led by Scottie Pippen. The Knicks would defeat the Bulls in a full seven game series to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they trailed 3–2 to Reggie Miller and the 5th-seeded Indiana Pacers, but managed to defeat them in another full seven game series.

The Knicks advanced to the 1994 NBA Finals, and took a 3–2 series lead over regular season MVP, and Defensive Player of the Year Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets, but lost the next two games, thus losing the series in seven games. In the 1994 playoffs, the Knicks set the record for most games allowing under 95, and under 100 points, in one playoff run. Opponents were held to under 95 and 100 points in 23 and 24 games, respectively.

The Knicks finished fourth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 810,193 at Madison Square Garden during the regular season. Following the season, Blackman was released to free agency.