1968–69 New York Knicks season
Head coachRed Holzman
General managerEddie Donovan
ArenaMadison Square Garden
Results
Record54–28 (.659)
PlaceDivision: 3rd (Eastern)
Playoff finishEast Division finals
(lost to Celtics 2–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWOR-TV[1]
RadioWHN[2]

The 1968–69 New York Knicks season was the 23rd season for the team in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Knicks finished third in the Eastern Division with a 54–28 regular season record, and qualified for the NBA playoffs for the third straight year.[3] In the first round of the playoffs, New York defeated the Baltimore Bullets in a four-game sweep to earn a berth in the Eastern Division finals. The Knicks lost the division finals to the eventual NBA champion Boston Celtics in six games.[4] Willis Reed scored a team-best 21.1 points per game for the Knicks; Walt Frazier led the team with 7.9 assists per game and Reed averaged 14.5 rebounds per game.[5]

The Knicks selected Bill Hosket, Jr. in the opening round of the 1968 NBA draft,[6] and made a significant trade early in the season, acquiring Dave DeBusschere from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Walt Bellamy and Butch Komives. Author Harvey Araton called him "the player who would complete the championship puzzle in New York."[7] After a 5–11 start to the season, New York went on a long winning streak, winning all but 2 of 19 games in one stretch that included 13 straight home wins.[8] After a two-game losing streak, the Knicks won 11 consecutive games from January 25 to February 15 to bring their record to 44–21. The Knicks had two four-game winning streaks during the rest of the season, and ended with a 54–28 record.[9] This mark placed them third in the Eastern Conference; only the Bullets and Philadelphia 76ers had superior records. New York saw an increase in attendance during the regular season; after having six sellouts in their entire history, the Knicks played to capacity crowds in 14 games at Madison Square Garden.[10]

New York faced the Bullets, who had won 57 games in the regular season and held the number one seed in the Eastern Conference, in their first playoff round.[11] The Knicks won the first two games by over 10 points each, and a pair of closer victories in games three and four eliminated Baltimore.[9] They held home court advantage for their series with the Celtics, but lost it with a 108–100 loss in the first game. After losing two of the next three games, New York won game five to force a sixth game. However, Boston's Sam Jones posted 29 points to help the Celtics to a 106–105 win that ended the Knicks' season.[12]

NBA draft

Note: This is not an extensive list; it only covers the first and second rounds, and any other players picked by the franchise that played at least one game in the league.[13]

Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
1 10 Bill Hosket F/C  United States Ohio State
3 30 Don May F/C  United States Dayton
17 202 Milt Williams G  United States Lincoln (MO)

Roster

1968–69 New York Knicks roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOBFrom
SG 12 Barnett, Dick 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1936–10–02 Tennessee State
C 17 Bowman, Nate 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1945–03–19 Wichita State
SF 24 Bradley, Bill 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1943–07–28 Princeton
PF 22 DeBusschere, Dave 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1940–10–16 Detroit Mercy
PG 10 Frazier, Walt 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1945–03–29 Southern Illinois
PF 20 Hosket, Bill, Jr. 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1946–12–20 Ohio State
PF 18 Jackson, Phil 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1945-09-17 North Dakota
SF 5 May, Don 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1946–01–03 Dayton
C 19 Reed, Willis (C) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1942–06–25 Grambling State
SG 6 Riordan, Mike 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1945–07–09 Providence
SF 33 Russell, Cazzie 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1944–06–07 Michigan
SF 9 Stallworth, Dave 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1941–12–20 Wichita State
Head coach
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Eastern Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
x-Baltimore Bullets 5725.695–29–924–154–126–14
x-Philadelphia 76ers 5527.671226–824–165–323–17
x-New York Knicks 5428.659330–719–205–126–14
x-Boston Celtics 4834.585924–1221–193–323–17
Cincinnati Royals 4141.5001615-1316–2110–720–20
Detroit Pistons 3250.3902521–177–304–313–27
Milwaukee Bucks 2755.3293015–198–274–97–29
x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1968–69 NBA records
Team ATL BAL BOS CHI CIN DET LAL MIL NYK PHI PHO SDR SFW SEA
Atlanta —2–43–36–14–26–03–44–22–41–56–03–44–34–2
Baltimore 4–2—5–26–04–37–03–35–13–42–46–05–13–34–2
Boston 3–32–5—4–25–25–12–45–11–65–26–04–23–33–3
Chicago 1–60–62–4—1–53–33–45–12–41–54–23–34–34–3
Cincinnati 2–43–42–55–1—3–42–45–14–23–44–22–43–33–3
Detroit 0–60–71–53–34–3—3–32–43–43–44–23–32–44–2
Los Angeles 4–33–34–24–34–23–3—5–15–11–56–07–04–35–1
Milwaukee 2–41–51–51–51–54–21–5—0–60–66–24–23–33–5
New York 4–24–36–14–22–44–31–56–0—4–35–13–35–16–0
Philadelphia 5–14–22–55–14–34–35–16–03–4—5–14–22–46–0
Phoenix 0–60–60–62–42–42–40–62–61–51–5—1–72–43–3
San Diego 4–31–52–43–34–23–30–72–43–32–47–1—3–33–3
San Francisco 3–43–33–33–43–34–23–43–31–54–24–23–3—4–3
Seattle 2–42–43–33–43–32–41–55–30–60–63–33–33–4—

Game log

1968–69 game log
#DateOpponentScoreHigh pointsRecord
1October 15Chicago100–96Cazzie Russell (29)0–1
2October 19Los Angeles118–96Walt Bellamy (22)0–2
3October 22Philadelphia114–117Cazzie Russell (27)1–2
4October 23@ Milwaukee114–112Willis Reed (23)2–2
5October 24@ Phoenix92–109Willis Reed (24)2–3
6October 26Cincinnati92–98Cazzie Russell (26)3–3
7October 29San Francisco97–110Cazzie Russell (24)4–3
8October 30@ Cincinnati114–118Willis Reed (21)4–4
9November 1Baltimore119–103Howard Komives (24)4–5
10November 2@ Detroit104–112Willis Reed (34)4–6
11November 3@ Seattle122–108Cazzie Russell (35)5–6
12November 5@ San Diego109–113Cazzie Russell (26)5–7
13November 6@ San Francisco93–94Cazzie Russell (18)5–8
14November 8@ Los Angeles100–102Barnett, Reed (22)5–9
15November 10@ Los Angeles109–130Dick Barnett (26)5–10
16November 14Cincinnati110–101Cazzie Russell (28)5–11
17November 16Chicago97–119Cazzie Russell (24)6–11
18November 19San Diego113–107Dick Barnett (22)6–12
19November 20@ Atlanta106–111Dick Barnett (26)6–13
20November 22N Chicago114–107Cazzie Russell (23)7–13
21November 23Boston100–111Walt Bellamy (29)8–13
22November 26Los Angeles100–104Walt Frazier (21)9–13
23November 27@ Boston117–131Walt Bellamy (22)9–14
24November 30Detroit108–120Walt Bellamy (32)10–14
25December 3Atlanta93–126Dick Barnett (24)11–14
26December 4@ Atlanta121–113Cazzie Russell (26)12–14
27December 7Milwaukee113–119Cazzie Russell (26)13–14
28December 8N Cincinnati115–120Dick Barnett (27)13–15
29December 10Phoenix106–111Willis Reed (35)14–15
30December 11@ Baltimore110–118Dick Barnett (31)14–16
31December 13@ Chicago94–83Dick Barnett (22)15–16
32December 14San Diego105–112Cazzie Russell (25)16–16
33December 15@ Philadelphia104–110Cazzie Russell (25)16–17
34December 17San Francisco99–114Walt Bellamy (24)17–17
35December 18@ Boston104–98Barnett, Reed (24)18–17
36December 20@ Detroit135–87Dave DeBusschere (21)19–17
37December 21Seattle105–131Cazzie Russell (27)20–17
38December 25Philadelphia109–110Willis Reed (25)21–17
39December 27@ San Diego111–109Russell, Reed (23)22–17
40December 28@ Seattle111–108Willis Reed (26)23–17
41December 29N Seattle112–120Willis Reed (34)24–17
42December 31Baltimore110–121Willis Reed (39)25–17
43January 4Detroit103–111Cazzie Russell (23)26–17
44January 7@ Chicago101–102Willis Reed (28)26–18
45January 8@ Milwaukee115–101Willis Reed (25)27–18
46January 9@ Phoenix134–120Willis Reed (34)28–18
47January 11@ San Francisco85–77Willis Reed (22)29–18
48January 12@ San Diego105–102Willis Reed (36)30–18
49January 17N Seattle94–114Walt Frazier (27)31–18
50January 18N Milwaukee117–109Cazzie Russell (41)32–18
51January 19@ Atlanta96–100Walt Frazier (25)32–19
52January 21Seattle106–113Willis Reed (27)33–19
53January 22@ Philadelphia137–140 (2OT)Willis Reed (37)33–20
54January 24@ Detroit106–107Dick Barnett (34)33–21
55January 25Milwaukee96–113Willis Reed (29)34–21
56January 28Philadelphia88–121Willis Reed (30)35–21
57January 30@ Baltimore109–106Walt Frazier (28)36–21
58February 1Boston82–109Bill Bradley (28)37–21
59February 2@ Boston95–94Dick Barnett (24)38–21
60February 4Atlanta97–122Bill Bradley (25)39–21
61February 5@ Milwaukee111–102Willis Reed (24)40–21
62February 7@ Chicago105–98Willis Reed (31)41–21
63February 8Baltimore100–106Dick Barnett (32)42–21
64February 12Phoenix105–112Willis Reed (28)43–21
65February 15San Francisco92–98Walt Frazier (24)44–21
66February 18Los Angeles113–109Walt Frazier (30)44–22
67February 19@ Cincinnati100–110Walt Frazier (27)44–23
68February 22San Diego108–104Walt Frazier (30)44–24
69February 25Atlanta101–122Willis Reed (33)45–24
70February 26@ Boston92–88Walt Frazier (28)46–24
71March 1Boston96–115Willis Reed (30)47–24
72March 4Detroit99–102Dave DeBusschere (21)48–24
73March 5@ Detroit120–128Dave DeBusschere (26)48–25
74March 7N Phoenix87–119Bradley, Frazier (24)49–25
75March 9@ Philadelphia101–110Willis Reed (27)49–26
76March 11Philadelphia101–121Dave DeBusschere (38)50–26
77March 12@ Baltimore110–111Dick Barnett (28)50–27
78March 15Cincinnati108–121Willis Reed (36)51–27
79March 19Baltimore100–104Willis Reed (37)52–27
80March 21@ Phoenix139–104DeBusschere, Frazier (24)53–27
81March 22@ San Francisco117–90Dick Barnett (35)54–27
82March 23@ Los Angeles111–128Willis Reed (26)54–28

Playoffs

1969 playoff game log
Division semifinals: 4–0 (home: 2–0; road: 2–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 March 27 @ Baltimore W 113–101 Walt Frazier (26) Dave DeBusschere (21) Walt Frazier (11) Baltimore Civic Center
11,941		 1–0
2 March 29 Baltimore W 107–91 Dick Barnett (27) Dave DeBusschere (19) Walt Frazier (12) Madison Square Garden
19,500		 2–0
3 March 30 @ Baltimore W 119–116 Willis Reed (35) Willis Reed (19) Walt Frazier (17) Baltimore Civic Center
9,927		 3–0
4 April 2 Baltimore W 115–108 Willis Reed (43) Willis Reed (17) Walt Frazier (11) Madison Square Garden
19,500		 4–0
Division finals: 2–4 (home: 2–1; road: 0–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 April 6 Boston L 100–108 Walt Frazier (34) Dave DeBusschere (14) Walt Frazier (8) Madison Square Garden
19,500		 0–1
2 April 9 @ Boston L 97–112 Willis Reed (28) Willis Reed (13) Walt Frazier (4) Boston Garden
14,933		 0–2
3 April 10 Boston W 101–91 Walt Frazier (26) Willis Reed (14) Walt Frazier (12) Madison Square Garden
19,500		 1–2
4 April 13 @ Boston L 96–97 Willis Reed (22) Willis Reed (19) Walt Frazier (6) Boston Garden
13,506		 1–3
5 April 14 Boston W 112–104 Willis Reed (24) Walt Frazier (12) Walt Frazier (9) Madison Square Garden
19,500		 2–3
6 April 18 @ Boston L 105–106 Willis Reed (32) Willis Reed (11) Bill Bradley (7) Boston Garden
14,933		 2–4
1969 schedule

Awards and records

References

  1. ↑ The Fourth Estate (PDF). New York Knicks. 2003. p. 331. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
  2. ↑ The Fourth Estate (PDF). New York Knicks. 2003. p. 330. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
  3. ↑ "New York Knickerbockers Franchise Index". Basketball-Reference. Archived from the original on April 24, 2010. Retrieved April 10, 2010.
  4. ↑ "1968–69 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference. Archived from the original on March 29, 2010. Retrieved April 10, 2010.
  5. ↑ "1968–69 New York Knicks Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  6. ↑ "1968 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  7. ↑ Araton, pp. 87–88.
  8. ↑ Araton, pp. 86, 90.
  9. 1 2 "1968–69 New York Knicks Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  10. ↑ Araton, pp. 95, 104.
  11. ↑ Araton, p. 95.
  12. ↑ Araton, pp. 97–98.
  13. ↑ "1968 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  14. 1 2 "All-NBA & All-ABA Teams". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
  15. 1 2 "NBA & ABA All-Defensive Teams". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved August 3, 2013.

Bibliography

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