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1988–89 New York Knicks season

Season of National Basketball Association team the New York Knicks

MSG Network (Marv Albert, John Andariese) (Jim Karvellas, Ernie Grunfeld) (lost to Bulls 2–4)

The 1988–89 New York Knicks season was the 43rd season for the team in the National Basketball Association. During the off-season, the Knicks acquired Charles Oakley from the Chicago Bulls, and selected point guard Rod Strickland out of DePaul University with the 19th overall pick in the 1988 NBA draft. At mid-season, the team traded their future first-round draft pick to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for All-Star forward Kiki Vandeweghe.

In the regular season, the Knicks won 18 of their first 25 games, held a 32–16 record at the All-Star break, finished in first place in the Atlantic Division with a 52–30 record, and earned the second seed in the Eastern Conference; the team won their first Division title since 1970–71, and posted a successful 35–6 home record at Madison Square Garden during the season.

Patrick Ewing averaged 22.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 3.5 blocks per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, while second-year guard Mark Jackson averaged 16.9 points, 8.6 assists and 1.9 steals per game along with 81 three-point field goals, and Johnny Newman provided the team with 16.0 points and 1.4 steals per game, plus 97 three-point field goals. In addition, Gerald Wilkins contributed 14.3 points and 1.4 steals per game, and Oakley provided the Knicks with 12.9 points, 10.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. Off the bench, Strickland provided 8.9 points and 3.9 assists per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, while three-point specialist Trent Tucker contributed 8.5 points per game, and led the Knicks with 118 three-point field goals, Sidney Green averaged 6.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, and Kenny Walker provided 5.3 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Houston Astrodome in Houston, Texas, Ewing and Jackson were both selected for the 1989 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Eastern Conference All-Star team; it was Jackson's first and only All-Star appearance. Meanwhile, Walker won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, and Tucker was selected to participate in the NBA Three-Point Shootout, but withdrew due to an illness in his family, and was replaced with Jon Sundvold of the Miami Heat. Ewing finished in fourth place in Most Valuable Player voting, finished in sixth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, and also finished tied in seventh place in Most Improved Player voting, while head coach Rick Pitino finished in sixth place in Coach of the Year voting.

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1989 NBA playoffs, the Knicks faced off against the 7th–seeded Philadelphia 76ers, a team that featured All-Star forward Charles Barkley, Mike Gminski, and sixth man Ron Anderson. The Knicks won their first two home games over the 76ers at Madison Square Garden. In Game 2, and with the 76ers up by 10 points with two minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Knicks caught up as Tucker hit a three-pointer with less than 10 seconds left; the Knicks defeated the 76ers, 107–106. The Knicks then won Game 3 over the 76ers on the road in overtime, 116–115 at The Spectrum to win the series in a three-game sweep, and advance to the Eastern Conference Semi-finals.

In the Semi-finals, the team faced off against the 6th–seeded Chicago Bulls, who were led by All-Star guard Michael Jordan, and second-year stars Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant. With the series tied at one game each, the Bulls won the next two games to take a 3–1 series lead, defeating the Knicks in Game 4 at Chicago Stadium, 106–93. After winning Game 5 at home, 121–114, the Knicks then lost Game 6 to the Bulls on the road, 113–111, thus losing the series in six games.

The Knicks finished third in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 746,851 at Madison Square Garden during the regular season. Following the season, Pitino resigned after two seasons with the Knicks, and became the head coach at the University of Kentucky, and Green was left unprotected in the 1989 NBA expansion draft, where he was selected by the Orlando Magic expansion team.

Draft picks

Main article: 1988 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School/Club team
1	19	Rod Strickland	PG	DePaul
2	37	Greg Butler	C	Stanford
3	69	Phil Stinnie	F	Virginia Commonwealth

Roster

Rick Pitino
Stu Jackson
Jim O'Brien
Ralph Willard}}

Regular season

Season standings

:z – clinched division title :y – clinched division title :x – clinched playoff spot

Game log

Regular season

Playoffs

3–0
- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
1

2–4

Player statistics

Regular season

Player	POS	GP	GS	MP	REB	AST	STL	BLK	PTS	MPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
	PF	82	82	2,604	861	187	104	14	1,061	31.8	10.5	2.3	1.3	.2	12.9
	PF	82	0	1,277	394	76	47	18	517	15.6	4.8	.9	.6	.2	6.3
	SF	81	80	2,336	206	162	111	23	1,293	28.8	2.5	2.0	1.4	.3	16.0
	SG	81	58	2,414	244	274	115	22	1,161	29.8	3.0	3.4	1.4	.3	14.3
	SG	81	24	1,824	176	132	88	6	687	22.5	2.2	1.6	1.1	.1	8.5
	PG	81	10	1,358	160	319	98	3	721	16.8	2.0	3.9	1.2	.0	8.9
	C	80	80	2,896	740	188	117	281	1,815	36.2	9.3	2.4	1.5	3.5	22.7
	SF	79	2	1,163	230	36	41	45	419	14.7	2.9	.5	.5	.6	5.3
	PG	72	72	2,477	341	619	139	7	1,219	34.4	4.7	8.6	1.9	.1	16.9
	C	71	2	584	148	7	10	16	289	8.2	2.1	.1	.1	.2	4.1
	C	33	0	140	28	2	1	2	56	4.2	.8	.1	.0	.1	1.7
†	SG	29	0	230	23	46	17	2	81	7.9	.8	1.6	.6	.1	2.8
†	PF	27	0	502	36	35	12	7	248	18.6	1.3	1.3	.4	.3	9.2

Playoffs

POS	GP	GS	MP	REB	AST	STL	BLK	PTS	MPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
C	9	9	340	90	20	9	18	179	37.8	10.0	2.2	1.0	2.0	19.9
PG	9	9	336	31	91	10	3	132	37.3	3.4	10.1	1.1	.3	14.7
PF	9	9	299	101	11	12	1	87	33.2	11.2	1.2	1.3	.1	9.7
SG	9	9	290	33	42	12	3	145	32.2	3.7	4.7	1.3	.3	16.1
SF	9	9	258	25	17	8	1	145	28.7	2.8	1.9	.9	.1	16.1
PF	9	0	159	11	7	3	2	73	17.7	1.2	.8	.3	.2	8.1
SG	9	0	159	19	14	10	2	71	17.7	2.1	1.6	1.1	.2	7.9
PF	9	0	128	36	5	2	1	36	14.2	4.0	.6	.2	.1	4.0
PG	9	0	111	13	25	4	1	54	12.3	1.4	2.8	.4	.1	6.0
SF	9	0	90	16	2	1	3	20	10.0	1.8	.2	.1	.3	2.2
C	7	0	26	11	0	0	0	15	3.7	1.6	.0	.0	.0	2.1
SG	4	0	14	3	1	0	1	4	3.5	.8	.3	.0	.3	1.0

† Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Knicks only.

Awards and records

Patrick Ewing, All-NBA Second Team
Patrick Ewing, NBA All-Defensive Second Team
Rod Strickland, NBA All-Rookie Team 2nd Team

References

(2003). "The Fourth Estate". New York Knicks.
(2003). "The Fourth Estate". New York Knicks.
"New York Knicks". Basketball-Reference.
Goldaper, Sam. (June 28, 1988). "N.B.A.; Cartwright Traded to Bulls for Oakley". The New York Times.
Sakamoto, Bob. (June 28, 1988). "Bulls Deal Oakley to Knicks for Cartwright". Chicago Tribune.
(June 28, 1988). "Bulls Swap Oakley for Knicks' Cartwright; Theus Joins Hawks". Deseret News.
Goldaper, Sam. (June 29, 1988). "N.B.A. Draft; Manning, Then 3-Way Trade Give Hope to Lowly Clippers". The New York Times.
Rogers, Thomas. (June 29, 1988). "DePaul's Strickland to Knicks". The New York Times.
"1988 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference.
Goldaper, Sam. (February 15, 1989). "Vandeweghe Trade Is Left Up in the Air". The New York Times.
Thomas Jr., Robert McG.. (February 24, 1989). "Basketball; Knicks, In a Surprise, Get Vandeweghe; Celtics Trade Ainge". The New York Times.
Love, Ian. (February 26, 1989). "Kiki Vandeweghe, the Player the New York Knicks Coveted...". United Press International.
"NBA Games Played on February 9, 1989". Basketball-Reference.
"1988–89 New York Knicks Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference.
Goldaper, Sam. (April 23, 1989). "Pro Basketball; Knicks and Nets Go Separate Ways". The New York Times.
(April 23, 1989). "Heat Rallies Past Rockets". Times Daily.
"1988–89 NBA Awards Voting". Basketball-Reference.
"Mark Jackson". Basketball-Reference.
"1988–89 New York Knicks Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.
Goldaper, Sam. (February 1, 1989). "Basketball; Jackson and Ewing Are Chosen as All-Stars". The New York Times.
(September 13, 2021). "1989 NBA All-Star Recap". NBA.com.
"1989 NBA All-Star Game Box Score: West 143, East 134". Basketball-Reference.
(February 12, 1989). "Walker Wins One for His Father". The New York Times.
"NBA & ABA All-Star Game Contest Winners". Basketball-Reference.
(February 3, 1989). "Sundvold Gains Shootout". Sun Sentinel.
(February 3, 1989). "Sundvold to Replace Tucker in Shootout". The Evening News.
McManis, Sam. (May 23, 1989). "Magic Is the MVP This Time: Jordan Finishes Second in Closest Voting in 8 Seasons". Los Angeles Times.
(May 25, 1989). "Fitzsimmons Coach of Year". Los Angeles Times.
"1988–89 Philadelphia 76ers Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.
"1989 NBA Eastern Conference First Round Game 1: Philadelphia 76ers at New York Knicks Box Score, April 27, 1989". Basketball-Reference.
"1989 NBA Eastern Conference First Round Game 2: Philadelphia 76ers at New York Knicks Box Score, April 29, 1989". Basketball-Reference.
Love, Ian. (April 29, 1989). "Knicks 107, Sixers 106". United Press International.
Goldaper, Sam. (April 30, 1989). "Pro Basketball; Tucker's 3-Pointer Gives Knicks 2-0 Lead". The New York Times.
Goldaper, Sam. (May 1, 1989). "Tucker Enjoys Shot's Reality". The New York Times.
Goldaper, Sam. (May 3, 1989). "Wilkins' Overtime Shot Gives Knicks Sweep". The New York Times.
(May 3, 1989). "NBA Playoffs Roundup: Knicks Complete Sweep with Overtime Win". Los Angeles Times.
"1989 NBA Eastern Conference First Round: 76ers vs. Knicks". Basketball-Reference.
"1988–89 Chicago Bulls Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.
"1989 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 4: New York Knicks at Chicago Bulls Box Score, May 14, 1989". Basketball-Reference.
"1989 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 5: Chicago Bulls at New York Knicks Box Score, May 16, 1989". Basketball-Reference.
Goldaper, Sam. (May 20, 1989). "Jordan Ends Knicks' Comeback and Season". The New York Times.
Murphy, Robert J.. (May 20, 1989). "Bulls 113, Knicks 111". United Press International.
"1989 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals: Bulls vs. Knicks". Basketball-Reference.
"1988–89 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference.
(May 30, 1989). "Pitino Leaving, Reports Say". The New York Times.
(May 31, 1989). "Pitino Released from Knicks' Contract, Expected to Take Kentucky Job". Los Angeles Times.
(May 31, 1989). "Pitino Resigns as Coach of Knicks, Now Looks Forward to Kentucky Challenge". Deseret News.
Brown, Clifton. (June 16, 1989). "Knicks' Green Is Taken First in N.B.A.'s Expansion Draft". The New York Times.
Howard-Cooper, Scott. (June 16, 1989). "NBA Expansion Draft: Timberwolves Get Mahorn; Lakers Lose Rivers". Los Angeles Times.
"1989 NBA Expansion Draft". Basketball-Reference.
"All-NBA & All-ABA Teams". Basketball-Reference.
"NBA & ABA All-Defensive Teams". Basketball-Reference.
"NBA & ABA All-Rookie Team". Basketball-Reference.

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