Patrick Ewing led the Knicks to the 1994 NBA Finals after defeating the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals in 7 games.
1951 (Eastern Division Finals)
This was the first of a prosperous but frustrating run for the franchise as they got close numerous times but didn’t reach the mountaintop in this decade. The Knicks made a run to the NBA Finals after winning the Eastern Division, as it was called at the time, over the Syracuse Nationals. The Rochester Royals would go on to beat the Knicks in seven games that year.
1952 (Eastern Division Finals)
The Knicks were again the top dogs of the Eastern Division this year but fell just shy of being NBA Champions. They made the Finals for the second year in a row by beating the Nationals. Unfortunately for the Knicks, another heartbreaking seven-game loss in the Finals was on the other side of that. This time, it was the Minneapolis Lakers taking home the hardware.
1953 (Eastern Division Finals)
This marked the third year in a row the Knicks reached the Finals. They bolted past the Celtics in four games in the Eastern Division Finals and once again met the Lakers for the right to be named champions. The Lakers were on the upswing, though, and defeated the Knicks in five games to take home their second consecutive title.
1970 (Eastern Division Finals)
After a bit of a drought in terms of making deep playoff pushes, the Knicks got back into title contention in the 1970 season. The core of Walt Frazier, Willis Reed and Dave DeBusschere helped the Knicks get back to the top of the Eastern Division. The Knicks beat the Bucks in five games to advance to the Finals, where they would defeat the Lakers to earn their first NBA Championship.
1972
The Knicks still had their championship DNA from the 1970 team on this squad, and they proved their mettle again in 1972. Led again by Frazier and DeBusschere, the Knicks easily skated past the Celtics in five games to win the Eastern Conference. However, they would not be so lucky in the Finals as they fell to the Lakers in a rematch of the 1970 series.
1973
After a tough end to the 1972 season, the Knicks were on a mission the following year. They made it back to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they met a little more resistance from the Celtics this time around, but still prevailed in seven games. That victory sent them to the Finals, where they would defeat the Lakers in a rematch in just five games.
1993
The Knicks endured a tough stretch of early exits after their 1973 championship but returned to contender status in the early 90s. They were a hard-nosed bunch that led the league in defensive rating that season under coach Pat Riley. However, this was the 1990s in the Eastern Conference. That means, more often than not, it was Michael Jordan’s Bulls representing the East in the Finals, and that was the case this season. The Knicks pushed the series to six games before bowing out.
1994
This went down as one of the best Eastern Conference Finals matchups to date. The hard-nosed Knicks with Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley and John Starks taking on the Reggie Miller-led Pacers made for an iconic series. The Knicks, who had just beaten the Bulls in seven games, needed another seven to dispatch of the Pacers. The Finals also went the distance, with the Knicks coming up just short against the Hakeem Olajuwon-led Rockets.
1999
The Knicks had a bit of a Cinderella run in the shortened 1999 season. They were just 27-23 in the regular season and finished fourth in their own division. The Knicks locked in during the postseason, however, and defeated the Heat and Hawks to get to the Eastern Conference Finals where they would meet a familiar foe, the Indiana Pacers. New York beat Indiana in six games to advance to the Finals, where they would fall to the eventual champion Spurs.
2000
Undeterred from a Finals loss the previous year, the Knicks made it back to the Eastern Conference Finals for a second consecutive season. They had a similar path to the ECF that included a series win over the Heat in seven games in the semifinals. A rematch was set with the Pacers for the right to represent the East in the NBA Finals. Reggie Miller’s Pacers got the better of the Knicks this time around and beat the Knicks in six games.
2025
The story of the 2025 New York Knicks is still being written with the Eastern Conference Finals getting underway. They have survived a 25-year drought since their last appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals. As luck would have it, they will be meeting the Pacers. This marks the fourth straight time in which the Knicks have had to face the Pacers when they made the Eastern Conference Finals. The winner will go on to face either the Thunder or Timberwolves in the NBA Finals.
