The 1990–91 New York Knicks season was the 45th season for the

Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

. In the off-season, the Knicks signed free agent John Starks, who played in the Continental Basketball Association the previous season. The Knicks changed their on-court leadership early in the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...

as head coach Stu Jackson was replaced by John MacLeod after 15 games. After a 6–3 start to the season, the Knicks lost eight of their next nine games, and held a 20–27 record at the All-Star break. They recovered to a 34–33 record near the end of the season, but then went 5–10 in their last 15 games. New York finished in third place in the Atlantic Division with a 39–43 record, and earned the #8 seed in the Eastern Conference for the NBA Playoffs.

Patrick Ewing Patrick Aloysius Ewing (born August 5, 1962) is a Jamaican-American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Georgetown University men's team. He played most of his career as the starting center for the N ...

led the Knicks with 26.6 points, averaged 11.2 rebounds and led them with 3.2 blocks per game. He was named to the All-NBA Second Team, and was selected for the 1991 NBA All-Star Game. Kiki Vandeweghe finished second on the team in scoring, averaging 16.3 points per game, while

Gerald Wilkins Gerald Bernard Wilkins (born September 11, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player. He is a 6'6" (1.98 m) shooting guard/small forward, who played collegiately at Moberly Area Community College and the University of Tennessee a ...

provided them with 13.8 points per game, and

Charles Oakley Charles Oakley (born December 18, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player. Oakley played for the Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards, and Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association ...

led the team with 12.1 rebounds per game. Mark Jackson led the team with 6.3 assists per game, playing most of the season off the bench as backup point guard behind

Maurice Cheeks Maurice Edward Cheeks (born September 8, 1956) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who serves as assistant coach for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has also served as head coach of t ...

. In the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, the Knicks were swept in three straight games by Michael Jordan and the eventual NBA champion

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

. The Knicks had suffered a 41-point margin in a 126–85 Game 1 road loss to the Bulls. The Bulls would reach the NBA Finals and defeat the Los Angeles Lakers in five games, winning their first-ever championship. Following the season, Cheeks was traded to the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

, and

Trent Tucker Kelvin Trent Tucker (born December 20, 1959) is an American retired professional basketball player who played eleven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A shooting guard, Tucker attended the University of Minnesota from 1978 t ...

was dealt to the Phoenix Suns. For the season, the Knicks slightly redesigned their uniforms, replacing their alternate "NY" logo on the left leg of their shorts with their current primary logo. These uniforms remained in use until 1992.

NBA Draft

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

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

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Playoffs

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Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

L 85–126
, Kiki VanDeWeghe (19) ,

(11) ,

(7) ,

Chicago Stadium Chicago Stadium was an indoor arena in Chicago, Illinois, that opened in 1929, closed in 1994 and was demolished in 1995. It was the home of the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks and the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls. ...

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L 79–89
,

(24) , Ewing, Oakley (10) ,

(3) ,

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L 94–103
, Ewing, VanDeWeghe (20) ,

(14) ,

(7) , Madison Square Garden
18,021 , 0–3 , -

Player statistics

NOTE: Please write the player statistics in alphabetical order by last name.

Season

Playoffs

Awards and records

All-NBA Second Team The All-NBA Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every NBA season. The voting is conducted by a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The team has been sele ...

Transactions

References

External links

1990–91 New York Knickerbockers Statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:1990-91 New York Knicks Season New York Knicks seasons New York Knicks New York Knicks New York Knick 1990s in Manhattan Madison Square Garden