1970 New York Knicks

Red Holzman's Knicks built their season on defense and ball movement, and they ripped off an 18-game winning streak, then a league record. They finished 60-22, the best mark the franchise has ever posted.

Reed was the center and the leader, but Walt Frazier ran the show. After Reed tore a muscle in his thigh in Game 5, the Lakers blew out New York in Game 6 with Chamberlain dominating inside. Reed hobbled out for Game 7 and hit his first two shots, and the Garden erupted. Frazier did the actual damage that night: 36 points and 19 assists.

The series went the distance against a Lakers team with West, Chamberlain, and Baylor. New York's edge was depth and a shared style, with Bill Bradley, Dave DeBusschere, and Dick Barnett rounding out a starting five that moved the ball as well as any group of its time.

The roster also carried a young forward named Phil Jackson, who missed the entire season recovering from spinal fusion surgery and watched from the bench. He would coach eleven championship teams of his own.

The league was smaller than it is today, but the 1970 playoffs still required beating the best teams in the division and then the other side of the bracket. Title paths from this era are shorter on paper than a modern run, yet the Finals still decided the champion.

The starting five was Walt Frazier, Dick Barnett, Bill Bradley, Dave DeBusschere, and Willis Reed. Red Holzman coached the group with Mike Riordan as the primary bench scorer.

The full roster ran deeper than the headline names. Role players who mattered included Cazzie Russell (instant scoring off the bench); Dave Stallworth (reserve forward back after a heart scare); Nate Bowman (backup center behind Reed).

The 1970 playoffs ran through divisional rounds before the Finals. The New York Knicks still needed four series wins in many years, but the league had fewer teams than the 30-franchise map used today.

The New York Knicks share a lineage with other banners from 1973, 2026. Compare those seasons on the franchise hub to see how the roster and style changed between title runs.

Looking back, the 1969-70 Knicks won the franchise's first title, going 60-22 and beating the Lakers in seven. Willis Reed took home MVP, All-Star Game MVP, and Finals MVP in the same year. His limping entrance before Game 7, two baskets and then little else, remains the most replayed moment in team history.

For the full roster beyond the featured starters, see the table on this page. For other New York Knicks titles, use the franchise hub linked below.