1997–98 New York Knicks season

The 1997–98 New York Knicks season was the 52nd season for the Knicks in the National Basketball Association.^[1] During the off-season, the Knicks acquired Chris Mills from the Boston Celtics,^[2][3][4] and acquired Chris Dudley from the Portland Trail Blazers in a three-team trade.^[5][6] At mid-season, the team traded Herb Williams to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for former All-Star forward Terry Cummings;^[7][8][9] however, Williams never played for the 76ers, and was re-signed by the Knicks for the remainder of the season.^[10][11][12]

1997–98 New York Knicks season
Head coach	Jeff Van Gundy
General manager	Ernie Grunfeld
Owners	Cablevision
Arena	Madison Square Garden
Results
Record	43–39 (.524)
Place	Division: 2nd (Atlantic) Conference: 7th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Conference semifinals (lost to Pacers 1–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	MSG Network
Radio	WFAN
< 1996–97 1998–99 >

In the regular season, the Knicks held a 25–21 record at the All-Star break, and finished with a 43–39 record,^[13][14] which placed them in a tie for second place in the Atlantic Division with the New Jersey Nets, and earned them the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference;^[15] it was their lowest winning percentage since the 1990–91 season.^[1] The Knicks qualified for the NBA playoffs for the eleventh consecutive year,^[1] and also hosted the 1998 NBA All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.^[16] The Knicks had the fourth-best team defensive rating in the NBA.^[17]

This season saw All-Star center Patrick Ewing break his wrist trying to catch an alley-oop during a road game against the Milwaukee Bucks on December 20, 1997;^[18][19][20] the injury kept Ewing out for the remainder of the regular season, and the entire Eastern Conference First Round series against the Miami Heat. However, he did return for Game 2 against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals.^[21][22][23] Ewing averaged 20.8 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game in 26 games.^[24]

Without their star center for most of the season, Allan Houston finished second on the team in scoring, averaging 18.4 points per game, while Larry Johnson averaged 15.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, and sixth man John Starks provided scoring off the bench, averaging 12.9 points per game and leading the Knicks with 130 three-point field goals.^[24] In addition, Charles Oakley provided the team with 9.0 points and 9.2 rebounds per game,^[24] and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team,^[15] while Mills contributed 9.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game off the bench.^[24] Meanwhile, the team also used Charlie Ward as its starting point guard, with Chris Childs coming off the bench;^[25][24] Ward contributed 7.8 points, 5.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game, and Childs provided the Knicks with 6.3 points and 3.9 assists per game.^[24]

During the NBA All-Star weekend, Houston participated in the inaugural NBA 2Ball Contest, which replaced the NBA Slam Dunk Contest this season, and Ward participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout.^[26][27][28] Starks also finished in fourth place in Sixth Man of the Year voting,^[29] and head coach Jeff Van Gundy finished tied in ninth place in Coach of the Year voting.^[29]

The 1998 NBA playoffs matched the Knicks against the #2 seed Heat, who had eliminated the Knicks in the 1997 playoffs in a series that featured a brawl during Game 5;^[30][31] the altercation led to the suspension of six players, including five from the Knicks.^[32] In the 1998 series, after the Heat took a 2–1 series lead,^[33][34][35] another brawl occurred in the closing seconds of Game 4, which the Knicks won at home, 90–85 to even the series at two games each; Johnson and Heat center Alonzo Mourning, both former teammates on the Charlotte Hornets, exchanged punches, and Van Gundy clung to one of Mourning's legs at one point in an attempt to separate the two.^[36][37][38] Three players were suspended for Game 5: Johnson and Mourning were both suspended for two games, and Mills, who left the bench during the fight, was suspended for one game.^[39][40][41] The Knicks won Game 5 at the Miami Arena, 98–81, to advance to the second round,^[42][43][44] where they lost to the Pacers in five games.^[45][46][47]

The Knicks finished fifth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 810,283 at Madison Square Garden during the regular season.^[15][24] Following the season, Oakley was traded to the Toronto Raptors after ten seasons in New York,^[48][49][50] while Starks, Mills and Cummings were all traded to the Golden State Warriors,^[51][52][53] who Starks had previously played for during the 1988–89 season.^[54] Meanwhile, former All-Star forward Buck Williams retired after seventeen seasons in the NBA.^[55][56][57]

For the season, the Knicks changed their home uniforms, adding blue side panels to their jerseys and shorts,^[58] while their alternate uniforms they wore on the road frequently for the previous two seasons became their primary road jerseys.^[59] Both uniforms remained in use until 2012, although they were slightly redesigned in 2001, where the side panels were removed from the bottom of their shorts.^[60][61]

NBA draft

Main article: 1997 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	25	John Thomas	PF	United States	Minnesota

Roster

1997–98 New York Knicks roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From G 13 Anthony Bowie 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1963–11–09 Oklahoma G 1 Chris Childs 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1970–11–20 Boise State F 35 Terry Cummings 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1961–03–15 DePaul F 4 Ben Davis  6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1972–12–26 Arizona C 14 Chris Dudley 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1965–02–22 Yale C 33 Patrick Ewing 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1962–08–05 Georgetown G 20 Allan Houston 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1971–04–20 Tennessee F 2 Larry Johnson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1969–03–14 UNLV F 42 Chris Mills 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1970–01–25 Arizona F 34 Charles Oakley 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1963–12–18 Virginia Union G 3 John Starks 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1965–08–10 Oklahoma State G 7 Brooks Thompson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 193 lb (88 kg) 1970–07–19 Oklahoma State G 21 Charlie Ward 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1970–10–12 Florida State F 52 Buck Williams 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1960–03–08 Maryland C 32 Herb Williams 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 242 lb (110 kg) 1958–02–16 Ohio State

Head coach Jeff Van Gundy Assistant(s) Greg Brittenham Don Chaney Brendan Malone Jeff Nix Tom Thibodeau Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Roster notes

• Center Herb Williams was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers at mid-season, but did not play for them, and was re-signed by the Knicks for the remainder of the regular season.^[10][11][62]

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Miami Heat	55	27	.671	–	30-11	25–16	18–6
x-New York Knicks	43	39	.524	12	28–13	15–26	13–11
x-New Jersey Nets	43	39	.524	12	26–15	17–24	12–12
Washington Wizards	42	40	.512	13	24–17	18–23	12–13
Orlando Magic	41	41	.500	14	24–17	17–24	11–13
Boston Celtics	36	46	.439	19	24–17	12–29	12–12
Philadelphia 76ers	31	51	.378	24	19–22	12–29	7–17

#	Eastern Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Chicago Bulls	62	20	.756	–
2	y-Miami Heat	55	27	.671	7
3	x-Indiana Pacers	58	24	.707	4
4	x-Charlotte Hornets	51	31	.622	11
5	x-Atlanta Hawks	50	32	.610	12
6	x-Cleveland Cavaliers	47	35	.573	15
7	x-New York Knicks	43	39	.524	19
8	x-New Jersey Nets	43	39	.524	19
9	Washington Wizards	42	40	.512	20
10	Orlando Magic	41	41	.500	21
11	Detroit Pistons	37	45	.451	25
12	Boston Celtics	36	46	.439	26
13	Milwaukee Bucks	36	46	.439	26
14	Philadelphia 76ers	31	51	.378	31
15	Toronto Raptors	16	66	.195	46

Record vs. opponents

1997–98 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	TOR	UTA	VAN	WAS
Atlanta	—	2–1	4–0	1–3	4–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	1–3	3–1	0–2	1–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	4–0
Boston	1–2	—	1–2	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–2	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–0	0–2	2–0	3–2
Charlotte	0–4	2–1	—	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2
Chicago	3–1	3–1	3–1	—	2–2	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–1	4–0	1–1	4–0	4–0	3–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	3–1
Cleveland	0–4	3–1	2–2	2–2	—	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–2	2–0	3–1	1–2	2–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	2–0	1–2
Dallas	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	—	3–1	0–2	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–3	0–4	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–4	0–4	0–4	2–2	1–1	0–4	4–0	1–1
Denver	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–3	—	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	2–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	2–2	1–3	0–4	0–4	0–2	0–4	1–3	1–1
Detroit	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–0	2–0	—	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	1–2	2–2	0–2	2–2	2–2	1–2	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–0	0–2	0–2	2–2
Golden State	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	3–1	3–1	0–2	—	1–3	0–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	0–4	1–3	0–2
Houston	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	—	1–1	4–0	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–3	4–0	2–2	1–3	2–0	0–4	3–1	1–1
Indiana	3–1	4–0	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	—	2–0	0–2	3–1	4–0	2–0	2–1	2–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	4–0
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	2–2	0–2	3–1	0–4	0–2	—	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–4	3–1	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–3	1–3	0–2
L.A. Lakers	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	4–0	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	4–0	—	1–1	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–2	2–2	4–0	4–0	1–3	2–0	3–1	4–0	1–1
Miami	3–1	4–0	1–3	1–2	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–1	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	—	3–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	0–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2
Milwaukee	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–0	0–2	1–3	—	1–1	0–4	3–1	2–1	2–2	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–2
Minnesota	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–2	3–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	0–2	4–0	0–4	1–1	1–1	—	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	3–1	1–3	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–3	4–0	0–2
New Jersey	2–1	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–3	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	4–0	0–2	—	2–2	3–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–3
New York	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–4	2–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–2	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–3	1–1	2–2	—	4–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–3
Orlando	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–2	2–0	1–3	0–4	—	4–0	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	2–0	3–1
Philadelphia	1–3	1–3	1–2	1–2	1–3	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	0–4	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–2	0–2	1–3	2–2	0–4	—	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	2–0	3–1
Phoenix	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–0	4–0	1–1	4–0	3–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	—	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	1–3	4–0	1–1
Portland	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	3–1	3–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–2	—	3–1	2–2	0–4	2–0	3–1	2–2	1–1
Sacramento	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	4–0	3–1	1–1	2–2	0–4	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–3	—	0–4	1–3	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–1
San Antonio	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	3–1	0–4	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–2	4–0	—	2–2	2–0	1–3	4–0	1–1
Seattle	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	4–0	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	4–0	3–1	2–2	—	2–0	2–2	4–0	1–1
Toronto	0–4	0–3	0–4	0–4	1–3	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–0	0–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–3	1–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	—	0–2	1–1	0–3
Utah	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	4–0	2–0	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	1–3	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–0	—	4–0	0–2
Vancouver	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	3–1	2–0	3–1	1–3	0–2	3–1	0–4	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	2–2	2–2	0–4	0–4	1–1	0–4	—	1–1
Washington	0–4	2–3	2–2	1–3	2–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–1	2–0	3–1	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–0	2–0	1–1	—

Playoffs

1998 playoff game log
First Round: 3–2 (home: 1–1; road: 2–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 24 @ Miami L 79–94 Larry Johnson (21) Charles Oakley (12) Charles Oakley (4) Miami Arena 15,200 0–1 2 April 26 @ Miami W 96–86 John Starks (25) Terry Cummings (14) Charlie Ward (7) Miami Arena 15,200 1–1 3 April 28 Miami L 85–91 Allan Houston (27) Johnson, Oakley (7) four players tied (3) Madison Square Garden 19,763 1–2 4 April 30 Miami W 90–85 Houston, Johnson (18) Larry Johnson (9) Charlie Ward (7) Madison Square Garden 19,763 2–2 5 May 3 @ Miami W 98–81 Allan Houston (30) Buck Williams (14) Charlie Ward (14) Miami Arena 15,200 3–2
Conference semifinals: 1–4 (home: 1–1; road: 0–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 5 @ Indiana L 83–93 John Starks (17) Charles Oakley (11) Charlie Ward (6) Market Square Arena 16,630 0–1 2 May 7 @ Indiana L 77–85 John Starks (20) Charles Oakley (9) Charlie Ward (10) Market Square Arena 16,765 0–2 3 May 9 Indiana W 83–76 Patrick Ewing (19) Chris Mills (8) Chris Childs (5) Madison Square Garden 19,763 1–2 4 May 10 Indiana L 107–118 (OT) Houston, Starks (19) Charles Oakley (10) Chris Childs (6) Madison Square Garden 19,763 1–3 5 May 13 @ Indiana L 88–99 Allan Houston (33) Patrick Ewing (7) Patrick Ewing (11) Market Square Arena 16,767 1–4
1998 schedule

Player statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Anthony Bowie	27	3	8.3	.542	.750	.889	1.0	.4	.2	.1	2.8
Chris Childs	68	0	23.5	.421	.310	.825	2.4	3.9	.8	.1	6.3
Terry Cummings†	30	1	17.6	.477		.700	4.5	.9	.5	.2	7.8
Ben Davis	7	0	1.9	.200			.9	.0	.1	.0	.6
Chris Dudley	51	22	16.8	.406		.446	5.4	.4	.3	1.0	3.1
Patrick Ewing	26	26	32.6	.504	.000	.720	10.2	1.1	.6	2.2	20.8
Allan Houston	82	82	34.7	.447	.385	.851	3.3	2.6	.8	.3	18.4
Larry Johnson	70	70	34.5	.485	.238	.756	5.7	2.1	.6	.2	15.5
Chris Mills	80	29	27.3	.433	.292	.804	5.1	1.7	.6	.4	9.7
Pete Myers	9	0	4.4	.500		.667	1.1	.3	.4	.0	1.6
Charles Oakley	79	79	34.6	.440	.000	.851	9.2	2.5	1.6	.3	9.0
John Starks	82	10	26.7	.393	.327	.787	2.8	2.7	1.0	.1	12.9
Brooks Thompson†	17	0	7.1	.448	.286	.600	.6	1.4	.4	.1	1.9
Charlie Ward	82	82	28.3	.455	.377	.805	3.3	5.7	1.8	.5	7.8
Buck Williams	41	6	18.0	.503		.732	4.5	.5	.4	.4	4.9
Herb Williams	27	0	6.6	.419		.125	1.1	.1	.2	.3	1.4

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Anthony Bowie	7	0	3.3	.500			.0	.1	.1	.0	.6
Chris Childs	10	0	25.4	.414	.308	.733	2.5	3.3	.6	.0	6.3
Terry Cummings	8	1	15.0	.441		.250	4.4	.6	.5	.3	4.0
Chris Dudley	6	3	8.8	.333		.500	3.0	.0	.3	.2	1.3
Patrick Ewing	4	4	33.0	.357		.593	8.0	1.3	.8	1.3	14.0
Allan Houston	10	10	40.3	.434	.391	.862	3.8	2.8	.5	.1	21.1
Larry Johnson	8	8	38.8	.486	.200	.740	6.6	1.6	1.3	.4	17.9
Chris Mills	9	2	18.7	.429	.400	.833	3.0	.6	.9	.2	4.9
Charles Oakley	10	10	34.2	.408		.920	8.5	1.4	1.1	.2	8.1
John Starks	10	2	31.4	.472	.424	.875	4.0	2.3	1.6	.1	16.4
Charlie Ward	10	10	26.1	.418	.429	.688	2.8	6.0	2.0	.2	6.6
Buck Williams	3	0	15.0	.444		.750	5.3	.3	.0	.3	4.7

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

Player Statistics Citation:^[24]

Awards and records

• Charles Oakley, NBA All-Defensive Second Team

Transactions