1968–69 New York Knicks season

The 1968–69 New York Knicks season was the 23rd season for the team in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Knicks finished third in the Eastern Division with a 54–28 regular season record, and qualified for the NBA playoffs for the third straight year. In the first round of the playoffs, New York defeated the Baltimore Bullets in a four-game sweep to earn a berth in the Eastern Division finals. The Knicks lost the division finals to the eventual NBA champion Boston Celtics in six games. Willis Reed scored a team-best 21.1 points per game for the Knicks; Walt Frazier led the team with 7.9 assists per game and Reed averaged 14.5 rebounds per game.

1968–69 New York Knicks season
Head coach	Red Holzman
General manager	Eddie Donovan
Arena	Madison Square Garden
Results
Record	54–28 (.659)
Place	Division: 3rd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	East Division finals (lost to Celtics 2–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WOR-TV
Radio	WHN

The Knicks selected Bill Hosket, Jr. in the opening round of the 1968 NBA draft, and made a significant trade early in the season, acquiring Dave DeBusschere from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Walt Bellamy and Butch Komives. Author Harvey Araton called him "the player who would complete the championship puzzle in New York." After a 5–11 start to the season, New York went on a long winning streak, winning all but 2 of 19 games in one stretch that included 13 straight home wins. After a two-game losing streak, the Knicks won 11 consecutive games from January 25 to February 15 to bring their record to 44–21. The Knicks had two four-game winning streaks during the rest of the season, and ended with a 54–28 record. This mark placed them third in the Eastern Conference; only the Bullets and Philadelphia 76ers had superior records. New York saw an increase in attendance during the regular season; after having six sellouts in their entire history, the Knicks played to capacity crowds in 14 games at Madison Square Garden.

New York faced the Bullets, who had won 57 games in the regular season and held the number one seed in the Eastern Conference, in their first playoff round. The Knicks won the first two games by over 10 points each, and a pair of closer victories in games three and four eliminated Baltimore. They held home court advantage for their series with the Celtics, but lost it with a 108–100 loss in the first game. After losing two of the next three games, New York won game five to force a sixth game. However, Boston's Sam Jones posted 29 points to help the Celtics to a 106–105 win that ended the Knicks' season.

NBA draft

Main article: 1968 NBA draft

Note: This is not an extensive list; it only covers the first and second rounds, and any other players picked by the franchise that played at least one game in the league.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	10	Bill Hosket	F/C	United States	Ohio State
3	30	Don May	F/C	United States	Dayton
17	202	Milt Williams	G	United States	Lincoln (MO)

Roster

1968–69 New York Knicks roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From SG 12 Barnett, Dick 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1936–10–02 Tennessee State C 17 Bowman, Nate 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1945–03–19 Wichita State SF 24 Bradley, Bill 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1943–07–28 Princeton PF 22 DeBusschere, Dave 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1940–10–16 Detroit Mercy PG 10 Frazier, Walt 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1945–03–29 Southern Illinois PF 20 Hosket, Bill, Jr. 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1946–12–20 Ohio State PF 18 Jackson, Phil 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1945-09-17 North Dakota SF 5 May, Don 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1946–01–03 Dayton C 19 Reed, Willis 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1942–06–25 Grambling State SG 6 Riordan, Mike 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1945–07–09 Providence SF 33 Russell, Cazzie 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1944–06–07 Michigan SF 9 Stallworth, Dave 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1941–12–20 Wichita State

Head coach Red Holzman Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Eastern Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
x-Baltimore Bullets	57	25	.695	–	29–9	24–15	4–1	26–14
x-Philadelphia 76ers	55	27	.671	2	26–8	24–16	5–3	23–17
x-New York Knicks	54	28	.659	3	30–7	19–20	5–1	26–14
x-Boston Celtics	48	34	.585	9	24–12	21–19	3–3	23–17
Cincinnati Royals	41	41	.500	16	15-13	16–21	10–7	20–20
Detroit Pistons	32	50	.390	25	21–17	7–30	4–3	13–27
Milwaukee Bucks	27	55	.329	30	15–19	8–27	4–9	7–29

x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1968–69 NBA records
Team	ATL	BAL	BOS	CHI	CIN	DET	LAL	MIL	NYK	PHI	PHO	SDR	SFW	SEA
Atlanta	—	2–4	3–3	6–1	4–2	6–0	3–4	4–2	2–4	1–5	6–0	3–4	4–3	4–2
Baltimore	4–2	—	5–2	6–0	4–3	7–0	3–3	5–1	3–4	2–4	6–0	5–1	3–3	4–2
Boston	3–3	2–5	—	4–2	5–2	5–1	2–4	5–1	1–6	5–2	6–0	4–2	3–3	3–3
Chicago	1–6	0–6	2–4	—	1–5	3–3	3–4	5–1	2–4	1–5	4–2	3–3	4–3	4–3
Cincinnati	2–4	3–4	2–5	5–1	—	3–4	2–4	5–1	4–2	3–4	4–2	2–4	3–3	3–3
Detroit	0–6	0–7	1–5	3–3	4–3	—	3–3	2–4	3–4	3–4	4–2	3–3	2–4	4–2
Los Angeles	4–3	3–3	4–2	4–3	4–2	3–3	—	5–1	5–1	1–5	6–0	7–0	4–3	5–1
Milwaukee	2–4	1–5	1–5	1–5	1–5	4–2	1–5	—	0–6	0–6	6–2	4–2	3–3	3–5
New York	4–2	4–3	6–1	4–2	2–4	4–3	1–5	6–0	—	4–3	5–1	3–3	5–1	6–0
Philadelphia	5–1	4–2	2–5	5–1	4–3	4–3	5–1	6–0	3–4	—	5–1	4–2	2–4	6–0
Phoenix	0–6	0–6	0–6	2–4	2–4	2–4	0–6	2–6	1–5	1–5	—	1–7	2–4	3–3
San Diego	4–3	1–5	2–4	3–3	4–2	3–3	0–7	2–4	3–3	2–4	7–1	—	3–3	3–3
San Francisco	3–4	3–3	3–3	3–4	3–3	4–2	3–4	3–3	1–5	4–2	4–2	3–3	—	4–3
Seattle	2–4	2–4	3–3	3–4	3–3	2–4	1–5	5–3	0–6	0–6	3–3	3–3	3–4	—

Game log

1968–69 game log
#	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	Record
1	October 15	Chicago	100–96	Cazzie Russell (29)	0–1
2	October 19	Los Angeles	118–96	Walt Bellamy (22)	0–2
3	October 22	Philadelphia	114–117	Cazzie Russell (27)	1–2
4	October 23	@ Milwaukee	114–112	Willis Reed (23)	2–2
5	October 24	@ Phoenix	92–109	Willis Reed (24)	2–3
6	October 26	Cincinnati	92–98	Cazzie Russell (26)	3–3
7	October 29	San Francisco	97–110	Cazzie Russell (24)	4–3
8	October 30	@ Cincinnati	114–118	Willis Reed (21)	4–4
9	November 1	Baltimore	119–103	Howard Komives (24)	4–5
10	November 2	@ Detroit	104–112	Willis Reed (34)	4–6
11	November 3	@ Seattle	122–108	Cazzie Russell (35)	5–6
12	November 5	@ San Diego	109–113	Cazzie Russell (26)	5–7
13	November 6	@ San Francisco	93–94	Cazzie Russell (18)	5–8
14	November 8	@ Los Angeles	100–102	Barnett, Reed (22)	5–9
15	November 10	@ Los Angeles	109–130	Dick Barnett (26)	5–10
16	November 14	Cincinnati	110–101	Cazzie Russell (28)	5–11
17	November 16	Chicago	97–119	Cazzie Russell (24)	6–11
18	November 19	San Diego	113–107	Dick Barnett (22)	6–12
19	November 20	@ Atlanta	106–111	Dick Barnett (26)	6–13
20	November 22	N Chicago	114–107	Cazzie Russell (23)	7–13
21	November 23	Boston	100–111	Walt Bellamy (29)	8–13
22	November 26	Los Angeles	100–104	Walt Frazier (21)	9–13
23	November 27	@ Boston	117–131	Walt Bellamy (22)	9–14
24	November 30	Detroit	108–120	Walt Bellamy (32)	10–14
25	December 3	Atlanta	93–126	Dick Barnett (24)	11–14
26	December 4	@ Atlanta	121–113	Cazzie Russell (26)	12–14
27	December 7	Milwaukee	113–119	Cazzie Russell (26)	13–14
28	December 8	N Cincinnati	115–120	Dick Barnett (27)	13–15
29	December 10	Phoenix	106–111	Willis Reed (35)	14–15
30	December 11	@ Baltimore	110–118	Dick Barnett (31)	14–16
31	December 13	@ Chicago	94–83	Dick Barnett (22)	15–16
32	December 14	San Diego	105–112	Cazzie Russell (25)	16–16
33	December 15	@ Philadelphia	104–110	Cazzie Russell (25)	16–17
34	December 17	San Francisco	99–114	Walt Bellamy (24)	17–17
35	December 18	@ Boston	104–98	Barnett, Reed (24)	18–17
36	December 20	@ Detroit	135–87	Dave DeBusschere (21)	19–17
37	December 21	Seattle	105–131	Cazzie Russell (27)	20–17
38	December 25	Philadelphia	109–110	Willis Reed (25)	21–17
39	December 27	@ San Diego	111–109	Russell, Reed (23)	22–17
40	December 28	@ Seattle	111–108	Willis Reed (26)	23–17
41	December 29	N Seattle	112–120	Willis Reed (34)	24–17
42	December 31	Baltimore	110–121	Willis Reed (39)	25–17
43	January 4	Detroit	103–111	Cazzie Russell (23)	26–17
44	January 7	@ Chicago	101–102	Willis Reed (28)	26–18
45	January 8	@ Milwaukee	115–101	Willis Reed (25)	27–18
46	January 9	@ Phoenix	134–120	Willis Reed (34)	28–18
47	January 11	@ San Francisco	85–77	Willis Reed (22)	29–18
48	January 12	@ San Diego	105–102	Willis Reed (36)	30–18
49	January 17	N Seattle	94–114	Walt Frazier (27)	31–18
50	January 18	N Milwaukee	117–109	Cazzie Russell (41)	32–18
51	January 19	@ Atlanta	96–100	Walt Frazier (25)	32–19
52	January 21	Seattle	106–113	Willis Reed (27)	33–19
53	January 22	@ Philadelphia	137–140 (2OT)	Willis Reed (37)	33–20
54	January 24	@ Detroit	106–107	Dick Barnett (34)	33–21
55	January 25	Milwaukee	96–113	Willis Reed (29)	34–21
56	January 28	Philadelphia	88–121	Willis Reed (30)	35–21
57	January 30	@ Baltimore	109–106	Walt Frazier (28)	36–21
58	February 1	Boston	82–109	Bill Bradley (28)	37–21
59	February 2	@ Boston	95–94	Dick Barnett (24)	38–21
60	February 4	Atlanta	97–122	Bill Bradley (25)	39–21
61	February 5	@ Milwaukee	111–102	Willis Reed (24)	40–21
62	February 7	@ Chicago	105–98	Willis Reed (31)	41–21
63	February 8	Baltimore	100–106	Dick Barnett (32)	42–21
64	February 12	Phoenix	105–112	Willis Reed (28)	43–21
65	February 15	San Francisco	92–98	Walt Frazier (24)	44–21
66	February 18	Los Angeles	113–109	Walt Frazier (30)	44–22
67	February 19	@ Cincinnati	100–110	Walt Frazier (27)	44–23
68	February 22	San Diego	108–104	Walt Frazier (30)	44–24
69	February 25	Atlanta	101–122	Willis Reed (33)	45–24
70	February 26	@ Boston	92–88	Walt Frazier (28)	46–24
71	March 1	Boston	96–115	Willis Reed (30)	47–24
72	March 4	Detroit	99–102	Dave DeBusschere (21)	48–24
73	March 5	@ Detroit	120–128	Dave DeBusschere (26)	48–25
74	March 7	N Phoenix	87–119	Bradley, Frazier (24)	49–25
75	March 9	@ Philadelphia	101–110	Willis Reed (27)	49–26
76	March 11	Philadelphia	101–121	Dave DeBusschere (38)	50–26
77	March 12	@ Baltimore	110–111	Dick Barnett (28)	50–27
78	March 15	Cincinnati	108–121	Willis Reed (36)	51–27
79	March 19	Baltimore	100–104	Willis Reed (37)	52–27
80	March 21	@ Phoenix	139–104	DeBusschere, Frazier (24)	53–27
81	March 22	@ San Francisco	117–90	Dick Barnett (35)	54–27
82	March 23	@ Los Angeles	111–128	Willis Reed (26)	54–28

Playoffs

1969 playoff game log
Division semifinals: 4–0 (home: 2–0; road: 2–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 March 27 @ Baltimore W 113–101 Walt Frazier (26) Dave DeBusschere (21) Walt Frazier (11) Baltimore Civic Center 11,941 1–0 2 March 29 Baltimore W 107–91 Dick Barnett (27) Dave DeBusschere (19) Walt Frazier (12) Madison Square Garden 19,500 2–0 3 March 30 @ Baltimore W 119–116 Willis Reed (35) Willis Reed (19) Walt Frazier (17) Baltimore Civic Center 9,927 3–0 4 April 2 Baltimore W 115–108 Willis Reed (43) Willis Reed (17) Walt Frazier (11) Madison Square Garden 19,500 4–0
Division finals: 2–4 (home: 2–1; road: 0–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 6 Boston L 100–108 Walt Frazier (34) Dave DeBusschere (14) Walt Frazier (8) Madison Square Garden 19,500 0–1 2 April 9 @ Boston L 97–112 Willis Reed (28) Willis Reed (13) Walt Frazier (4) Boston Garden 14,933 0–2 3 April 10 Boston W 101–91 Walt Frazier (26) Willis Reed (14) Walt Frazier (12) Madison Square Garden 19,500 1–2 4 April 13 @ Boston L 96–97 Willis Reed (22) Willis Reed (19) Walt Frazier (6) Boston Garden 13,506 1–3 5 April 14 Boston W 112–104 Willis Reed (24) Walt Frazier (12) Walt Frazier (9) Madison Square Garden 19,500 2–3 6 April 18 @ Boston L 105–106 Willis Reed (32) Willis Reed (11) Bill Bradley (7) Boston Garden 14,933 2–4
1969 schedule

Awards and records

• Willis Reed, All-NBA Second Team
• Dave DeBusschere, All-NBA Second Team
• Walt Frazier, NBA All-Defensive First Team
• Dave DeBusschere, NBA All-Defensive First Team

Bibliography

• Araton, Harvey (2011). When the Garden Was Eden: Clyde, the Captain, Dollar Bill, and the Glory Days of the New York Knicks. New York City: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-195623-2.