Knicks In Five, But Movados In ’99
By all accounts, the city of New York is still abuzz from its first NBA Championship in five decades. I’m not a local, but friends and basketball media alike recount stories of New Yorkers in Knicks gear fist-bumping on sidewalks as late as August, and “Knicks in five” has become a kind of shorthand between fans in this summer of celebration. The street parties and champagne may have dried up, but you can bet that “Ring Night” at MSG will be a hot ticket come October, when the 2026-27 NBA season kicks off, and the Knicks’ title defense starts. Truly, these are salad days for Knicks fans. A world removed (save for their mentions in a moving speech by the mayor) from the last, almost-great team that captured the city’s collective heart. That 1999 squad – forever known for Houston’s 0.8-second shot, LJ’s 4-point play, and Ewing’s Achilles tear – was about as beloved as a runner-up can be. And in a fascinating twist, it was memorialized by a commemorative Movado, given to players and team personnel, that time almost forgot. The ’90s Knicks Were Out in Five Throughout the 1990s, the New York Knicks were about as good, and consistently good, as a non-championship team can be. Led by one of the sport’s all-time greats in Patrick Ewing, the decade saw the Knicks lose to the eventual NBA champion five times, including coming up short in two finals runs against the ’94 Houston Rockets and the ’99 San Antonio Spurs. The incredible, almost-t...