Along with the Boston Celtics, the Knicks are one of two original NBA teams still located in its original city.

Neil Cohalan was the first coach of the New York Knicks and has the distinction of being the winning coach of the very first game played in the Basketball Association of America (BAA), the forerunner to the modern NBA. The game, a November 1, 1946 contest between the Knicks and the Toronto Huskies played in famed Maple Leaf Gardens, was won 68-66 by the Knickerbockers.

A fierce, dominating and physical force on both ends of the floor, Willis Reed led the Knicks to championships in 1970 and 1973, earning NBA Finals MVP both years. In 1970, he became the first Knicks player to win the NBA Most Valuable Player Award and was named ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year.

The 1953-54 Knicks were more than just a team of talented players--eight of them went on to coach pro or college teams, a tribute to head coach Joe Lapchick's mentorship.

During the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season, New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson had the highest single-season field goal percentage in NBA history with 0.742, besting Wilt Chamberlain's previous mark of .727 set in 1973.

Shooting guard John Starks executed one of the most famous plays in Knicks history, a play that has come to be known simply as "The Dunk". In Game 2 of the 1993 Eastern Conference Finals against the Chicago Bulls, Starks was in the court's right corner, and closely guarded by B.J. Armstrong. Patrick Ewing set a screen for Starks, who faked to the left, as if to exploit the screen, but then drove along the baseline and, with his left hand, dunked over Horace Grant in front of Michael Jordan.

In the 1970 NBA Finals, the Knicks defeated the Western Division champion Los Angeles Lakers in a best-of-seven series 4 games to 3 for their first NBA title.

The final game of the 1970 series was named by ESPN as the greatest Game 7 in NBA Finals history. Due to a torn thigh muscle suffered in Game 5, Willis Reed was considered unlikely to play. Yet Reed surprised the fans by walking onto the court during warmups, prompting widespread applause. Starting the game, he scored the Knicks' first two field goals on his first two shot attempts. He then played defense on Wilt Chamberlain, limiting him to two shots made in nine attempts. When Reed left for good with 3:05 left in the first half, the Knicks led 61-37. Following the game, an emotional Howard Cosell told Reed on national television, "You exemplify the very best that the human spirit can offer."

Prior to his Hall of Fame Knicks career, Dave DeBusschere briefly played Major League Baseball for the White Sox. On August 13, 1963, he pitched a shutout against the Cleveland Indians, giving up six hits, one walk and striking out three. He is one of only 13 athletes to have played in both the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball.

On January 24, 2014, Carmelo Anthony established a Knicks' franchise record for single-game scoring with a 62-point, 13-rebound, 0 turnover effort against the Charlotte Bobcats.