1974–75 New York Knicks season

The 1974–75 New York Knicks season was the 29th season for the team in the National Basketball Association (NBA). In the regular season, the Knicks had a 40–42 win–loss record, finishing in third place in the Atlantic Division and qualifying for the NBA Playoffs. New York lost to the Houston Rockets in the best-of-three first round of the playoffs, two games to one.^[3]

1974–75 New York Knicks season
Head coach	Red Holzman
General manager	Red Holzman
Arena	Madison Square Garden
Results
Record	40–42 (.488)
Place	Division: 3rd (Atlantic) Conference: 5th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	East First Round (Lost to Rockets 1–2)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WOR-TV Manhattan Cable Television^[1]
Radio	WNEW^[2]
< 1973–74 1975–76 >

In the first round of the 1974 NBA draft, the Knicks did not select any players; their first pick was the 32nd overall choice in the second round, which they used to acquire Jesse Dark.^[4] The team alternated between wins and losses in their first eight games of the season, and were 6–6 before winning 11 of their next 13 games. They then lost six of the following seven contests, and by February 11 they fell below .500 for the season, at 27–28. New York remained with more losses than wins for the rest of the season, but still reached the postseason.^[5]

The Knicks were seeded fifth in the Eastern Conference and faced the fourth-seeded Rockets in the opening round of the playoffs. After a 15-point loss in Houston, the Knicks required a victory at home to extend their season, and defeated the Rockets 106–96 to force a decisive third game in the series. The Rockets won the final game, by a score of 118–86, to end New York's season.^[6]

Draft picks

Main article: 1974 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.^[7]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
2	32	Jesse Dark	G	United States	VCU
5	86	Greg Jackson	G	United States	Guilford

Roster

1974–75 New York Knicks roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY-MM-DD) From SF 46 Bell, Dennis 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1951-06-02 Drake SF 24 Bradley, Bill 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1943-07-28 Princeton G 25 Barnett, Jim 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1944-07-07 Oregon SG 11 Dark, Jesse 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1951-09-02 VCU PF 31 Davis, Mel 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1950-11-09 St. John's PG 10 Frazier, Walt 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1945-03-29 Southern Illinois C 40 Gianelli, John 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1950-06-10 Pacific PF 18 Jackson, Phil 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1945-09-17 North Dakota G 15 Monroe, Earl 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1944-11-21 Winston-Salem State C 6 Riker, Tom 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1950-02-28 South Carolina C 41 Walk, Neal 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1948-07-29 Florida PF 43 Wingo, Harthorne 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1947-09-09 Friendship College

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

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Boston Celtics	60	22	.732	–	28–13	32–9	17–9
x-Buffalo Braves	49	33	.598	11	30–11	19–22	15–11
x-New York Knicks	40	42	.488	20	23–18	17–24	9–17
Philadelphia 76ers	34	48	.415	26	20–21	14–27	11–15

#	Eastern Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Boston Celtics	60	22	.732	–
2	y-Washington Bullets	60	22	.732	–
3	x-Buffalo Braves	49	33	.598	11
4	x-Houston Rockets	41	41	.500	19
5	x-New York Knicks	40	42	.488	20
6	Cleveland Cavaliers	40	42	.488	20
7	Philadelphia 76ers	34	48	.415	26
8	Atlanta Hawks	31	51	.378	29
9	New Orleans Jazz	23	59	.280	37

Notes

• y – division champions
• x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1974–75 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	BUF	CHI	CLE	DET	GSW	HOU	KCO	LAL	MIL	NOJ	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SEA	WAS
Atlanta	—	0–4	1–3	0–4	3–4	2–2	1–3	2–5	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–5	0–4	2–2	4–0	1–3	3–1	3–5
Boston	4–0	—	5–4	3–1	3–1	3–1	1–3	4–0	2–2	4–0	4–0	4–0	7–2	5–3	3–1	4–0	2–2	2–2
Buffalo	3–1	4–5	—	1–3	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–2	1–3	4–0	1–3	4–0	5–3	6–3	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–2
Chicago	4–0	1–3	3–1	—	2–2	4–5	3–1	2–2	4–5	3–1	3–5	4–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	4–0	1–3
Cleveland	4–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	—	2–2	2–2	4–4	2–2	2–2	1–3	6–1	1–3	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–5
Detroit	2–2	1–3	2–2	5–4	2–2	—	1–3	2–2	2–6	3–1	3–6	4–0	2–2	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–2	1–3
Golden State	3–1	3–1	1–3	1–3	2–2	3–1	—	2–2	2–2	5–2	3–1	2–2	3–1	3–1	5–3	5–3	4–3	1–3
Houston	5–2	0–4	2–2	2–2	4–4	2–2	2–2	—	4–0	2–2	3–1	5–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–5
Kansas City-Omaha	2–2	2–2	3–1	5–4	2–2	6–2	2–2	0–4	—	3–1	6–3	2–2	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–1	1–3	1–3
Los Angeles	2–2	0–4	0–4	1–3	2–2	1–3	2–5	2–2	1–3	—	4–0	3–1	0–4	3–1	4–4	2–5	2–6	1–3
Milwaukee	2–2	0–4	3–1	5–3	3–1	6–3	1–3	1–3	3–6	0–4	—	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	0–4
New Orleans	5–3	0–4	0–4	0–4	1–6	0–4	2–2	3–5	2–2	1–3	1–3	—	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–7
New York	4–0	2–7	3–5	1–3	3–1	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–2	4–0	1–3	2–2	—	4–5	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–3
Philadelphia	2–2	3–5	3–6	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	2–2	5–4	—	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3
Phoenix	0–4	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–5	2–2	1–3	4–4	2–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	—	1–6	4–3	1–3
Portland	3–1	0–4	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	3–5	2–2	1–3	5–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	6–1	—	2–6	1–3
Seattle	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–2	2–2	3–4	3–1	3–1	6–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–4	6–2	—	1–3
Washington	5–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	5–3	3–1	3–1	5–2	3–1	3–1	4–0	7–0	3–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	—

Playoffs

1975 playoff game log
First Round: 1–2 (home: 1–0; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 8 @ Houston W 99–84 Walt Frazier (21) Phil Jackson (13) Walt Frazier (11) Hofheinz Pavilion 10,218 0–1 2 April 10 Houston L 96–106 Walt Frazier (26) Phil Jackson (10) Harthorne Wingo (7) Madison Square Garden 19,694 1–1 3 April 12 @ Houston W 118–86 Walt Frazier (24) Harthorne Wingo (10) Walt Frazier (4) Hofheinz Pavilion 10,218 1–2
1975 schedule

Awards and records

• Walt Frazier, All-NBA First Team^[8]
• Walt Frazier, NBA All-Defensive First Team^[9]

References

1. The Fourth Estate (PDF). New York Knicks. 2003. p. 331. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
2. The Fourth Estate (PDF). New York Knicks. 2003. p. 330. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
3. "1974–75 New York Knickerbockers Roster and Statistics". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved October 31, 2009.
4. "1974 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
5. "1974–75 New York Knicks Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
6. "1974–75 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
7. "1974 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
8. "All-NBA & All-ABA Teams". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved August 31, 2013.
9. "NBA & ABA All-Defensive Teams". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved August 31, 2013.