List of New York Knicks head coaches
Encyclopedia
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
are an American professional basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
team based in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. They are a member of the Atlantic Division
Atlantic Division (NBA)
The Atlantic Division is one of the three divisions in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . The division consists of five teams, the Boston Celtics, the New Jersey Nets, the New York Knicks, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Toronto Raptors...
of the Eastern Conference
Eastern Conference (NBA)
The Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association is made up of fifteen teams, organized in three divisions of five teams each.The three division winners and the non-division winner with the best record are seeded 1 through 4 for the playoffs in order of their records, with all...
in the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
(NBA). They play their home games at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
. The franchise's official name "Knickerbocker
Knickerbocker
Knickerbocker, also spelled Knikkerbakker, Knickerbakker, Knickerbacker, is a surname that dates back to the early Dutch colonists in New York. In 1809, Washington Irving published his satirical A History of New York under the pseudonym "Diedrich Knickerbocker", and since that time "Knickerbocker"...
s" came from the style of pants Dutch settlers wore when they came to America. Having joined the Basketball Association of America
Basketball Association of America
The Basketball Association of America was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. The league merged with the National Basketball League in 1949, forming the National Basketball Association ...
(BAA), the predecessor of the NBA, in 1946, the Knicks remain as one of the oldest teams in the NBA. Valued at about US$608 million, the Knicks are also the most valuable basketball franchise in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. During Red Holzman
Red Holzman
William "Red" Holzman was an NBA basketball player and coach probably best known as the head coach of the New York Knicks from 1967 to 1982. Holzman helped lead the Knicks to two NBA Championships in 1970 and 1973, and was elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1985...
's tenure, the franchise won its only two NBA championships
NBA Finals
The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association . The series was named the NBA World Championship Series until 1986....
, the 1970 NBA Finals
1970 NBA Finals
The 1970 NBA Finals was a best-of-7 series for the world championship of the National Basketball Association. It featured the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks and the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers...
and the 1973 NBA Finals
1973 NBA Finals
For the third time in four seasons, the New York Knicks of the Eastern Conference met the Los Angeles Lakers of the Western Conference for the NBA World Championship in the 1973 NBA Finals...
.
There have been 24 head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
es for the New York Knicks franchise. Holzman was the franchise's first Coach of the Year
NBA Coach of the Year Award
The National Basketball Association's Coach of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association award given since the 1962–63 NBA season. The winner receives the Red Auerbach Trophy, which is named in honor of the head coach who led the Boston Celtics to nine NBA Championships from 1956 to 1966...
winner and is its all-time leader in regular-season games coached, regular-season games won, playoff games coached, and playoff games won. Holzman was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame
Basketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, honors exceptional basketball players, coaches, referees, executives, and other major contributors to the game of basketball worldwide...
in 1986 as a coach. Besides Holzman, Pat Riley
Pat Riley
Patrick James "Pat" Riley is an American professional basketball executive, and a retired coach and player in the NBA. Currently, he is team president of the Miami Heat. Widely regarded as one of the greatest NBA coaches of all time, Riley has served as the head coach of five championship teams...
, Lenny Wilkens
Lenny Wilkens
Leonard Randolph "Lenny" Wilkens is a retired American basketball player and coach in the NBA...
, and Larry Brown
Larry Brown (basketball)
Lawrence Harvey "Larry" Brown is an American basketball coach and former player. He most recently served as head coach of the National Basketball Association's Charlotte Bobcats....
have been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as coaches. Four coaches have been named to the list of the top 10 coaches in NBA history. Neil Cohalan
Neil Cohalan
Neil Cohalan was a professional basketball coach. He was the first coach of the New York Knickerbockers, and has the distinction of being the winning coach of the very first game played in the Basketball Association of America, the forerunner to the modern NBA...
, Joe Lapchick
Joe Lapchick
Joseph Bohomiel Lapchick was a professional basketball player, mostly known for playing with the Original Celtics in the 1920s and 30s. He is commonly regarded as the best center of his era, overshadowed in his later years only by Tarzan Cooper...
, Vince Boryla
Vince Boryla
Vincent Joseph Boryla is a retired American basketball player, coach, and executive. His nickname was "Moose". He graduated from East Chicago Washington High School in 1944. He played basketball at the University of Notre Dame and the University of Denver...
, Carl Braun, Eddie Donovan
Eddie Donovan
Eddie Donovan was a professional basketball coach and executive.He coached the New York Knickerbockers from 1961 through 1965, and was the coach on the opposing sideline when Philadelphia Warriors center Wilt Chamberlain had his record-setting 100-point game in Hershey, Pennsylvania on March 2,...
and Herb Williams
Herb Williams
Herbert L. Williams is a retired American basketball player in the National Basketball Association for eighteen seasons from 1981 to 1999. Williams served as the interim head coach of the NBA's New York Knicks...
have spent their entire coaching careers with the Knicks. Boryla, Braun, Harry Gallatin, Dick McGuire
Dick McGuire
Richard Joseph "Dick" McGuire was an American professional basketball player and coach.One of the premier guards of the 1950s, McGuire spent eleven seasons in the NBA , eight with the New York Knicks and three with the Detroit Pistons...
, Willis Reed
Willis Reed
Willis Reed, Jr. is a retired American basketball player, coach and manager of basketball teams. He spent his entire professional playing career with the New York Knicks. In 1982, his outstanding record and achievements were recognized by his induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall...
and Williams formerly played for the Knicks. The team is owned by Madison Square Garden, L.P.
Madison Square Garden, L.P.
Madison Square Garden, Inc. , is an American entertainment promotion company, headquartered in New York, New York. The company spun off from Cablevision on February 9, 2010.-Divisions:...
and coached by Mike D'Antoni
Mike D'Antoni
Michael Andrew "Mike" D'Antoni is an Italian-American former basketball player and is currently the head coach of the NBA's New York Knicks. While head coach of the Phoenix Suns, he won NBA Coach of the Year honors for the 2004–05 NBA season after the Suns posted 33 more wins than the previous...
, with Donnie Walsh
Donnie Walsh
Joseph Donald Walsh Jr., better known as Donnie Walsh is a former professional basketball coach, and former president of basketball operations for the New York Knicks.-Biography:...
as the general manager
General manager
General manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...
.
__FORCETOC__
Key
| GC | Games coached |
| W | Wins |
| L | Losses |
| Win% | Winning percentage Winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. It is defined as wins divided by wins plus losses . Ties count as a ½ loss and a ½ win... |
| # | Number of coaches |
| * | Spent entire NBA head coaching career with the Knicks |
| Elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach |
Coaches
| # | Name | Term | GC | W | L | Win% | GC | W | L | Win% | Achievements | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||
| 11 | * | 60 | 33 | 27 | .550 | 5 | 2 | 3 | .400 | |||
| 22 | * | – | 573 | 326 | 247 | .569 | 60 | 30 | 30 | .500 | ||
| 33 | * | – | 165 | 80 | 85 | .485 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 44 | – | 99 | 48 | 51 | .485 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 | |||
| 55 | * | – (as player-coach) | 127 | 40 | 87 | .315 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 66 | * | – | 278 | 84 | 194 | .302 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 77 | 63 | 25 | 38 | .397 | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 88 | – | 177 | 75 | 102 | .424 | 4 | 1 | 3 | .250 | |||
| 99 | – | 783 | 466 | 317 | .595 | 95 | 54 | 41 | .568 | NBA Coach of the Year NBA Coach of the Year Award The National Basketball Association's Coach of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association award given since the 1962–63 NBA season. The winner receives the Red Auerbach Trophy, which is named in honor of the head coach who led the Boston Celtics to nine NBA Championships from 1956 to 1966... 2 Championships (1970 1970 NBA Finals The 1970 NBA Finals was a best-of-7 series for the world championship of the National Basketball Association. It featured the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks and the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers... , 1973 1973 NBA Finals For the third time in four seasons, the New York Knicks of the Eastern Conference met the Los Angeles Lakers of the Western Conference for the NBA World Championship in the 1973 NBA Finals... ) One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history |
||
| 1010 | – | 96 | 49 | 47 | .510 | 6 | 2 | 4 | .333 | |||
| 11— | – | 314 | 147 | 167 | .468 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 | One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history | ||
| 1211 | – | 344 | 138 | 190 | .401 | 18 | 8 | 10 | .444 | |||
| 1312 | 66 | 20 | 46 | .303 | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1413 | – | 164 | 90 | 74 | .549 | 13 | 6 | 7 | .462 | |||
| 1514 | – | 97 | 52 | 45 | .536 | 10 | 4 | 6 | .400 | |||
| 1615 | 67 | 32 | 35 | .478 | 3 | 0 | 3 | .000 | ||||
| 1716 | – | 328 | 223 | 105 | .680 | 63 | 35 | 28 | .556 | NBA Coach of the Year NBA Coach of the Year Award The National Basketball Association's Coach of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association award given since the 1962–63 NBA season. The winner receives the Red Auerbach Trophy, which is named in honor of the head coach who led the Boston Celtics to nine NBA Championships from 1956 to 1966... One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history |
||
| 1817 | 59 | 34 | 25 | .576 | — | — | — | — | One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history | |||
| 1918 | – | 420 | 248 | 172 | .590 | 69 | 37 | 32 | .536 | |||
| 2019 | – | 184 | 72 | 112 | .391 | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2120 | * | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2221 | – | 81 | 40 | 41 | .494 | 4 | 0 | 4 | .000 | One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history | ||
| 23— | * | 43 | 16 | 27 | .372 | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2422 | 82 | 23 | 59 | .280 | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 2523 | – | 164 | 56 | 108 | .341 | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2624 | –present | 246 | 103 | 143 | .419 | 4 | 0 | 4 | .000 | |||