The New York Knicks were one of the original 11 franchises and was created in 1946. They had success come to them early and made it to 3 NBA finals in the 50's, but lost all of them. They were led by the Hall-of-Famer coach Joe Lapchick. After these losses though, the team wore down with the combination of bad draft picks and the resignation of Lapchick. Then, Red Holzman came along as coach. He was a instant success. He put together a strong roster which included Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, Phil Jackson, Dave DeBusschere, and Dick Barnett to win the Knicks' first title in 1970. By 1973, they added legendary Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, who averaged over 40 PPG in college and star Jerry Lucas to take their second title that season. After this, they posted their first losing record and went up and down from there. After their dismal performance in 1985, the Knicks were entered into the first ever NBA Draft Lottery and won the superstar center Patrick Ewing. Even with him, it took the team until 1989 to post a winning record, when they obtained power foward Charles Oakley. They surged to dominance in the early 90's, taking over the Atlantic Division. They also made two finals appearances during that time period, but lost both of them. Their overall record is 2576-2591 (.499). Their best season was their 1969-1970 season, where they posted a 60-22 (.732) record, and their worst season was their 1962-1963 season, where they got 21-59 (.263). They've retired 9 numbers. 10 (Walt Frazier), 12 (Dick Barnett), 15 (Dick McGuire), 15 (Earl Monroe), 19 (Willis Reed), 22 (Dave DeBusschere), 24 (Bill Bradley), 33 (Patrick Ewing), and 613 (Red Holzman).