1987–88 New York Knicks season

The 1987–88 New York Knicks season was the 42nd season for the team in the National Basketball Association. The Knicks had the 18th overall pick in the 1987 NBA draft, and selected point guard Mark Jackson out of St. John's University. During the off-season, the team acquired Sidney Green from the Detroit Pistons, and signed free agent and second-year forward Johnny Newman in November. The Knicks also hired Providence College head coach Rick Pitino as their new coach; Pitino had been hired after leading Providence to the Final Four of the 1987 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.

In the regular season, under Pitino and with the addition of Jackson, the Knicks lost their first five games, and later on held a 16–28 record at the All-Star break. The team had a winning percentage of over .500 for the remainder of the season, finishing with a 38–44 record, which earned them a tie for second place in the Atlantic Division with the Washington Bullets, and the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.

Patrick Ewing averaged 20.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 3.0 blocks per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, while Gerald Wilkins averaged 17.4 points and 4.0 assists per game, and Jackson provided the Knicks with 13.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 10.6 assists and 2.5 steals per game, and was named the NBA Rookie of the Year, and also named to the NBA All-Rookie Team. In addition, Bill Cartwright averaged 11.1 points and 4.7 rebounds per game off the bench, while second-year forward Kenny Walker had 10.1 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, and Newman contributed 10.0 points per game. Meanwhile, Green averaged 7.8 points and rebounds per game each, three-point specialist Trent Tucker contributed 7.1 points per game, and Pat Cummings provided the Knicks with 5.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Illinois, Ewing was selected for the 1988 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team, while Tucker participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout for the second time. Ewing also finished tied in fifth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, while Jackson finished in 13th place in Most Valuable Player voting, and Pitino finished in fifth place in Coach of the Year voting.

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1988 NBA playoffs, the Knicks faced off against the top–seeded, and Atlantic Division champion Boston Celtics, who were led by the quartet of All-Star forward Larry Bird, All-Star forward Kevin McHale, Robert Parish and All-Star guard Danny Ainge. The Knicks lost the first two games to the Celtics on the road at the Boston Garden, but managed to win Game 3 at home, 109–100 at Madison Square Garden. However, the Knicks lost Game 4 to the Celtics at home, 102–94, thus losing the series in four games.

The Knicks finished seventh in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 586,752 at Madison Square Garden during the regular season. Following the season, Cartwright was traded to the Chicago Bulls, and Cummings signed as a free agent with the Miami Heat expansion team.