Description

Patrick Ewing only played with a Voit (tm) Ball during his years with the New York Knicks. This is the original of a team ball with the following players: Charles Oakley (34) - Herb Williams (32) - Derek Harper (11) - Charlie Ward (21) - Anthony Mason (14) Hubert Davis (44) -Doug Christie (7) - Don Nelson (59 (Coach *) - Patrick Ewing (33) -John Starks (3) This is the Voit Indoor-Outdoor Ball! Including the original case it was purchased with. Side Note: Donald Arvid Nelson is an American former professional basketball player and head coach. Nelson is second all-time in regular season wins of any coach in NBA history, with 1,335. He coached the Milwaukee Bucks, the New York Knicks, the Dallas Mavericks, and the Golden State Warriors. After an All-American career at the University of Iowa, Nelson won five NBA championships playing with the Boston Celtics, with his number 19 retired by the franchise in 1978. 1995–96 New York Knicks season 2 languages Article Talk Read Edit View history Tools Appearance hide Text Small Standard Large Width Standard Wide Color (beta) Automatic Light Dark From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 1995–96 New York Knicks season Head coach Don Nelson (fired) Jeff Van Gundy General manager Ernie Grunfeld Owners ITT Cablevision Arena Madison Square Garden Results Record 47–35 (.573) Place Division: 2nd ( Atlantic ) Conference: 4th ( Eastern ) Playoff finish Conference semifinals (lost to Bulls 1–4) Stats at Basketball-Reference.com Local media Television MSG Network Radio WFAN < 1994–95 1996–97 > The 1995–96 NBA season was the 50th season for the Knicks in the National Basketball Association in New York City, New York . [ 1 ] After Pat Riley left to coach the Miami Heat , the Knicks hired Don Nelson as their new head coach (their "Plan B" after Chuck Daly rejected their offer). [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] The team also signed free agent Gary Grant in November. [ 6 ] [ 7 ] The Knicks won ten of their first twelve games, leading to a 16–5 start and held a 30–16 record at the All-Star break. [ 8 ] However, the team never seemed to get under Nelson down the stretch, as he was fired and replaced with long-time assistant Jeff Van Gundy after 59 games. [ 9 ] [ 10 ] [ 11 ] [ 12 ] At mid-season, the Knicks traded Charles D. Smith and second-year forward Monty Williams to the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for J.R. Reid and Brad Lohaus , [ 13 ] [ 14 ] [ 15 ] [ 16 ] and dealt Doug Christie and Herb Williams to the expansion Toronto Raptors in exchange for Willie Anderson and Victor Alexander . [ 17 ] [ 18 ] [ 19 ] [ 20 ] However, after playing just one game for the Raptors, Williams was released and re-signed by the Knicks for the remainder of the season. [ 21 ] Under Van Gundy, the Knicks finished the season playing around .500 to post a 47–35 record, second in the Atlantic Division. [ 22 ] Patrick Ewing led the team with 22.5 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game, while being selected for the 1996 NBA All-Star Game . [ 23 ] [ 24 ] [ 25 ] [ 26 ] In addition, last season's Sixth Man of the Year Anthony Mason became the team's starting small forward, averaging 14.6 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game, while Derek Harper provided the team with 14.0 points, 4.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game, John Starks contributed 12.6 points and 1.3 steals per game, and three-point specialist Hubert Davis provided with 10.7 points per game off the bench. [ 27 ] Charles Oakley averaged 11.4 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, but only played 53 games due to a broken thumb, and an eye injury. [ 28 ] [ 29 ] [ 30 ] In the Eastern Conference First Round of the playoffs , the Knicks swept the 4th-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in three straight games. [ 31 ] [ 32 ] [ 33 ] [ 34 ] However, they would lose in five games to the 72–10 Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals. [ 35 ] [ 36 ] [ 37 ] [ 38 ] The Bulls would defeat the Seattle SuperSonics in six games in the NBA Finals , winning their fourth championship in six years. [ 39 ] [ 40 ] [ 41 ] [ 42 ] [ 43 ] Following the season, Mason was traded to the Charlotte Hornets , [ 44 ] [ 45 ] [ 46 ] [ 47 ] while Harper re-signed as a free agent with his former team, the Dallas Mavericks , [ 48 ] [ 49 ] [ 50 ] Davis was traded to the Toronto Raptors , [ 51 ] [ 52 ] [ 53 ] and Reid, Anderson, Grant, Lohaus and Alexander were all released to free agency. [ 54 ] For the season, the Knicks added the city name "New York" above their primary logo. [ 55 ] They also added new blue alternate road uniforms with black side panels, [ 56 ] [ 57 ] which they wore on the road frequently, that they would become their primary road jerseys for the 1997–98 season, where they would change their home uniforms, adding blue side panels to their jerseys and shorts. [ 58 ] Offseason [ edit ] NBA draft [ edit ] Main article: 1995 NBA draft The Knicks had no draft picks for 1995. Roster [ edit ] 1995–96 New York Knicks roster Players Coaches Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From G 40 Anderson, Willie 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1967–01–08 Georgia G 44 Davis, Hubert 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 1970–05–17 North Carolina C 33 Ewing, Patrick 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1962–08–05 Georgetown F 20 Grandison, Ron 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1964–07–09 New Orleans G 23 Grant, Gary 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1965–04–21 Michigan G 11 Harper, Derek 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1961–10–13 Illinois F 54 Lohaus, Brad 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1964–09–29 Iowa F 14 Mason, Anthony 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1966–12–14 Tennessee State F 34 Oakley, Charles 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1963–12–18 Virginia Union F 7 Reid, J. R. 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 247 lb (112 kg) 1968–03–31 North Carolina G 3 Starks, John 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1965–08–10 Oklahoma State G 21 Ward, Charlie 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1970–10–12 Florida State C 32 Williams, Herb 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 242 lb (110 kg) 1958–02–16 Ohio State