Knicks 1999 NBA Finals roster: Revisiting last New York team to reach championship led by Patrick Ewing, Allan Houston

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Knicks 1999 NBA Finals roster: Revisiting last New York team to reach championship led by Patrick Ewing, Allan Houston originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The 1999 New York Knicks may not have won the NBA Finals, but their run through the Eastern Conference is still beloved among fans.

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In the lockout-shortened season, the Knicks went just 27-23 in the regular season and barely made the playoffs as the No. 8 seed. However, New York went on to upset the No. 1 Miami Heat in the first round before sweeping the Atlanta Hawks and taking down the rival Indiana Pacers in the next two rounds.

While the San Antonio Spurs overpowered the Knicks in the NBA Finals, New York's playoff performance was an admirable way to cap off a 1990s on which the team did everything but win a title. This also marked one of Patrick Ewing's last playoff runs with the team.

Therefore, here's a look back at the 1999 Knicks team that made a Cinderella run to the NBA Finals.

MORE: Revisiting the 1999 Knicks playoff run

Knicks 1999 NBA Finals roster

PlayerPositionRick BrunsonPGMarcus CambyCChris ChildsPGBen DavisPFChris DudleyCPatrick EwingCAllan HoustonSGLarry JohnsonPFDennis ScottSFLatrell SprewellSFKurt ThomasPFCharlie WardPGHerb WilliamsCDavid WingateSG

Here's a look at the Knicks' primary nine-man rotation during this playoff run:

Patrick Ewing

The Knicks' 1999 roster was headlined by Patrick Ewing, even though the big man was near the end of his career. Ewing was 36 years old during the season and only played in 38 of the Knicks' 50 games, but he still averaged a team-high 17.3 points and 9.9 rebounds during the season.

Unfortunately for Ewing, his season ended before the NBA Finals began. In the Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers, Ewing tore his Achilles, which forced him to miss the NBA Finals against the Spurs.

Allan Houston

Houston signed with the Knicks during the 1996 offseason, and he was perhaps the team's best player during this run. Houston played in all 50 games during the season, leading the team in minutes played, and was New York's best shooter and playmaker throughout the season.

During the NBA Finals, Houston averaged 21.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists, doing all he could to lead the team as far as it could go. While New York came up short, Houston's game-winning shot in the first-round Game 5 upset over the top-seeded Miami Heat remains iconic in Knicks history.

Latrell Sprewell

Sprewell had a volatile reputation in the NBA, as he was suspended 68 games in 1997-98 after attacking his head coach, P.J. Carlesimo, with the Golden State Warriors. Therefore, when Golden State traded him to the Knicks for a package that included an aging John Starks, the question was whether Sprewell would cooperate with his team.

It turns out, for the 1999 season, Sprewell was a gift for New York. The shooting guard played in 37 games, mostly off the bench, and was second on the team with 16.4 points per game. He was even better in the playoffs, as he averaged 26.0 points during the NBA Finals, leading the team and only second to Tim Duncan on both sides.

Larry Johnson

Every team needs a glue guy, and Larry Johnson was just that for the 1999 Knicks. The former Hornets forward was traded to the Knicks in 1996, and spent the last five years of his career in New York. During the 1999 season, Johnson played in 49 games and was a staple at power forward next to Ewing.

Johnson's playoff run was as solid as he was, but he is most known for a four-point play against the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals that helped clinch a Game 3 victory. However, his NBA Finals performance was more underwhelming, shooting just 28.6 percent from the field in five games.

Charlie Ward

Ward was the 1993 Heisman Trophy winner before pursuing basketball, and he spent parts of his first 10 seasons with the Knicks. After a breakout in 1997-98, Ward followed that up with a strong 1999, where he was New York's starting point guard for all 50 games.

However, Ward's numbers in the playoffs weren't great as a pass-first guard, failing to average more than 4.6 points per game in the 20-game sample. The point guard was solid in the Finals against the Spurs even though he didn't score much.

Chris Childs

Childs was the other point guard on the roster, producing similar numbers in similar minutes as Ward coming off the bench. Childs was a strong defender and solid shooter, as the journeyman found a home with the Knicks replacing John Starks' three-point shooting after New York traded the veteran away.

Childs did not have a good NBA Finals performance, shooting just 22.7 percent from the field and averaging just 2.4 points per game. He also made just one three-pointer in the NBA Finals, which contributed to New York's struggles from deep.

Kurt Thomas

Thomas spent almost two decades in the NBA playing for nine different teams, and his longest stint with a team was with the Knicks from 1999-2005. Thomas played in all 50 games during the regular season, starting 44 games and playing 23.6 minutes per contest.

Thomas had steady play in the playoffs, which included starting 12 of 20 games, and his 7.6 rebounds per game in the NBA Finals were an increase from the regular season. However, Thomas couldn't entirely replace Ewing after the franchise star went down with an injury.

Marcus Camby

The youngest player on the team, Camby was in just his third NBA season and first with the Knicks when he played 46 games off the bench. The center, however, had a step back in production after he was a strong starter for the Toronto Raptors in each of his first two seasons.

When Ewing missed the end of the playoffs with an injury, Camby saw an increase in minutes, playing 27.2 minutes per game in the NBA Finals. He led the team in rebounds per game in the series with 7.8, and his 9.6 points per game were the third most on the team.

Chris Dudley

During the regular season, the veteran Dudley played in 46 games and started 16 to help fill in for when Ewing was out with an injury. The center only played 14.9 minutes per game during the year, and that didn't increase much in the playoffs.

When Ewing missed the NBA Finals, it was Camby who got more playing time while Dudley's minutes remained steady. He had just 1.2 points and 3.8 rebounds in the series. 

MORE: Last time the Knicks won the NBA Finals

Knicks 1999 playoff run

  • First round: 3-2 series win over Miami Heat
  • Second round: 4-0 series win over Atlanta Hawks
  • Eastern Conference Finals: 4-2 series win over Indiana Pacers
  • NBA Finals: 4-1 series loss to San Antonio Spurs

The 1999 Knicks playoff run included vanquishing two of their biggest rivals, but New York couldn't take down a budding dynasty in Tim Duncan's Spurs.

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