Knicks to Honor 1973 Championship Team Ahead of Season Opener
Fifty-three years after their last title, the Knicks will raise a championship banner and present rings to the 1972-73 team.
Madison Square Garden will host a ceremony Tuesday night to honor the New York Knicks' 1972-73 championship team, marking the first time in 53 years the franchise will raise a championship banner and present rings. The event precedes the Knicks' season opener against the Philadelphia 76ers.
The 1973 Knicks team, featuring prominent players such as Walt "Clyde" Frazier, Willis Reed (the Captain), Earl Monroe (Pearl), Dave DeBusschere, Bill Bradley, and Dick Barnett, won the franchise's last NBA title. The banner commemorating this championship had been in place since the team's last title game, but the NBA's tradition of formally raising banners on opening night did not begin until the 1980s.
For the ceremony, the team intends to dim the lights and display the Walter Brown Trophy, the precursor to the modern Lawrence O'Brien Trophy. The players from that era are expected to receive their championship rings.
This occasion serves as a final celebration of the 1972-73 season before the current Knicks team begins its pursuit of a new championship. The championship ring presentation and banner raising are scheduled to occur prior to the tip-off of Tuesday's game against the 76ers.