Urban Matters: In your new book Kings of the Garden, you argue that during the mid-1970s to mid-1980s the Knicks stood in as a symbol of New York City. It was an era when the Knicks fell from National Basketball Association championship glory to regular also-ran status, while New York City became a poster child of urban decline and dystopia. But was it really as bad as all that, or was the doom and gloom overdone?

Adam Criblez: For the city it was really as bad as that, at least in the mid-1970s, when  City government was on the brink of bankruptcy., the South Bronx was the target of hundreds of arsonists, and the “Son of Sam“ killer scared residents in all five boroughs. There was massive looting and thousands of arrests after a citywide blackout in 1977. Even after the City Hall ship was righted under Mayor Ed Koch, race relations were often rocky, and then came the AIDS crisis. 

On the basketball court, however, I do think the doom and gloom was overdone. Knicks fans were spoiled (as are the fanbases of any successful sports franchise) after winning NBA titles in 1970 and 1973 thanks to a roster filled with future Hall of Fame players. They made the playoffs every season between 1966-67 and 1974-75. Team management, coaches, players, and fans all expected to continue the success, even after several key retirements. When the team missed the playoffs in 1976, the doom and gloom arrived. And when the Knicks became the first all-Black team in NBA history in the fall of 1979, for some fans it added a sour and contentious racial element to the pessimism. 

UM: So, fast-forward to now. What do you think today’s Knicks, and the NBA, say about out our post-Covid times?

Criblez: In many ways, the Knicks are one of the signature franchises in the NBA, regardless of their on-court success, because they play in New York City in the legendary Madison Square Garden. As such, issues affecting the NBA are amplified in NYC. The public stance the league and its players took regarding Covid (by playing in a bubble) and Black Lives Matter, which surfaced around the same time, made the NBA a lightning rod for debates about public health, race, and social justice issues. While the current Knicks lack any of the league’s biggest-name superstars, many of whom are the most forward-facing members of the NBA on social justice issues, the franchise is certainly reflected in how the city is viewed.  

UM: Pre-three-point line. Pre-free agency. Pre-global audience. In so many ways, professional basketball 50 years ago bears very little resemblance to the game’s shape and reach now. To stretch the metaphor one more time: Like the NBA, life in New York today is also glitzier, faster, pricier than it was back in the day. Does that make it better?

Criblez: Not at all. And the reason why can be summed up in one word: nostalgia. Knicks fans fondly recall the teams they grew up watching, whether that was the fleeting “Lin-sanity” of the 2010s, the Patrick Ewing-era bullies of the ‘80s and ‘90s, the “Garden of Eden” teams from the early 1970s, or even the not-so-successful squads I write about in Kings of the Garden. 

Yes, there was no free agency or three-point line. So, players were more likely to stay with one or two franchises their entire careers. On offense, they worked the ball around for a good shot closer to the hoop rather than flinging up long-range jump shots on the fast break. Modern fans may think the style of play in the 1970s was boring; a generation of fans brought up on older Knicks teams may find today’s game unwatchable because of touch foul calls and seven-foot players shooting three-pointers. 

Off the court, an oft-used term to describe New York City in the 1970s and 1980s was “gritty” (watch the films Taxi Driver or The Warriors to see what I mean). Does that make it worse than today’s expensive, faster-paced city? Not any more so than preferring one style of basketball.  

UM: You also describe how hip-hop music started during the mid-70s as an informal and locally organized expression, and became an unofficial soundtrack for the NBA. Like the NBA it has morphed into a global phenomenon. Did anything get lost in the process? And is any other sport so closely linked to a popular cultural movement? 

Criblez: A lot was lost in the process. In fact, the first commercially successful rap song was “Rapper’s Delight” released by the Sugarhill Gang in 1979. Many of the pioneers of hip-hop hated “Rapper’s Delight” because they saw it as a studio-manufactured money grab. In their eyes, the song lacked authenticity (and maybe even used some stolen lyrics). Within a few years, rap and hip-hop was being sanitized for white, suburban consumption. 

Similarly, the NBA began to embrace and promote elements of Black culture in the early- to mid-1980s through players like Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan, whose images were very marketable to a racially and ethnically diverse audience. And as for the last question, no, I don’t think there is any other sport so closely linked to a popular culture movement or musical genre. 

UM: Final question: What do you think of the Knicks’ chances in this year’s playoffs?

Criblez: Earlier this month we learned that Julius Randle is officially done for the season and will have shoulder surgery. Given how well the team played in January with Randle, OG Anunoby, and Jalen Brunson healthy, I was hopeful they could make a run. Without Randle – and maybe Anunoby – I’m less hopeful. But I’ll be rooting for them!

Adam J. Criblez is a professor of history at Southeast Missouri State University and the author of Kings of the Garden: The New York Knicks and Their City, published by Three Hills, an imprint of Cornell University Press.

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