The 1997–98 New York Knicks season was the 52nd season for the team in the National Basketball Association

National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

 (NBA). In the regular season, the Knicks

New York Knicks

The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...

 had a 43–39 record, which placed them in a tie for second in the Atlantic Division

Atlantic Division (NBA)

The Atlantic Division is one of the three divisions in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . The division consists of five teams, the Boston Celtics, the New Jersey Nets, the New York Knicks, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Toronto Raptors...

. Despite their lowest winning percentage

Winning percentage

In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. It is defined as wins divided by wins plus losses . Ties count as a ½ loss and a ½ win...

 since the 1990–91 season, the team qualified for the NBA Playoffs

NBA Playoffs

The National Basketball Association Playoffs is a best-of-seven elimination tournament among sixteen teams in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference , ultimately deciding the final four teams who will play in the NBA Conference Finals.-Format:Following the NBA regular season, eight teams in...

 as the seventh seed.

The 1998 NBA Playoffs

1998 NBA Playoffs

The 1998 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1997-98 NBA season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls winning their sixth championship of the decade by defeating the Western Conference champion Utah Jazz four...

 matched the Knicks against the Miami Heat

Miami Heat

The Miami Heat is a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. The team is a member of the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . They play their home games at American Airlines Arena in Downtown Miami...

, who had eliminated the Knicks in the 1997 playoffs in a series that featured a brawl during Game 5. The altercation led to the suspension of six players, including five Knicks. In the 1998 series, another brawl occurred in the closing seconds of Game 4, which the Knicks won to even the series at two games each. Larry Johnson and Alonzo Mourning

Alonzo Mourning

Alonzo Harding Mourning, Jr. is a former American professional basketball player, who played most of his 15-year NBA career for the Miami Heat....

 exchanged punches, and Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy

Jeff Van Gundy

Jeffrey William "Jeff" Van Gundy is a former American basketball head coach. He coached most recently with the National Basketball Association's Houston Rockets...

 clung to one of Mourning's legs at one point in an attempt to separate the two. Three players were suspended for Game 5, including Johnson and Mourning. New York won Game 5 to advance to the second round, where it lost to the Indiana Pacers

Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are members of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association...

 in five games.

NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	25	John Thomas John Thomas (basketball) John Thomas is an American professional basketball player who most recently played for Hapoel Holon in the Israeli Super League...	F		Minnesota University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...

Roster