The Knicks finished third in the Eastern Division with a 54–28 regular season record, and qualified for the NBA playoffs for the third straight year.
[3] In the first round of the playoffs, New York defeated the Baltimore Bullets in a four-game sweep to earn a berth in the Eastern Division finals.
[5] The Knicks selected Bill Hosket, Jr. in the opening round of the 1968 NBA draft,[6] and made a significant trade early in the season, acquiring Dave DeBusschere from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Walt Bellamy and Butch Komives.
New York saw an increase in attendance during the regular season; after having six sellouts in their entire history, the Knicks played to capacity crowds in 14 games at Madison Square Garden.
[10] New York faced the Bullets, who had won 57 games in the regular season and held the number one seed in the Eastern Conference, in their first playoff round.