1988–89 New York Knicks season

[3] During the off-season, the Knicks acquired Charles Oakley from the Chicago Bulls,[4][5][6][7] and selected point guard Rod Strickland out of DePaul University with the 19th overall pick in the 1988 NBA draft.

[8][7][9][10][11] At mid-season, the team traded their future first-round draft pick to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for All-Star forward Kiki Vandeweghe.

[3][17] The team also posted a successful 35–6 home record at Madison Square Garden during the season.

[18][19] Patrick Ewing averaged 22.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 3.5 blocks per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team and NBA All-Defensive Second Team,[20][21] and finished in fourth place in Most Valuable Player voting.

[22][49] Following the season, Pitino resigned after two seasons with the Knicks, and became the head coach at the University of Kentucky,[50][51][52][53] and Sidney Green was left unprotected in the 1989 NBA Expansion Draft, where he was selected by the Orlando Magic expansion team.