1995–96 New York Knicks season
The 1995–96 NBA season was the 50th season for the Knicks in the National Basketball Association in New York City, New York. After Pat Riley left to coach the Miami Heat, the Knicks hired Don Nelson as their new head coach (their "Plan B" after Chuck Daly rejected their offer). The Knicks won ten of their first twelve games, leading to a 16–5 start and held a 30–16 record at the All-Star break. However, the team never seemed to get under Nelson down the stretch, as he was fired and replaced with long-time  assistant Jeff Van Gundy after 59 games. At midseason, the Knicks traded Charles D. Smith to the San Antonio Spurs for J.R. Reid, and dealt Doug Christie and Herb Williams to the expansion Toronto Raptors for Willie Anderson. However, after playing just one game for the Raptors, Williams was released and re-signed by the Knicks for the remainder of the season. Under Van Gundy, the Knicks finished the season playing around .500 to post a 47–35 record, second in the Atlantic Division. Patrick Ewing led the team with 22.5 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game, while being  selected for the 1996 NBA All-Star Game. In addition, last season's Sixth Man of the Year Anthony Mason stepped into the lineup, averaging 14.6 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game, while Derek Harper provided the team with 14.0 points, 4.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game, John Starks contributed 12.6 points and 1.3 steals per game, and three-point specialist Hubert Davis provided with 10.7 points per game off the bench. Charles Oakley averaged 11.4 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, but only played 53 games due to a broken thumb. In the Eastern Conference First  Round of the playoffs, the Knicks swept the 4th-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in three straight games. However, they would lose in five games to the 72–10 Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals. Following the season, Mason was traded to the Charlotte Hornets, while Harper re-signed as a free agent with his former team, the Dallas Mavericks, Davis was traded to the Toronto Raptors, and Reid and Anderson were both released to free agency. For the season, the Knicks added the city name "New York" above their primary logo. They also added new blue alternate road uniforms with  black side panels, which they wore on the road frequently, that they would become their primary road jerseys for the 1997–98 season, where they would change their home uniforms adding blue side panels to their jerseys and shorts. Offseason. NBA draft. The Knicks had no draft picks for 1995. Player stats. NOTE: Please write players statistics in alphabetical order by last name. Transactions. Trades. Free agents. Player Transactions Citation: