New York Knicks Wrapped: Looking Back on Calendar Year 2021

Game of the Year: Friday, April 9th vs Memphis Grizzlies

All great things have an origin story, and this game was the inception of the best basketball the Knicks played in 2021.

The Knicks entered the game 1-5 in their last six in a stretch that included a few gut-wrenching losses. The lone win was against last year’s tanking Detroit Pistons squad.

The Knicks seemed headed to another loss before erasing a 13-point 4th quarter deficit and outlasting the Grizzlies in overtime.

This game kicked off the best run of New York Knicks basketball in nearly a decade. The team just refused to lose over the ensuing eight games.

But it was how they won most of those games that really made this team feel special. Almost every game during the run included a comeback. The Knicks over that nine-game span are the team that most of the fans loved.

They just never quit.

Honorable Mention: Wednesday, May 26th vs Atlanta

You could make the argument that a team’s first playoff win in seven seasons should be the game of the year, but context matters here.

At the time, it felt amazing. Boos (and other things) rained down on Trae Young and Derrick Rose forgot what year it was as the Knicks evened up the first-round series at a game apiece.

Still, knowing how the rest of the series went prevents this from being higher. It just felt wrong not mentioning it at all.