Madison Square Garden Co. Executive Chairman James Dolan watches during the first half of an NBA game between the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 20, 2017, in New York.
Photographer: Frank Franklin/AP Photo
Is the Knicks’ James Dolan the Worst Owner in Professional Sports?
The team has the worst record in the league this century, and a culture so dysfunctional that it’s now actively repelling the game’s best talent.
On April 10 of this year, 19,872 humans of seemingly sound mind paid a not insignificant amount of money to fill Madison Square Garden from floor to rafters. This was, mercifully, the final game of a long, hopeless season for the New York Knicks, the worst team in the National Basketball Association. The absolute best case for the Knicks on this night was to win for just the 18th time in 82 games—thus saving these players from the ignominy of losing more games than any other group in franchise history.
Things were briefly promising. The Detroit Pistons scored first, to go up 2-0, but the Knicks roared back to tie it 2-2. Then Detroit hit a three-pointer—and never trailed again. At one point, the Pistons, playing without their star forward, Blake Griffin, led by 38.