Date May 25, 2027

By: Mr. Fat Hat

Title: The Knickerbockers

The New York Knickerbockers advanced to the 2026 NBA Finals by winning the first four games of the 2026 Eastern Conference Playoffs Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday the Memorial Day Weekend Holiday.   The Knicks dominated every game in the series from start to end.

The NY Knicks return to the NBA Finals after a 27 year hiatus.  The world of basketball will now witness the return of the game to its roots as the Knicks attempt to win the crown jewels of an NBA Championship Trophy and Gold Diamond rings!

New York City is well know as the ‘Capitol of Basketball’ with a deep rich history reaching into the 1946 origins of the NBA, and to the first professional professional basketball teams and players from 1900 -48 .

Today, the New York City NBA basketball team is globally known as the New York Knicks.  The current teams’ nickname ‘Knicks’ stems from the organization’s actual original name Knickerbockers.  The name “Knickerbockers” comes from the loose-fitting pants rolled up just below the knee, which were worn by Dutch settlers who colonized New Amsterdam (now New York) in the 1600s. The first basketball players of the 20th century (1900’s) wore knickerbockers as basketball uniforms.  The original first use of the name Knickerbockers goes back to the 1858 New York Baseball team.  These New York baseball players set the ‘knickerbocker pants fashion style’ –  used by athletes for next 60 years.  Yes, the NYC sports scene was setting fashion long before Spike Lee.

The modern day NBA basketball New York Knickerbockers officially shortened their name to the New York Knicks before the start of the 1949–1950 NBA season. Fans and the media had already been using “Knicks” as a shorthand nickname since the franchise was founded in 1946.

New York City, NY,  as hosting one of the very first professional basketball teams and a National Basketball Association (NBA) original pillar organization,  has a long history and  connection to the game.   For many decades,  NYC was famous for having the best professional players and the best amateur players in their many famous outdoor park games. Ruckers Park, the Greenich Village Chain Court and many more locations became famous hoops locations throughout the entire world.

Dozens of globally famous players have roots into the famous outdoor park tournaments. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Julius Irving top the list of hundreds of great players who came from the street game of New York  …  … .

The First NYC Champions the 1949 New York Knicks:

Coached by Joe Lapchick, the Knicks finished the 1949–50 season with a 40-28 record, placing 2nd in the Eastern Division and making it to the Eastern Division finals. Their roster featured notable players like Carl Braun, Harry Gallatin, and Dick McGuire

They city holds proud and rightful ownership to the game of basketball’s origins.  But don’t dare mention it to a proud current day Knick fan in New York City, but the very first NYC professional basketball team was called the NY CELTICS.  Yes, it is true and factual …  the 1918 New York Celtics were NYC’s first professional basketball team.

A good understanding of  how professional basketball teams operated and made money in the 1910 to 1930 time period can be found in a review of the 1918 (New York ) NY Celtics. 

There is NO team organizational relationship to the current day Boston Celtics with the early NY Celtics.  Coincidentally they share a nickname.   But in today’s NBA, the Knicks and Celtics remain strong rivals, so be very careful what you say about the NY Celtics in the presence of Knick fans.  Asking the nickname of the first pro team in NYC, does, however,  make a great trivia question or a good bar bet in New York City, if you are willing to take the risk.

The Original 1918 N.Y Celtics  were a barnstorming professional American basketball team. At various times in their existence, the team played in the American Basketball League, the Eastern Basketball League and the Metropolitan Basketball League.

The N.Y. Celtic’s roots lay in the New York Celtics team that disbanded during World War One.   In 1918, James Furey assembled his own team around a nucleus of those truly “original” Celtics, adding other players mostly from the West Side of New York City, and defiantly called his new squad the Original Celtics.  Initially, they played in various struggling professional leagues, before becoming primarily a touring squad, which traveled up to 150,000 miles a year while completing a 150–200 game schedule. They won about ninety percent of their games and finished 1922–23 with the unbelievable record of 193–11–1.

Compare that playing schedule to today’s new age pampered NBA player requirement for off rest days . 

After a World War II hiatus of professional basketball, in 1946 many of the NYC pre-war basketball financiers and executives created the current day NBA organization the New York (Knicks) Knickerbockers.

Next month in  June, during the 2026 NBA finals games, the NY Knicks will not be wearing ‘Knickerbockers’ , but the team will always be the New York Knickerbockers to basketball fans worldwide!

Mr. Fat Hat’s:   A Deep History into the Game of Basketball: