- Pat Riley became head coach of the Knicks in 1991
- He only did so after the team agreed to all but one of his demands
- The Knicks refused to pay for Riley’s dry cleaning and laundry expenses
In 1991, the New York Knicks were desperate to get Pat Riley as their new head coach. So desperate that they ended up matching almost all of Riley’s demands, which were quite outlandish at the time. In his book “Blood in the Garden,” Chris Herring detailed everything that Riley wanted from the team.
The fact that dry cleaning expenses were where the Knicks drew the line is quite hilarious.
Riley wanting to be the highest-paid coach was quite understandable. He won four championships as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s and had a cushy job as a commentator for NBC after stepping down from that role.
If he was to get back into coaching, you had to make it worth his time. Buying him a house in New York probably was to be expected as well, but the rest sure were interesting.
A book and movie deal to go with Ralph Lauren polo shirts seems rather extra, but the Knicks didn’t seem to mind.
The Knicks also fulfilled the last, and as mentioned, the most difficult demand that Riley had, as Patrick Ewing signed a six-year, $68 million deal in 1991.
Pat Riley Helped Elevate The Knicks
Was Riley worth doing all this for the Knicks? Well, he actually was.
In his first season, the Knicks went 51-31 and beat the Pistons in the first round of the playoffs. They then did what only two other teams ever managed to do, take Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls to seven games. The Knicks ultimately lost, but Riley’s impact was there for all to see.
The following season, the Knicks tied a franchise record for wins by going 60-22, and Riley took them to the Conference Finals for the first time since 1974. Again, however, they lost to the Bulls, this time in six games.
With Jordan having retired, the Knicks finally beat the Bulls in the 1994 playoffs and made it all the way to the NBA Finals. Only the Houston Rockets stood before them and the title, but the Kicks agonizingly lost in seven games.
In the 1994-95 season, the Knicks lost to the Indiana Pacers in the Conference Semifinals, and it spelled the end of Riley’s time in New York. He resigned via fax in 1995 to become president and head coach for the Miami Heat in controversial circumstances.
All in all, Riley had an impressive 328-223 record with the Knicks in his four seasons.
The Post-Riley Knicks
The Knicks were rocked by Riley’s departure, but they didn’t crumble. They hired Don Nelson as his replacement, but he was let go during the season, with Jeff Van Gundy taking over.
Van Gundy’s Knicks lost to Riley’s Heat in the 1997 playoffs but got revenge by knocking them out in 1998, 1999, and 2000. In 1999, they made it all the way to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the San Antonio Spurs in five games.
The Knicks had a couple more strong seasons under Van Gundy before he resigned in the 2001-02 season. Since then, success has been hard to come by for the Knicks as they have failed to even reach the Conference Finals.
Riley, meanwhile, led the Heat to an NBA championship in 2006 as head coach. He would then win two more as president in 2012 and 2013. Perhaps if the Knicks had found a way to keep Riley, they might have been the ones with three championships in this century.
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