Blood in the Garden

The Flagrant History of the 1990s New York Knicks

Chris Herring, To Be Confirmed Atria

• Publisher: Atria Books
• Year: 2022
• eBook ISBN:
  9781982132132
• Print ISBN:
  9781982132118
• Subtopic: North American History

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A SELECTION ON BARACK OBAMA’S SUMMER READING LIST

The definitive history of the 1990s New York Knicks, illustrating how Pat Riley, Patrick Ewing, John Starks, Charles Oakley, and Anthony Mason resurrected the iconic franchise through oppressive physicality and unmatched grit.

For nearly an entire generation, the New York Knicks have been a laughingstock franchise. Since 2001, they’ve spent more money, lost more games, and won fewer playoff series than any other NBA team.

But during the preceding era, the Big Apple had a club it was madly in love with—one that earned respect not only by winning, but through brute force. The Knicks were always looking for fights, often at the encouragement of Pat Riley. They fought opposing players. They fought each other. Hell, they even occasionally fought their own coaches.

The NBA didn’t take kindly to their fighting spirit. Within two years, league officials moved to alter several rules to stop New York from turning its basketball games into bloody mudwrestling matches. Nevertheless, as the 1990s progressed, the Knicks endeared themselves to millions of fans; not for how much they won, but for their colorful cast of characters and their hardworking mentality.

Now, through his original reporting and interviews with more than two hundred people, author Chris Herring delves into the origin, evolution, and eventual demise of the iconic club. He takes us inside the locker room, executive boardrooms, and onto the court for the key moments that lifted the club to new heights, and the ones that threatened to send everything crashing down in spectacular fashion.

Blood in the Garden is a portrait filled with eye-opening details that have never been shared before, revealing the full story of the franchise in the midst of the NBA’s golden era. And rest assured, no punches will be pulled. Which is just how those rough-and-tumble Knicks would like it.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Prologue
• Chapter One: Speaking a New Language
• Chapter Two: Thank God They Didn’t Have Hand Grenades
• Chapter Three: The Reinvention of Pat Riley
• Chapter Four: Knock Michael Jordan to the Floor
• Chapter Five: Chalk Outline
• Chapter Six: The Butterfly Among the Buffaloes
• Chapter Seven: Daylight
• Chapter Eight: Thirty-Six Hours in Reno
• Chapter Nine: The Enigmatic Life of Anthony Mason
• Chapter Ten: Standing Out in the Crowd
• Chapter Eleven: The Dream, the Chase, and the Nightmare
• Chapter Twelve: Commitment Issues
• Chapter Thirteen: We’re All a Little Guilty
• Chapter Fourteen: Whack-A-Mole
• Chapter Fifteen: Back to Basics
• Chapter Sixteen: Down in Flames
• Chapter Seventeen: Shattered
• Chapter Eighteen: Heart Transplant
• Chapter Nineteen: Long-Term Parking
• Chapter Twenty: Beating the Odds
• Chapter Twenty-One: The Clock Strikes Midnight
• Epilogue
• Photographs
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• A Brief Note on Sourcing
• Notes
• Copyright