Knicks Arrive at JFK After May 10, 1973 Title — Last Time Knicks Won Championship

The last time knicks won championship came on May 10, 1973, when the New York Knicks clinched the NBA title by beating the Los Angeles Lakers on their own court. Two days later, the team touched down at JFK International Airport to a large crowd waiting for the champions.

JFK International Airport Crowd

Port Authority police tried to keep the crowd from swarming the tarmac as the Knicks arrived on May 12, 1973. The return turned the airport into the first stop of a citywide celebration that followed the title.

That scene fit the summer of 1973 in New York City, which the source describes as a collective high after the championship. The Knicks had not just won a series; they had ended it in Los Angeles, taking the NBA title from the Lakers on their own floor.

New York City In 1973

The championship also sits at the center of the Knicks’ historical record because it was the last time the franchise won the NBA title. June 1, 1973 offered one more snapshot of that moment: Times Square without a single screen.

For readers looking back at the Knicks’ championship history, the dates do the work here. May 10 marks the clincher, May 12 marks the homecoming, and the empty screens of early June show how different New York looked in that era, even as the city rode the aftermath of its title run.