New York Knicks

The New York Knicks basketball team plays in the Eastern Conference under the Atlantic Division of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Currently, they play among twenty-nine other professional basketball teams and compete in a division with four other teams; the Boston Celtics, New Jersey Nets, Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors.

The New York Knicks team name is a shortened version of the word "Knickerbockers". Knickerbockers, a type of pants New York City settlers wore in the 1600s, became a word recognizable to the city with its most popular symbol, Father Knickerbocker. The owners chose the name from a hat and shortened it to "Knicks".

The New York Knicks logo shows "Knicks" in bold 3D letters of blue and orange with "New York" in blue at the top. A blue and orange basketball floats below the name with a two toned blue triangle background.

Part of the New York Knicks history shows them to be among only two of the original NBA teams to keep their initial name throughout the years. They also continue to wear the first team colors of orange, blue and white.

Like other NBA basketball teams, the Knicks hire cheerleaders to perform between games. The New York Knicks dancers, called the Knicks City Dancers, are made up of professional dancers who not only cheer for the team, but also put on elaborate dance routines for fans

In December 2006, Mardy Collins forced a foul J.R. Smith that provoked both teams into a brawl. Fans saw the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks fight broadcasted on television and read about it in the next day's newspaper. Clips of this fight have shown up on YouTube, a website set up to host user videos from all over the world.

The Knicks created "In the Paint", an online fan club for those who crave New York Knicks news. As a member, fans receive exclusive offers and discounts to use on New York Knicks merchandise. Members are first to learn about a New York Knicks promotion. The In the Paint download section has New York Knicks wallpaper for fans to download. Fans can use these wallpapers in their New York Knicks Myspace layouts. One downloadable photo shows Channing Frye, Nate Robinson and David Lee of the New York Knicks together as the 2005-2006 rookies.

Visit NBA.com to find information on the New York Knicks schedule and where to purchase New York Knicks tickets and merchandise. NBA basketball collectors will also find information about their favorite seasoned and rookie players, such as David Lee of the New York Knicks.