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 Bulls vs. Knicks regular season game at theUnited Center in 2007 | |
 Chicago Bulls  New York Knicks | |
| First meeting | October 23, 1966 Knicks 124, Bulls 105 |
|---|---|
| Latest meeting | November 3, 2025 Knicks 128, Bulls 116 |
| Next meeting | February 22, 2026 |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 287 |
| All-time series | 155–132 (CHI) |
| Regular season series | 131–120 (CHI) |
| Postseason results | 24–12 (CHI) |
| Longest win streak | CHI W11 |
| Current win streak | NYK W1 |
| Postseason history | |
| |
TheBulls–Knicks rivalry is a rivalry between theChicago Bulls and theNew York Knicks of theNational Basketball Association (NBA). The two basketball teams have played each other every year since the Bulls first joined the NBA in 1966.
The rivalry peaked in intensity from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, when both teams became huge playoff contenders.[1] This was due to a variety of factors: the great frequency in which the teams competed against each other in high-stakes contests and playoff series; well-known players such asMichael Jordan,Scottie Pippen,Patrick Ewing, andJohn Starks; the reputations of the team's respective cities; and personnel changes and conflicts between the teams.[2][3] The two teams met in the playoffs during six of the eight years from 1989 to 1996, with the Bulls winning five of those series.
Between 1966 and 1980, the Bulls and Knicks were inter-conference rivals, as the Bulls played in theWestern Division/Conference during this period. Both teams were regularly present in the NBA playoffs during the late 1960s to mid-1970s, but neither met in theNBA Finals.
The Bulls of that era, led byJerry Sloan,Bob Love,Norm Van Lier,Chet Walker, andTom Boerwinkle, struggled to advance deep in the playoffs as they regularly lost to powerhouse teams like theJerry West-ledLos Angeles Lakers andKareem Abdul-Jabbar'sMilwaukee Bucks. The Knicks, on the other hand, made three finals and won two championships featuring players such asWillis Reed,Walt Frazier,Bill Bradley,Dave DeBusschere,Jerry Lucas,Earl Monroe, and future Bulls coachPhil Jackson.
In the 1980 offseason, the Bulls moved to theEastern Conference, making their rivalry with the Knicks an intra-conference affair.
The two teams' first playoff meeting was in first round of the1981 NBA playoffs, a best-of-three series. Chicago, under head coach Jerry Sloan, won both games to sweep the series against New York 2–0. Chicago would be swept in the next round by theBoston Celtics, the eventual champions, in a best-of-seven series. Sloan was fired duringthe following season.
In the1984 NBA draft, the Chicago Bulls used their first-round pick (3rd overall) to select shooting guardMichael Jordan, who would eventually lead Chicago to six NBA Championships in the 1990s with teammatesScottie Pippen andDennis Rodman, under the direction of head coach Phil Jackson. The next year, the New York Knicks used their first-round pick (1st overall) in the1985 NBA draft to select centerPatrick Ewing, who would go on to become one of the Knicks' most notable players over the next 15 years.
The Knicks and Bulls met in the playoffs for the second time in1989. This time, the rivalry was much more pronounced, as the Knicks had just won their first Atlantic Division title since 1971 with a 52–30 record and clinched the 2nd seed in the East. Meanwhile, 6th-seeded Chicago won just 47 games, but was led by reigning NBA MVP and Defensive Player of the Year Michael Jordan. The Bulls won Game 1 in New York, and all three in Chicago to upset the Knicks 4–2 and qualify for the Eastern Conference Finals, which they lost in six games to the eventual championDetroit Pistons.
When the two teams met again in 1991, their roles were reversed. Chicago led the East with a then franchise-best 61 wins to capture the Central Division title. On the opposite end, the Knicks limped into the playoffs at 39–43 with the 8th seed. Chicago cruised past New York in a 3-game sweep, winning each game by an average of 20 points. They would go on to claim the first NBA Championship in franchise history.
In1992, the Bulls (having won six more games than the previous season), led by Jordan and Pippen, were on their way to their second straight title when they met the Knicks led by Ewing and new head coachPat Riley in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The series went to a decisiveGame 7, which the Bulls won 110–81 to advance. This kick-started the intense rivalry and made the Knicks into an Eastern Conference powerhouse, replacing the Pistons and Celtics. This was the first of two Game 7's that the Bulls faced in the six seasons they won a championship, the other with the Pacers in the1998 Eastern Conference Finals. This particular series became intense, with several players, particularly Michael Jordan,Xavier McDaniel, Scottie Pippen, andGreg Anthony getting into arguments.
Shortly afterwards, there was a moment of peace in the rivalry, with Ewing, Jordan, and Pippen winning gold medals as members of the "Dream Team" at the1992 Summer Olympics. Ewing, Jordan, andChris Mullin are the only basketball players to win gold medals as amateurs and professionals, having won at the1984 Summer Olympics.[4][5] Jordan and Pippen, along withLeBron James in 2012,Kyrie Irving in 2016,Jrue Holiday andKhris Middleton in 2021,Jayson Tatum,Jrue Holiday andDerrick White in 2024, are the eight players to have won an NBA championship and Olympic gold medal in the same year. Pippen and Holiday are the only players to accomplish this feat twice, as Pippen played for the Bulls in1996 and Team USA at the1996 Summer Olympics,[6] while Holiday played for the Bucks in2021 and Team USA at the2021 Summer Olympics, and the Celtics in2024 and Team USA at the2024 Summer Olympics.[7]
In the1992–93 season, the Knicks finished ahead of Chicago in the regular season and had home court advantage in the Eastern Conference Finals. The series had the notable highlight of Starks dunking over Horace Grant in front of Michael Jordan late in Game 2. However, despite being down 2–0, the Bulls came back and won the next 4 (by doing so, they became the 1st team in NBA history to overcome a 2–0 series deficit in a best-of-7 series, the 2nd team that year, and 4th overall), including a 97–94 Game 5 victory in New York. The game was notable as Knicks forward Charles Smith was stopped 4 straight times by a series of blocks and strips in the final seconds while trying to score. The Bulls won Game 6 96–88 to advance to the1993 NBA Finals, where they beat the Suns in 6 games for their firstthree-peat.
With Jordan's absence in1993–94 the Knicks had the upper hand and compiled the second best record in the East. The Bulls, led by Pippen and newcomerToni Kukoč, met the Knicks in the second round, where the series went 7 games. Game 3 of the series was marred by a brawl betweenJo Jo English andDerek Harper in which both players rolled into the stands. What made things worse was that the brawl took place withNBA CommissionerDavid Stern in attendance. The Bulls had a 19-point lead entering the 4th, but the Knicks tied it with 1.8 seconds left on a Patrick Ewing hook shot. Scottie Pippen famously refused to take the floor after Phil Jackson drew the final play for Kukoc, who hit a buzzer-beater to win the game. In one of the most argued calls in NBA history, a questionable foul was called byHue Hollins in the closing seconds of Game 5 against Pippen, which gaveHubert Davis two free throws to turn a one-point deficit into a one-point victory for the Knicks.
After a blowout Bulls win in Game 6 (which was the final game ever played atChicago Stadium), the Knicks advanced past the Bulls with a series-clinching 87–77 win, but eventually lost to the Rockets in the1994 NBA Finals. This was the only time the Knicks were able to beat the Bulls in the playoffs during this era. Also, all the games in the series were won by the home team, and the Knicks had home court advantage in the series.
In1994–95, Jordan returned in the latter half of the regular season. In his return to the Garden, his 5th game back, Jordan scored 55 in a Chicago win. This game lifted Jordan's confidence after a mediocre performance in his "comeback game" against the Pacers. They didn't meet in the playoffs that season, but the animosity between the teams still grew.
During the Bulls' record-setting1995–96 season, they suffered their worst loss of the season to the Knicks, 102–74 in March.[8][9] Two months later, they defeated the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in 5 games.
During the Bulls' second three-peat, they only met in the playoffs once; in 1996 when the Bulls defeated the Knicks. It was also during this period that other teams in the East grew to be contenders, such as theIndiana Pacers,Orlando Magic, andMiami Heat. All of these teams had their own heated battles with either the Bulls or Knicks in the playoffs.
In the 1990s, both Knicks Finals appearances (1994 and theirCinderella march of1999) followed a Bulls' 3-peat, but the Knicks lost both times to a team from Texas (Houston Rockets andSan Antonio Spurs).
The departures of Jordan, Pippen and Ewing led to the decline of both the Bulls and Knicks, and neither team was able to recapture the same success they enjoyed in the 1990s.
During this era, the only times both teams were in the playoffs took place in the2011,2012 and2013 seasons, neither of which resulted in the Bulls and Knicks meeting in a playoff series. Both teams have reached up to the Eastern Conference Finals.
On January 18, 2005,Ben Gordon scored a game-winning layup to lead the Bulls past the Knicks atMadison Square Garden. Then on April 8, 2012,Carmelo Anthony's three-point shot in overtime gave the Knicks the win at home over Chicago. Finally, on October 31, 2013,Derrick Rose banked in a game-winning field goal to beat the Knicks at theUnited Center. On June 22, 2016, the Bulls traded Rose,Justin Holiday, and a 2017 draft pick to the Knicks forRobin Lopez,Jerian Grant, andJosé Calderón, who was soon traded to theLos Angeles Lakers. On November 13, 2024,Coby White made game-winning free throws following a shooting foul committed byJosh Hart to lead the Bulls past the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.[10] The Bulls and Knicks faced-off under East Group C in the2025 NBA Cup, with the Bulls winning the group stage game on October 31 with a score of 135–125.[11]
The significance of the rivalry was due partly to the bragging rights of the two biggest cities in the East: theBig Apple vs. theWindy City. The physical play of the teams made it intense, especially in the playoffs. The matchup between Jordan and Starks brought some drama as they were both intense players who showcased a number of highlight dunks on the opposing team. Despite the Knicks not winning an NBA title or beating the Bulls in a postseason series while Jordan was in the league, this rivalry was considered the most contentious of the 1990s.[12]
| Chicago Bulls vs. New York Knicks Season-by-Season Results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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1960s (Knicks, 21–7)
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1970s (Tie, 20–20)
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1980s (Bulls, 36–26)
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1990s (Bulls, 41–25)
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2000s (Bulls, 24–13)
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2010s (Bulls, 19–16)
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2020s (Knicks, 11–8)
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Summary of Results
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