The 1977–78 New York Knicks season was the 32nd season for the team in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Knicks finished the regular season in second place in the Atlantic Division with a 43–39 win–loss record and qualified for the NBA playoffs. In the first round of the 1978 Playoffs, New York defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers, 2–0, to advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. There, the Knicks lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in a four-game sweep.
Draft picks
Note: This is not an extensive list; it only covers the first and second rounds, and any other players picked by the franchise that played at least one game in the league. Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club team 1 10 Ray Williams G Minnesota 2 26 Glen Gondrezick G/F UNLV 2 32 Toby Knight F Notre Dame 4 76 Steve Hayes C Idaho State
Roster
Regular season
Season standings
z – clinched division title y – clinched division title x – clinched playoff spot
Game log Regular season
| 2 | October 22, 19778:05p.m. EDT | Washington | W 141–115 | Monroe (22) | Shelton (9) | McAdoo (8) | Madison Square Garden15,261 | 2–0
| 14 | November 18, 19778:05p.m. EST | @ Washington | L 103–123 | Haywood (20) | McAdoo (13) | Beard (10) | Capital Centre17,242 | 8–6
|- align="center" |colspan="9" bgcolor="#bbcaff"|All-Star Break |- style="background:#cfc;" |- bgcolor="#bbffbb"
| 76 | March 30, 19788:35p.m. EST | Washington | L 108–123 | Williams (26) | Knight (8) | Williams (9) | Madison Square Garden12,702 | 38–38
| 78 | April 2, 19781:45p.m. EST | @ Washington | W 114–109 | McAdoo (25) | Knight (11) | Monroe (10) | Capital Centre7,193 | 40–38
Playoffs
| 1 | April 12 | @ Cleveland | W 132–114 | Bob McAdoo (41) | Spencer Haywood (8) | Ray Williams (6) | Richfield Coliseum19,739 | 1–0 |- | 2 | April 14 | Cleveland | W 109–107 | McAdoo, Haywood (27) | Bob McAdoo (12) | Ray Williams (10) | Madison Square Garden18,965 | 2–0
| 1 | April 24 | @ Philadelphia | L 90–130 | Ray Williams (24) | Bob McAdoo (13) | Bob McAdoo (6) | Spectrum13,011 | 0–1 |- | 2 | April 27 | @ Philadelphia | L 100–119 | Ray Williams (24) | three players tied (6) | Bob McAdoo (6) | Spectrum15,853 | 0–2 |- | 3 | April 30 | Philadelphia | L 126–137 | Bob McAdoo (29) | Lonnie Shelton (14) | Butch Beard (8) | Madison Square Garden16,307 | 0–3 |- | 4 | May 1 | Philadelphia | L 107–112 | Bob McAdoo (24) | Bob McAdoo (14) | McAdoo, Williams (4) | Madison Square Garden15,457 | 0–4
References