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87%
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Great
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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.
Jason Gay is a sports columnist at the Wall Street Journal.
Congratulations to @Herring_NBA on the publication of his essential Knicks epic, Blood in the Garden. I have such admiration for Chris’s talent (@WSJSports alum!) and constant hard work and he deserves all the praise and success that’s coming. https://t.co/4UqSEtvvdY
Editor in chief @Stacker. Formerly Managing Editor @fivethirtyeight. Formerly formerly reporting/editing/getting coffee @nytimes.
Were you waffling on getting @Herring_NBA's new book, “Blood in the Garden: The Flagrant History of the 1990s New York Knicks,”? Firstly, what's wrong with you? Secondly, read this excerpt on @FiveThirtyEight and you won't be waffling any longer! https://t.co/ZHWF5WSb7U
Sports writer. Storyteller. Senior staff writer @Ringer. NYT best-selling author of Giannis: The Improbable Rise of an NBA Champion https://t.co/Nc3veawppx
@FriescianV Thank you so much for reading! Might I recommend Blood in the Garden by Chris Herring. So many amazing anecdotes in there.