*Content warning: this article contains positive mentions of Elfrid Payton which some Knicks fans may find disturbing.
Knicks history is filled with clear lines of demarcation. The team reached three straight Finals in the early ‘50s. Then they pretty much stunk till the late ‘60s, at which point they began their Golden Age. By the mid ‘70s the good times were gone. The early ‘80s had their moments, the mid ‘80s brought Patrick Ewing, and the ‘90s were the longest sustained stretch of excellence.
I often write about “this century” as one long-running low point, but it’s more complicated than that, in some ways.