How to play the New York Knicks history timeline

Each card is a moment in Knicks history: a signing, a hire, a draft pick, a deep playoff run. Under the headline sits a short description that adds context. Your task is to arrange them by the year they took place, starting from one card that's already on the line with its year visible. Choose a gap for every new card. Pick the right spot and the year shows; if not, it moves to its true place and you lose one of your three lives.

The Knicks deck has a long early stretch, a famous championship peak, and then plenty of near misses and rebuilds before a recent revival. Those near misses are where you'll struggle, because deep playoff runs from different eras can sound alike. The coaches and opponents mentioned in the descriptions are worth reading closely. Trades and signings for big names turn up all through the deck, so don't assume a star's arrival must be recent.

Want a longer game? On the deck tree you can tick this deck alongside any other one measured in release years and dates, and they shuffle into a single timeline together.

What's in the deck

Here are 25 of the 25 cards you might be dealt. Their values stay hidden until you place them.

Franchise founded A charter member of the new Basketball Association of America
Signed Nat 'Sweetwater' Clifton Brought in one of the first Black players to sign an NBA contract
Reached first NBA Finals Lost the championship series to the Rochester Royals
Lost a third straight NBA Finals Fell to the Minneapolis Lakers to close a run of Finals defeats
Drafted Willis Reed Landed the future captain out of Grambling
Hired Red Holzman as head coach Promoted the coach who would lead the title teams
Traded for Dave DeBusschere Sent Walt Bellamy and Howard Komives to Detroit for the forward
Won first NBA championship Reed limped out for Game 7 to beat the Lakers
Acquired Earl Monroe Brought 'The Pearl' over from the Baltimore Bullets
Won second NBA championship Beat the Lakers again for the franchise's other title
Won the first draft lottery and picked Patrick Ewing Landed the Georgetown center with the top overall pick
Drafted Mark Jackson Took the local St. John's point guard who became Rookie of the Year
Hired Pat Riley as head coach Brought the slicked-back Showtime coach to run a defensive juggernaut
Reached the NBA Finals Lost a seven-game Finals to Olajuwon's Rockets
Reached the Finals as an eighth seed A lockout-year run ended against the Spurs
Lost the East finals to the Pacers Lost the conference finals to the Indiana Pacers
Traded for Stephon Marbury Brought the Brooklyn-born point guard home in a midseason deal
Signed Amar'e Stoudemire Landed the star big man in free agency to signal a rebuild
Traded for Carmelo Anthony Sent a package to Denver for the star forward
Won the Atlantic Division with 54 wins A Carmelo-led team took the division and a playoff series
Drafted Kristaps Porzingis Took the Latvian big man fourth overall to a chorus of boos
Drafted RJ Barrett Grabbed the Duke wing with the third overall pick
Signed Jalen Brunson Landed the point guard in free agency from Dallas
Traded for Mikal Bridges Sent a package of picks to the Nets for the wing
Fell to the Pacers in the conference finals A deep run ended against the Indiana Pacers