Before Last Year's Miami Heat, It Was The 1999 New York Knicks Making History

The Miami Heat and New York Knicks are the only No. 8 seeds in history to make the NBA Finals

Much was made about the Miami Heat making a run to the NBA Finals as the No. 8 seed before losing to the Denver Nuggets last season. 

The story should familiar because the New York Knicks were the first to accomplish it in 1999 after a lockout-shortened 50-game season. Like the Heat, the Knicks fell just short of their goal by losing to the San Antonio Spurs in five games. 

During an interview with Scoop B Selects, former Knicks point guard Charlie Ward spoke about how the run was similar to the Heat's.

"They’re [Miami Heat] very similar to us; we made it all the way to the Finals and ran into a team that was much better, healthier at the time, so they had the same results," Ward said. "I saw them in us in the same light, and we got to the same place, but it was an improbable run that they put up, and for us, it was very similar. It would’ve been nice if we would’ve had Larry [Johnson] and Patrick [Ewing] to play against Tim [Duncan] and David [Robinson], but that wasn’t the case."

The Knicks were hobbled by injuries in the Finals. Ewing was sidelined with an Achilles injury while Johnson played despite battling a sore knee. Playing at half strength wasn't enough to slow a Spurs frontcourt headlined by Hall of Famers Duncan and Robinson. 

Still, it was hard to criticize the Knicks. Led by Latrell Sprewell, they knocked off the top-seeded Miami Heat in the first round before upsetting the Atlanta Hawks and Indiana Pacers. 

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Anthony Pasciolla is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He can be reached at anthonypasciolla36@gmail.com or follow him on Tik Tok @anthonysports_