They say defense wins championships, and by that logic the New York Knicks were crowned as NBA champions 18 years ago this week when the team set a then-record by holding their opponents under 100 points for 33 consecutive games.
The impressive defensive achievement — which, just to be clear, did not count as an actual NBA championship victory — consisted of the Knicks keeping their opponents to less than 100 points for the 33 games the team played between November 11th, 2000 and January 21st, 2001. At the time, the feat represented the NBA record, although the Knicks would be usurped only a couple of years later by the 2003-04 Detroit Pistons, whose defensive streak lasted for 38 games.