New York Knicks Name Isiah Thomas as President, Basketball Operations

NEW YORK, December 22, 2003 – The New York Knickerbockers announced today that NBA Hall-of-Famer Isiah Thomas has been named president, basketball operations and Knicks team president and general manager Scott Layden has been relieved of his responsibilities. In addition, MSG Sports Team Operations President Steve Mills has been promoted to president and chief operating officer, MSG Sports. In his newly expanded role, Mills will continue to oversee the business operations of all three professional sports teams - the Knicks, Rangers and Liberty - as well as now being responsible for all other sports-related activities of the Garden.

“This was a very difficult decision for us to make. Scott is a good man, who worked tirelessly for the Knicks over the last few years. We thank him for his commitment and dedication to the Knicks and wish him future success,” said James L. Dolan, chairman, Madison Square Garden and president and chief executive officer, Cablevision Systems Corporation. “We are pleased to welcome Isiah Thomas into the Knicks organization as president, basketball operations,” Mr. Dolan added. “Isiah is one of the most celebrated figures in the history of the NBA and we believe he is the right person to lead this team into the future. His set of skills and experience will reinvigorate this team to achieve our only goal – delivering a championship-caliber team to all Knicks fans.”

Isiah Thomas’s prolific basketball career has seen success at every level - in the high school, collegiate and professional playing ranks - as well as in the front office. After leading Indiana University to the 1981 NCAA championship, he was selected with the second pick in the NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons, and spent the next 13 years re-writing the Pistons record books. He finished his career as Detroit’s all-time leader in points, assists, steals and games played, and more importantly was the lynchpin for the Piston’s back-to-back NBA Championships in 1989 and 1990. Among his accomplishments, the seven-time All-Star served as president of the NBA Player’s Association and was named NBA Most Valuable Player in 1984 and ’86, NBA Finals MVP in ’90, and was selected as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History during the 1996-97 season. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in July of 2000.

Following his retirement from the NBA in 1994, Thomas moved right into the front office, becoming part owner and executive vice president of basketball operations for the NBA expansion Toronto Raptors, helping that franchise through it’s formative years. Following a stint as majority owner of the Continental Basketball Association, he returned to the NBA sidelines as head coach of the Indiana Pacers in July 2000, leading the team to a 131-115 record in three seasons, qualifying for the playoffs each year.

Layden, 45, joined the Knickerbockers on August 11, 1999, as executive vice president and general manager, following 18 seasons with the Utah Jazz organization, where he began as an assistant coach and rose to the position of vice president, basketball operations. He was promoted to Knicks president and general manager on June 7, 2001, overseeing all on-court related areas, including player, coaching and scouting matters.

The NBA’s New York Knickerbockers basketball team, currently in its 58th year of operation, is part of Madison Square Garden, L.P. Cablevision Systems Corporation owns a controlling interest in MSG L.P., which also includes the New York Rangers (NHL), the New York Liberty (WNBA), the MSG Network, FOX Sports Net and the Madison Square Garden arena complex, located in the heart of the New York metropolitan area.