The New York Knicks, also called the Knickerbockers, are a professional basketball team based in New York City, New York. They play in Madison Square Garden, "The World's Most Famous Arena." They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was established in 1946 as one of the founding members of the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which became the NBA after merging with their rival, the National Basketball League (NBL) in 1949.