The New York Knicks are one of the NBA's most recognizable teams, but their name has nothing to do with basketball.

The team's full name is actually the New York Knickerbockers, a term that dates back more than 200 years.

In 1809, writer Washington Irving published a satirical history of New York under the fictional name Diedrich Knickerbocker. The character became so well known that "Knickerbocker" eventually became a nickname for New Yorkers, especially those descended from the city's early Dutch settlers.

When New York was awarded a professional basketball franchise in 1946, team organizers wanted a name that reflected the city's history and identity. They chose Knickerbockers.

The name was soon shortened to "Knicks," and it stuck.

Most fans assume the team was named after the baggy knee-length pants known as knickerbockers. In reality, both the pants and the basketball team trace their names back to Irving's fictional character and New York's Dutch heritage.

One of the most famous names in sports began not on a basketball court, but in the pages of a book.