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Patrick Aloysius Ewing (born August 5, 1962) is a Jamaican-American
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Georgetown University men's team. He played most of his career as the starting center for the
New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associa ...
of the
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...
(NBA) before ending his playing career with brief stints with the
Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conf ...
and
Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was estab ...
. Ewing is regarded as one of the greatest centers of all time, playing a dominant role in the
New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associa ...
1990's success. Highly recruited out of
Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most ...
, Ewing played center for Georgetown for four years—in three of which the team reached the
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...
Championship Game.
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
in 2008 designated him the 16th-greatest college basketball player of all time. He had a seventeen-year NBA career, predominantly playing for the
New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associa ...
, where he was an eleven-time all-star and named to seven All-NBA teams. The Knicks appeared in the
NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is aw ...
twice (1994 and 1999) during his tenure. He won Olympic gold medals as a member of the
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast As ...
and 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball teams. Ewing was selected as one of the
50 Greatest Players in NBA History The 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, also referred to as NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, were chosen in 1996 to honor the 50th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was the third anniversary team ...
in 1996 and as one of the 75 Greatest Players in NBA History in 2021. He is a two-time inductee into the
Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...
in Springfield, Massachusetts (in 2008 for his individual career and in 2010 as a member of the 1992 Olympic team). Additionally he was inducted into the
U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame The United States Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame is an honor roll of the top American Olympic and Paralympic athletes headquartered at the United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum, opened in April 2020 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Hall ...
as a member of the "Dream Team" in 2009. His number 33 was retired by the Knicks in 2003.


Early life

Ewing was born August 5, 1962 in Kingston, Jamaica to Carl and Dorothy Ewing. He was born one day before Jamaica declared independence. As a child, he excelled at cricket and soccer. In 1975, Ewing moved to the United States and settled with his family outside
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
in
Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most ...
. Ewing learned to play basketball at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School with the help of John Fountain and his coach Mike Jarvis. With only a few years of playing experience, Ewing developed into one of the best high school players in the country, and among the most intimidating forces ever seen at the level given his size and athleticism. Due to his stature and the team's dominance, Ewing was subject to taunts and jeers from hostile away crowds. Once rival fans even rocked the team bus when Ewing's squad arrived to play an away game. Ewing led Cambridge Rindge and Latin to three consecutive Massachusetts Div. I state championships from 1979–81. In order to prepare for college, Ewing joined the MIT-Wellesley
Upward Bound Upward Bound is a federally funded educational program within the United States. The program is one of a cluster of programs now referred to as TRiO, all of which owe their existence to the federal Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 (the War on P ...
Program.


College career

As a senior in high school, Ewing signed a letter of intent to play for coach
John Thompson John Thompson may refer to: Academics * J. A. Thompson (1913–2002), Australian biblical scholar * John D. Thompson (1917–1992), nurse and professor at the Yale School of Public Health * John G. Thompson (born 1932), American mathematician * ...
at
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
. Ewing made his announcement in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
, in a room full of fans who were hoping for him to play for local schools
Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifi ...
or
Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original c ...
; when Ewing announced his decision to play at Georgetown, the fans left the room. During his recruitment, Ewing was very close to signing a letter of intent to play for
Dean Smith Dean Edwards Smith (February 28, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American men's college basketball head coach. Called a "coaching legend" by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he coached for 36 years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hi ...
and the
University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sys ...
, however, while on his recruiting visit, he witnessed a nearby rally for the
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Ca ...
, which dissuaded him from going there. Ewing made six recruiting visits in all; he also visited
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...
and Villanova. As a freshman during the 1981–82 season, Ewing became one of the first college players to start and star on the varsity team as a freshman. That year, Ewing led the Hoyas to their second Big East tournament title in school history and a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. In the tournament, the Hoyas advanced to their first Final Four since 1943, where they defeated the
University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...
50–46, to set up a showdown in the NCAA Final against North Carolina. In one of the most star-studded championship games in NCAA history, Ewing was called for goaltending five times in the first half (later revealed to be intentional at the behest of coach John Thompson), setting the tone for the
Hoyas The Georgetown Hoyas are the collegiate athletics teams that officially represent Georgetown University, located in Washington, D.C. Georgetown's athletics department fields 23 men's and women's varsity level teams and competes at the National C ...
and making his presence felt. The Hoyas led late in the game, but a shot by future NBA superstar
Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...
gave North Carolina the lead. Georgetown still had a chance at winning the game in the final seconds, but Freddy Brown mistakenly threw a bad pass directly to opposing player James Worthy. For the 1982–83 season, Ewing and the Hoyas began the season as the second-seeded ranked team in the country. An early-season showdown with #1 ranked
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...
and their star center Ralph Sampson was dubbed the "Game of the Decade". Virginia's veteran team won, 68–63, but Ewing at one point slam-dunked right over Sampson, a play which established Ewing as a dominating "big man". The Hoyas posted a 22–10 record for the season and made another NCAA Tournament appearance, but Georgetown was defeated in the second round of the tournament by Memphis State. This would be the only season in Ewing's Georgetown career where they did not make it at least as far as the National Championship game. In the 1983–84 season, Ewing led Georgetown to the Big East regular-season championship, the Big East tournament championship and another #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Also, he was named the Big East Player of the Year. The Hoyas ultimately advanced to the Final Four for the third time in school history (and second time with Ewing) to face
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...
, a team which had never lost a national semifinal game and was led by the "Twin Towers", Sam Bowie and
Melvin Turpin Melvin Harrison Turpin (December 28, 1960 – July 8, 2010) was an American professional basketball player. He played five seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was an All-American college player at the University of Kentuc ...
. Georgetown was able to turn an early 12 point deficit into a 53–40 win to advance to the National Championship game. In the final, the Hoyas faced the
University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...
, led by future Hall of Fame center Hakeem Olajuwon. Ewing and Georgetown prevailed with an 84–75 victory, giving the school its first and only NCAA Championship in school history. Ewing was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. For the 1984–85 season, Ewing's senior year, Georgetown was ranked #1 in the nation for the majority of the campaign. Ewing was again named the Big East Player of the Year and the team won the Big East tournament title yet again. They entered the NCAA tournament as the #1 overall seed of the East Region, where they wound up advancing to another Final Four, their third in four years. In the National Semifinal game, Georgetown faced their Big East rivals, St. John's and Chris Mullin, the fourth meeting between the schools that year. The Hoyas easily defeated the Redmen 77–59, setting up a matchup with another Big East rival in unranked Villanova for the title. An overwhelming favorite going into the game, Georgetown was upset by the Wildcats 66–64, who shot a record 78.6 percent (22 of 28) from the floor, denying Ewing and Georgetown back-to-back titles. At the conclusion of the season, Ewing was awarded the Naismith Player of the Year Award and the Associated Press Player of the Year. Ewing's four-year college career is cited as one of the most successful college runs of all time. Among his many accomplishments, he helped Georgetown reach the final game of the NCAA Tournament three out of four years, win three Big East tournament titles, four Big East Defensive Player of the Year awards and was named a first-team All-American three times. He also left a cultural impact on the sport in a variety of ways. He was one of the first freshmen to not only start for but lead a major college basketball team, something unheard of back in his era. Also, he developed a habit of wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt underneath his jersey, which started a fashion trend among young athletes that lasts to this day.


NBA career


New York Knicks (1985–2000)

Ewing was expected to be the top pick in the
1985 NBA draft The 1985 NBA Draft took place on June 18, 1985. It was also the first NBA draft of the "lottery" era. It was also around this time where the league decreased the amount of rounds the draft spent, with the previous few years lasting up to 10 roun ...
. The team that selected him would be making history by doing so. From 1966 until 1984, the NBA draft was conducted similarly to the
NFL draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...
, where teams are awarded draft positions based on winning percentage. The difference was that instead of the team with the lowest percentage automatically being awarded the top pick, the NBA held a coin toss between the teams with the worst records in each conference and the winner of the coin toss selected first with the loser automatically picking second. This practice tended to encourage teams to purposely lose games in order to improve their draft position and potentially get into the coin toss. The only way two teams from the same conference could have the first two picks would have been if one of the two aforementioned teams traded their pick to another team (as the
Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first est ...
had done with what eventually became the number-two pick in the previous year's draft). Beginning with the 1985 draft, the NBA handled matters differently. Every team that qualified for the playoffs received positions based on their winning percentage, and the teams that did not were placed in a
lottery A lottery is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree o ...
. In the first lottery, the NBA did not determine the positions as they do now. In this case, the seven teams that did not qualify for the playoffs were each given an equal chance to get the top pick. Each team had its name and logo put in an envelope, and the envelopes were placed into a hopper and spun to shuffle them. Once done, Commissioner
David Stern David Joel Stern (September 22, 1942 – January 1, 2020) was an American lawyer and business executive who was the commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1984 to 2014. Stern oversaw NBA basketball's growth into one of ...
then drew an envelope from inside to determine who would pick first. In a move that would create controversy for years to come, the envelope Stern drew was the one belonging to the New York Knicks, inviting allegations the draw was rigged; Stern had also grown up a Knicks fan. The Knicks drafted Ewing, as expected, beginning a 15-year relationship. They then signed him to a 10-year, $32 million contract, a contract which ''
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'' years later described as "a tremendous contract at that time or any time." Although injuries marred his first year in the league, he was voted NBA Rookie of the Year and named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team after averaging 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game. Soon after he was considered one of the premier centers in the league. Ewing enjoyed a successful career; eleven times named an
NBA All-Star The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Originally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of ...
, once named to the All-NBA First Team, six times a member of the All-NBA Second Team, and named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team three times. He was a member of the original
Dream Team Dream Team may refer to: Sport Basketball * Dream Team, the 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team in Barcelona * Dream Team II, the 1994 U.S. men's national basketball team at the FIBA World Championship * Dream Team III, the 1996 ...
at the 1992 Olympic Games. He was also given the honor of being named one of the
50 Greatest Players in NBA History The 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, also referred to as NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, were chosen in 1996 to honor the 50th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was the third anniversary team ...
. In the 1992 Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Knicks played the defending NBA champion
Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on Januar ...
and
Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...
. Ewing was unstoppable in Game 1, finishing with 34 points, 16 rebounds, and 6 blocks, and the Knicks beat Chicago 94–89. The Knicks were facing elimination in Game 6 when Ewing had one of the greatest games of his career. The team trailed 3–2 in the series, and Ewing was limited physically by a bad ankle sprain, but he helped the Knicks beat the Bulls 100–86 by scoring 27 points. NBC announcer Marv Albert called it a " Willis Reed-type performance", but the Knicks were ultimately eliminated in Game 7 in a blowout, 110–81. In an April 14, 1993 game, between the Knicks and the
Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...
, the Ewing suffered a moment of embarrassment when Muggsy Bogues, a point guard for the Hornets, managed to block his shot. The team looked like it was going to advance to the
NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is aw ...
when they took a 2–0 lead over Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. Both teams battled well, each winning on its home court in the first 4 games. However, the Bulls stunned the Ewing-led Knicks, winning Game 5 in New York 97–94 after Ewing's teammate, Charles Smith, was repeatedly blocked down low by Bulls defenders on the game's final possession. The Bulls would go on to win Game 6 96–88 and then claim their third straight NBA title. This would be one more season in which Ewing had to deal with no championships, despite the fact that the Knicks had the best regular-season record in the Eastern Conference at 60–22 and had the second-best record in the NBA, behind the
Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Pacific Division (NBA), P ...
, who were 62–20. With Jordan out of the league, 1993–94 was considered a wide-open year in the NBA, and Ewing had declared that 1994 would be the Knicks' year. He was a main contributor to the Knicks' run to the 1994 NBA Finals, in which the Knicks—in the Finals for the first time since 1973—lost in the final seconds of Games 6 and 7 to Hakeem Olajuwon's
Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Divisio ...
. The Knicks, with Ewing leading them, had to survive a grueling trek through the playoffs simply to reach the Finals. They defeated the Bulls and Scottie Pippen in seven games in the 1994 Eastern Conference Semifinals (all seven games were won by the home team), and defeated Reggie Miller's
Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first est ...
in the Conference Finals, which also took seven games to decide. In the Finals, the Knicks stole Game 2 in Houston, but could not hold court at home, dropping Game 3 at the Garden. The Knicks then won the next two games to return to Houston ahead 3–2. However, the Rockets won the next two games. Ewing made the most of his playoff run by setting a record for most blocked shots in a Finals series with 30 (later broken by Tim Duncan in
2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...
with 32). He also set an NBA Finals record for most blocked shots in a single game, with 8 (surpassed by Dwight Howard in
2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
). The following year, a potential game-tying finger roll by Ewing rimmed out in the dwindling seconds of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, resulting in a loss to the Indiana Pacers. In the 1995–96 season, Ewing and the Knicks were eliminated in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in five games by the record-setting 1995–96 Bulls, who won 72 games that year en route to their fourth championship. In the 1997 playoffs, the Knicks faced the
Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...
in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Ewing was involved in a Game 5 brawl where both teams' benches got involved. The Knicks, who were up 3–1 in the series going into Game 5, lost the next three games and were eliminated. In the next season, Ewing's career almost came to an end due to an injury. On December 20, 1997, in a game against the
Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...
at the
Bradley Center The Bradley Center (also known as the BMO Harris Bradley Center under sponsorship agreements) was a multi-purpose arena located on the northwest corner of North Vel R. Phillips Ave. and West State Streets in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United ...
, Ewing was fouled by
Andrew Lang Andrew Lang (31 March 1844 – 20 July 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University ...
while attempting a dunk. Ewing fell awkwardly and landed with all of his weight on his shooting hand. The result was a severely damaged wrist, with Ewing suffering a displaced fracture, a complete dislocation of the lunate bone, and torn ligaments. These injuries required emergency surgery to prevent nerve damage, and it was said that Ewing suffered injuries that were usually reserved for victims of vehicular accidents. Ewing, who had only missed 20 games in the previous ten seasons, missed the remaining 56 games of the season. However, he was able to rehabilitate the injury faster than expected and as the playoffs began, Ewing was talking about returning. The Heat and Knicks met in the playoffs for the second straight year. This time, the two teams met up in the first round of the playoffs. The series went to a decisive fifth game, but the Knicks avenged their loss to Miami the year before by beating the Heat in Miami 98–81. Ewing returned for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Pacers. His presence was not enough, however, as the Knicks fell to the Pacers in five games. The following season, Ewing and the Knicks qualified as the East's eighth seed in a lockout-shortened season. Although battling an
achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...
injury, Ewing led the Knicks to another victory over the Heat in the first round, 3–2. In the series-clinching Game 5, he scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. They followed that up by sweeping the
Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...
, and defeated the Pacers in the Conference Finals in 6 games, despite Ewing's injury finally forcing him out of action. However, the Knicks could not complete their
Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
run, as they lost in the Finals to the
San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...
, 4–1. In Ewing's final season with the Knicks in 1999–2000, the team finished as the third seed in the East behind the Pacers and Heat. The team advanced to the Conference Finals again, sweeping the
Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Atlantic Division (NBA) ...
and beating the Heat for the third straight year in seven games, but could not defeat the Pacers and fell in six games. In his last year with the Knicks, Ewing had a game-winning
slam dunk A slam dunk, also simply known as dunk, is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air, controls the ball above the horizontal plane of the rim, and scores by shoving the ball directly through the basket with one ...
over
Alonzo Mourning Alonzo Harding Mourning Jr. (born February 8, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player who has served as vice president of player programs and development for the Miami Heat since June 2009. Mourning played most of his 15-yea ...
in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals to lead the Knicks to the Eastern Conference Finals. During his final season with the Knicks, Ewing played in his 1,000th NBA game, finishing his Knick career with a franchise-record 1,039 games played in a Knick uniform (he is the only player to play 1,000 games with the Knicks).


Post–Knicks career

In 2000, he left the Knicks as part of a trade to the
Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conf ...
. In the trade, the Knicks sent Ewing to Seattle and Chris Dudley to Phoenix, and received Glen Rice, Luc Longley, Travis Knight, Vladimir Stepania, Lazaro Borrell, Vernon Maxwell, two first-round draft picks (from the Los Angeles Lakers and Seattle) and two second-round draft picks from Seattle. After a year with the SuperSonics and another with the
Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was estab ...
, he announced his retirement on September 18, 2002. After that season, he took a job as an assistant coach with the
Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...
. In 1,183 games over 16 seasons, Ewing averaged 21.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game, and averaged better than a 50% shooting percentage. As of 2021, Ewing was ranked 23rd on the NBA scoring list with 24,815 points. In 2001, Ewing testified in part of the Atlanta's Gold Club prostitution and fraud federal trial. The owner, Thomas Sicignano, testified that he arranged for dancers to have sex with professional athletes. Ewing admitted that he went to the club, where he received oral sex twice. Ewing was never charged with a crime. Ewing played 1,039 games for the Knicks. On February 28, 2003, his jersey number 33 was retired by the team in a large ceremony at
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsyl ...
. For the first time ever, Ewing represented the Knicks during the NBA draft lottery on May 14, 2019. They got the third overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft.


National team career

Ewing won
Olympic gold medal Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece be ...
s as a member of the
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast As ...
and 1992 United States men's basketball teams. In 1984, Ewing averaged 11.0 points in eight games, and was the tournament's leading shot blocker with 18. The
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...
called the 1992 "Dream Team" as "the greatest collection of basketball talent on the planet".


Awards and honors

* Rookie of the Year (1986) * All-NBA First Team (1990) * All-NBA Second Team (1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1997) * NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1988, 1989, 1992) * 11-time All-Star; One of 50 Greatest Players in NBA History (1996) * 2-time Olympic gold medalist (1984, 1992) * 3-time All-American (1983–1985) * NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player (1984) * Naismith College Player of the Year (1985). * AP College Player of the Year (1985) * NABC Player of the Year (1985) * Sporting News College Player of the Year (1985) * Adolph Rupp Trophy (1985) * No. 33 retired for the New York Knicks *
Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...
inductee (in 2008 as an individual and 2010 as a member of the ''Dream Team'') *
NBA 75th Anniversary Team The NBA 75th Anniversary Team, also referred to as the NBA 75, was chosen in 2021 to honor the 75th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was the fourth and most recent anniversary team in the league. S ...
(2021) Ewing was a defensive stalwart throughout his basketball career, although he often had difficulty placing on the NBA All-Defensive Team due to the defensive prowess of his contemporaries Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson. In 1993, he led the NBA with 789 defensive rebounds. He was top ten in field goal percentage eight times, top ten in rebounds per game and total rebounds eight times, top ten in points and points per game eight times, and top ten in blocks per game for 13 years. In 1999, Ewing became the 10th player in NBA history to record 22,000 points and 10,000 rebounds.


NBA career statistics


Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1985–86 , style="text-align:left;",
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 50 , , 50 , , 35.4 , , .474 , , .000 , , .739 , , 9.0 , , 2.0 , , 1.1 , , 2.1 , , 20.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1986–87 , style="text-align:left;",
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 63 , , 63 , , 35.0 , , .503 , , .000 , , .713 , , 8.8 , , 1.7 , , 1.4 , , 2.3 , , 21.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1987–88 , style="text-align:left;",
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 82 , , 82 , , 31.0 , , .555 , , .000 , , .716 , , 8.2 , , 1.5 , , 1.3 , , 3.0 , , 20.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1988–89 , style="text-align:left;",
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 80 , , 80 , , 36.2 , , .567 , , .000 , , .746 , , 9.3 , , 2.4 , , 1.5 , , 3.5 , , 22.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1989–90 , style="text-align:left;",
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 82 , , 82 , , 38.6 , , .551 , , .250 , , .775 , , 10.9 , , 2.2 , , 1.0 , , 4.0 , , 28.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1990–91 , style="text-align:left;",
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 81 , , 81 , , 38.3 , , .514 , , .000 , , .745 , , 11.2 , , 3.0 , , 1.0 , , 3.2 , , 26.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1991–92 , style="text-align:left;",
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 82 , , 82 , , 38.4 , , .522 , , .167 , , .738 , , 11.2 , , 1.9 , , 1.1 , , 3.0 , , 24.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",
1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since th ...
, style="text-align:left;",
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 81 , , 81 , , 37.1 , , .503 , , .143 , , .719 , , 12.1 , , 1.9 , , .9 , , 2.0 , , 24.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1993–94 , style="text-align:left;",
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 79 , , 79 , , 37.6 , , .496 , , .286 , , .765 , , 11.2 , , 2.3 , , 1.1 , , 2.7 , , 24.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1994–95 , style="text-align:left;",
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 79 , , 79 , , 37.0 , , .503 , , .286 , , .750 , , 11.0 , , 2.7 , , .9 , , 2.0 , , 23.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1995–96 , style="text-align:left;",
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 76 , , 76 , , 36.6 , , .466 , , .143 , , .761 , , 10.6 , , 2.1 , , .9 , , 2.4 , , 22.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1996–97 , style="text-align:left;",
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 78 , , 78 , , 37.0 , , .488 , , .222 , , .754 , , 10.7 , , 2.0 , , .9 , , 2.4 , , 22.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1997–98 , style="text-align:left;",
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 26 , , 26 , , 32.6 , , .504 , , .000 , , .720 , , 10.2 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , 2.2 , , 20.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1998–99 , style="text-align:left;",
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 38 , , 38 , , 34.2 , , .435 , , .000 , , .706 , , 9.9 , , 1.1 , , .8 , , 2.6 , , 17.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1999–00 , style="text-align:left;",
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 62 , , 62 , , 32.8 , , .435 , , .000 , , .731 , , 9.7 , , .9 , , .6 , , 1.4 , , 15.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2000–01 , style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
, 79 , , 79 , , 26.7 , , .430 , , .000 , , .685 , , 7.4 , , 1.2 , , .7 , , 1.2 , , 9.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2001–02 , style="text-align:left;",
Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures r ...
, 65 , , 4 , , 13.9 , , .444 , , .000 , , .701 , , 4.0 , , .5 , , .3 , , .7 , , 6.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 1,183 , , 1,122 , , 34.3 , , .504 , , .152 , , .740 , , 9.8 , , 1.9 , , 1.0 , , 2.5 , , 21.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 9 , , 3 , , 17.8 , , .537 , , .000 , , .692 , , 6.7 , , .8 , , 1.2 , , 1.8 , , 11.8


Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1988 , style="text-align:left;",
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 4 , , 4 , , 38.3 , , .491 , , .000 , , .864 , , 12.8 , , 2.5 , , 1.5 , , 3.3 , , 18.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",
1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker ru ...
, style="text-align:left;",
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 9 , , 9 , , 37.8 , , .486 , , , , .750 , , 10.0 , , 2.2 , , 1.0 , , 2.0 , , 19.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1990 , style="text-align:left;",
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 10 , , 10 , , 39.5 , , .521 , , .500 , , .823 , , 10.5 , , 3.1 , , 1.3 , , 2.0 , , 29.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",
1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the ...
, style="text-align:left;",
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 3 , , 3 , , 36.7 , , .400 , , , , .778 , , 10.0 , , 2.0 , , .3 , , 1.7 , , 16.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",
1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engines ...
, style="text-align:left;",
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 12 , , 12 , , 40.2 , , .456 , , .000 , , .740 , , 11.1 , , 2.3 , , .6 , , 2.6 , , 22.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",
1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
, style="text-align:left;",
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 15 , , 15 , , 40.3 , , .512 , , 1.000 , , .638 , , 10.9 , , 2.4 , , 1.1 , , 2.1 , , 25.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",
1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson Ma ...
, style="text-align:left;",
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 25 , , 25 , , 41.3 , , .437 , , .364 , , .740 , , 11.7 , , 2.6 , , 1.3 , , 3.0 , , 21.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",
1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake strike ...
, style="text-align:left;",
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 11 , , 11 , , 36.3 , , .513 , , .333 , , .686 , , 9.6 , , 2.5 , , .5 , , 2.3 , , 19.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",
1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone on b ...
, style="text-align:left;",
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 8 , , 8 , , 41.0 , , .474 , , .500 , , .651 , , 10.6 , , 1.9 , , .1 , , 3.1 , , 21.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",
1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
, style="text-align:left;",
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 9 , , 9 , , 39.7 , , .527 , , .000 , , .643 , , 10.6 , , 1.9 , , .3 , , 2.4 , , 22.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
, style="text-align:left;",
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 4 , , 4 , , 33.0 , , .357 , , , , .593 , , 8.0 , , 1.3 , , .8 , , 1.3 , , 14.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",
1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school s ...
, style="text-align:left;",
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 11 , , 11 , , 31.5 , , .430 , , , , .593 , , 8.7 , , .5 , , .6 , , .7 , , 13.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",
2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
, style="text-align:left;",
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 14 , , 14 , , 32.9 , , .418 , , , , .697 , , 9.5 , , .4 , , 1.1 , , 1.4 , , 14.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",
2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains independence from Indonesia and ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures r ...
, 4 , , 0 , , 16.8 , , .320 , , .000 , , .588 , , 5.5 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 1.0 , , 6.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 139 , , 135 , , 37.5 , , .469 , , .348 , , .718 , , 10.3 , , 2.0 , , .9 , , 2.2 , , 20.2


Coaching career

From 2002 to 2003, Ewing served as an assistant coach for the Washington Wizards under the ownership of his longtime rival Michael Jordan. From 2003 through 2006, Ewing was an assistant with the Houston Rockets, before resigning to spend more time with his family. On July 3, 2007, Ewing was one of four assistants hired to serve under first-year
Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was estab ...
head coach
Stan Van Gundy Stanley Alan Van Gundy (born August 26, 1959) is an American former basketball coach who is a National Basketball Association (NBA) game analyst for TNT. Prior to TNT, Van Gundy was most recently the head coach for the New Orleans Pelicans of the ...
for the 2007–08 season. The Magic reached the 2009 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers. He correctly predicted a win in Game 7 of the second round against the defending champion
Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of ...
. Later in the playoffs, Ewing saw Magic captain Dwight Howard set a new NBA Finals record for most blocked shots in a single Finals game, with nine in Game 4, surpassing the previous record of eight by Ewing himself in Game 5 of the 1994 Finals. In 2010, Ewing finally got the opportunity to coach his son
Patrick Ewing Jr. Patrick Aloysius Ewing Jr. (born May 20, 1984) is a Jamaican–American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach and general manager of the Newfoundland Growlers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL). He is th ...
in the 2010 summer league. Ewing Jr. played for the Magic. In 2013, Ewing became an assistant coach with the Charlotte Bobcats (now Charlotte Hornets). On November 8, 2013, Ewing became the Bobcats' interim head coach due to regular head coach
Steve Clifford Steven Gerald Clifford (born September 17, 1961) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has previously served as the head coach of the Orlando Magic. Early ...
having heart surgery. He lost his first game 101–91 against his former team, the Knicks. On April 3, 2017, Ewing was hired as head coach of his former college team, the
Georgetown Hoyas The Georgetown Hoyas are the collegiate athletics teams that officially represent Georgetown University, located in Washington, D.C. Georgetown's athletics department fields 23 men's and women's varsity level teams and competes at the National ...
. In his first season as head coach, the Hoyas were 15–15 (5–13 in the Big East). The season ended without any postseason tournament play. In Ewing's second season, Georgetown was 19–14, and finished tied in third place in the Big East with a 9–9 record. The Hoyas were awarded a bid in the
2019 National Invitation Tournament The 2019 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) was a single-elimination tournament of 32 NCAA Division I men's college basketball teams that were not selected to participate in the 2019 NCAA tournament. The tournament started on March 19, and con ...
, their first postseason tournament since 2015. James Akinjo was named the Big East Rookie of the Year, and fellow freshmen Mac McClung and Josh Leblanc joined him on the Big East All-Freshman Team. In Ewing's third season, the Hoyas finished 15–17 overall and 5–13 in the Big East and lost in the first round of the 2020 Big East tournament the day before all further postseason play was cancelled due to the onset of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
. In Ewing's fourth season, he led the Hoyas to the 2021 Big East Conference tournament championship as the eighth seed in the tournament. They defeated the first-seeded
Villanova Wildcats The Villanova Wildcats are the athletic teams of Villanova University. They compete in the Big East (NCAA Division I) for every sport; except football and rowing where they compete in the Colonial Athletic Association (Football Championship Su ...
in the quarterfinals. In the championship game, Georgetown defeated the second-seeded Creighton Bluejays 73–48, and qualified for the 2021 NCAA Division I basketball tournament. This marked Georgetown's first NCAA tournament appearance since the 2014–15 season, breaking their longest NCAA drought in the modern era. The Hoyas were unable to build on this success in Ewing's fifth season however, posting an overall record of 6–25 and going winless in Big East Conference play at 0–19 in the regular season followed by a first-round loss in the 2022 Big East tournament.


Head coaching record


Other work

Ewing interned in the office of Senator
Bob Dole Robert Joseph Dole (July 22, 1923 – December 5, 2021) was an American politician and attorney who represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996. He was the Republican Leader of the Senate during the final 11 years of his ...
during multiple summers in college. Ewing was in the 1996 movie ''
Space Jam ''Space Jam'' is a 1996 American live-action/animated sports comedy film directed by Joe Pytka, with animation sequences directed by Bruce W. Smith and Tony Cervone, and written by Leo Benvenuti, Steve Rudnick, Timothy Harris, and Hersch ...
'' as himself, one of five NBA players whose talent was stolen (along with
Charles Barkley Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on TNT. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "Chuck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", Barkley played 16 seasons in the Nati ...
, Shawn Bradley, Larry Johnson, and Muggsy Bogues). Ewing had a brief appearance, again as himself, in the movie '' Senseless'' starring Marlon Wayans. Ewing made cameos as himself in the sitcoms ''
Spin City ''Spin City'' is an American sitcom television series that aired from September 17, 1996 to April 30, 2002, on ABC. Created by Gary David Goldberg and Bill Lawrence, the show is set in a semi-fictionalized version of the New York City mayor' ...
'', '' Herman's Head'', '' Mad About You'', and ''Webster''. Most recently, he appeared in a 2009 ad for
Snickers Snickers is a chocolate bar made by the American company Mars, Incorporated, consisting of nougat topped with caramel and peanuts that is encased in milk chocolate. The annual global sales of Snickers was over $3 billion . In the United Ki ...
, suggesting that those who eat the candy bar might "get dunked on by Patrick Chewing". He also made a silent cameo as the Angel of Death in ''
The Exorcist III ''The Exorcist III'' is a 1990 American psychological horror film written and directed by William Peter Blatty. It is the third installment in the ''Exorcist'' series, an adaptation of Blatty's ''Exorcist'' novel '' Legion'' (1983), and the ...
''. He co-wrote ''In the Paint'', a painting how-to book for children. In 2014, Ewing and sports agent David Falk announced a $3.3 million donation to the
John R. Thompson, Jr. John Robert Thompson Jr. (September 2, 1941August 30, 2020) was an American college basketball coach for the Georgetown Hoyas men's team. He became the first African-American head coach to win a major collegiate championship in basketball whe ...
Intercollegiate Athletics Center under construction at
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
. The amount is a reference to Ewing's number, 33.


Endorsements

Ewing's first sneaker endorsement was with Adidas in 1986. In 1991, Next Sports signed a licensing deal to release footwear under Ewing's name in the United States under a new company,
Ewing Athletics Ewing Athletics is an American basketball shoe brand. Shoe production is done by privately held company GPF Footwear LLC established in 2011. Its headquarters are located in Englewood, NJ. Early history Ewing Athletics is retired profession ...
, which would operate until 1996. In 2012, David Goldberg and his company GPF Footwear LLC successfully teamed up with Ewing to resurrect the old Ewing Athletics line, and bring it back into stores, capitalizing on the current retro trend in the footwear market.


Personal life

Ewing was married to Rita Williams from 1990 to 1998. He has three children, including
Patrick Ewing Jr. Patrick Aloysius Ewing Jr. (born May 20, 1984) is a Jamaican–American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach and general manager of the Newfoundland Growlers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL). He is th ...
After friend and rival NBA center
Alonzo Mourning Alonzo Harding Mourning Jr. (born February 8, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player who has served as vice president of player programs and development for the Miami Heat since June 2009. Mourning played most of his 15-yea ...
was diagnosed with a kidney ailment in 2000, Ewing promised that he would donate one of his kidneys to Mourning if he ever needed one. In 2003, Ewing was tested for kidney compatibility with Mourning, but Mourning's cousin was found to be the better match. Patrick Ewing Jr. transferred to his father's alma mater,
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
, after two years at
Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. * Indiana Univers ...
. Patrick Jr. wore the same jersey number that his father wore, #33. He was drafted by the
Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...
in the second round with the 43rd pick of the 2008 NBA draft, but was then traded to the New York Knicks, his father's old team. He did not make the Knicks' final roster, however, and has spent most of his career in the
NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...
and Europe.


See also

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Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball The Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball program represents Georgetown University in NCAA Division I men's intercollegiate basketball and the Big East Conference. Georgetown has competed in men's college basketball since 1907. The current head co ...
* List of National Basketball Association career games played leaders * List of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders * List of National Basketball Association career rebounding leaders * List of National Basketball Association career blocks leaders *
List of National Basketball Association career turnovers leaders This article provides two lists: :A list of National Basketball Association players by total career regular season turnovers recorded. :A progressive list of turnover leaders showing how the record increased through the years. Turnovers leaders ...
* List of National Basketball Association career free throw scoring leaders * List of National Basketball Association career minutes played leaders * List of National Basketball Association career playoff rebounding leaders * List of National Basketball Association career playoff blocks leaders * List of National Basketball Association franchise career scoring leaders *
List of NCAA Division I men's basketball players with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds This is a list of NCAA Division I men's basketball players who have accumulated both 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in their careers. Tom Gola Thomas Joseph Gola (January 13, 1933 – January 26, 2014) was an American basketball player and poli ...


References


External links

*
Patrick Ewing entry
at NBA Encyclopedia

(1985–2000) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ewing, Patrick 1962 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Massachusetts Basketball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Massachusetts Cambridge Rindge and Latin School alumni Centers (basketball) Charlotte Bobcats assistant coaches Charlotte Hornets assistant coaches Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball coaches Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball players Houston Rockets assistant coaches Jamaican emigrants to the United States Jamaican men's basketball players McDonald's High School All-Americans Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees National Basketball Association All-Stars National Basketball Association players from Jamaica National Basketball Association players with retired numbers National Basketball Players Association presidents National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees New York Knicks draft picks New York Knicks players Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball Orlando Magic assistant coaches Orlando Magic players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People with acquired American citizenship Seattle SuperSonics players Sportspeople from Cambridge, Massachusetts Sportspeople from Kingston, Jamaica United States men's national basketball team players Washington Wizards assistant coaches