Patrick Ewing

Patrick Aloysius Ewing, born August 5, 1962, in Kingston, Jamaica, is the greatest center in New York Knicks history and one of the most dominant big men of his era. A 7-footer with the footwork of a guard, the competitive fire of a warrior, and the physical tools to terrorize every opponent he faced, Ewing defined an entire decade of Knicks basketball. Raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, after emigrating from Jamaica as a teenager, Ewing attended Cambridge Rindge and Latin School before accepting a scholarship to Georgetown University, where he became the centerpiece of John Thompson's defensive dynasty. In four college seasons, Ewing led the Hoyas to three NCAA Final Fours and one national championship in 1984. He won the Naismith College Player of the Year Award and was a three-time Big East Player of the Year. His Georgetown teams were known for stifling, physical defense — a philosophy Ewing would carry into his professional career. Selected first overall by the New York Knicks in the 1985 NBA Draft — via the league's first lottery — Ewing immediately became the franchise cornerstone New York had been waiting for. He won NBA Rookie of the Year, and over the next 15 seasons transformed the Knicks into annual playoff contenders. From 1988 through 1996, New York reached the postseason every year with Ewing as the anchor. He averaged 24.0 points and 11.2 rebounds per game across his career — numbers that place him comfortably among the all-time elite at his position. His most agonizing moment came in the 1994 NBA Finals, when his Knicks fell to Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets in seven games. Ewing posted monster numbers — averaging 18.9 PPG and 12.4 RPG in the series — but Olajuwon's Dream Shake proved marginally superior. The championship he never won became the defining what-if of his career. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008. After 15 seasons in New York, Ewing spent brief stints with Seattle, Orlando, and Atlanta before retiring in 2002. He has since built an accomplished coaching career, including as an assistant with the Wizards and Hornets, before becoming head coach at Georgetown in 2017.