Patrick Aloysius Ewing Sr. (born August 5, 1962) is a Jamaican-American professional basketball coach and former player who currently serves as an assistant coach for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He spent most of his 17-year playing career as the starting center for the New York Knicks before ending his playing career with brief stints with the Seattle SuperSonics and Orlando Magic, each tenure only lasting one season. Ewing is regarded as one of the greatest Knicks players of all time, playing a dominant role in New York's 1990s success, and becoming an NBA champion with the team in 2026 in a front office role.
Highly recruited out of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Ewing played center for the Georgetown Hoyas for four seasons, during which the team reached the NCAA championship game three times. ESPN 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, where he was an eleven-time all-star and named to seven All-NBA teams. The Knicks appeared in the NBA Finals twice (1994 and 1999) during his tenure. He won Olympic gold medals as a member of the 1984 and 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball teams. Ewing was selected as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History 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 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 as a member of the "Dream Team" in 2009. His number 33 was retired by the Knicks in 2003.
Early life Ewing was born on 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 in the Greater Boston area in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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. He was named a Parade All-American three times, earning third-team honors in 1979 and first-team selections in both 1980 and 1981. As a senior, he was also named Mr. Basketball USA, Parade Player of the Year, and MaxPreps National Player of the Year. 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 to 1981. In order to prepare for college, Ewing joined the MIT-Wellesley Upward Bound Program.
College career As a senior in high school, Ewing signed a letter of intent to play for coach John Thompson at Georgetown University. Ewing made his announcement in Boston, in a room full of fans who were hoping for him to play for local schools Boston College or Boston University; 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 and the University of North Carolina; however, while on his recruiting visit, he witnessed a nearby rally for the Ku Klux Klan, which dissuaded him from going there. Ewing made six recruiting visits in all; he also visited UCLA 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, 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 and making his presence felt. The Hoyas led late in the game, but a shot by future NBA superstar Michael Jordan 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, sealing the win for the Tar Heels.
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 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, a team which had never lost a national semifinal game and was led by the "Twin Towers", Sam Bowie and Melvin Turpin. 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, 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. Beginning with the 1985 draft, 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. In the first lottery, 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 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 that The New York Times 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, 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 at the 1992 Olympic Games. He was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.
In the 1992 Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Knicks played the defending NBA champion Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan. Ewing finished Game 1 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, Muggsy Bogues, a point guard for the Hornets, managed to knock the ball loose as Ewing was shooting. The team looked like it was going to advance to the NBA Finals 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, who were 62–20.