Early life
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Ewing excelled at cricket and soccer. He was 11 years old when he arrived in the United States with his family, settling in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He learned to play basketball at Cambridge Rindge and Latin. In order to prepare for college, Ewing joined the MIT-Wellesley Upward Bound Program. Upward Bound is a federally-funded college-prep program for disadvantaged high school students. He went to Georgetown University in Washington, D.C..
[edit] College career
Ewing, one of the most highly touted freshmen ever, signed a letter of intent to accept a scholarship to play for Coach John Thompson at Georgetown University. As a freshman during the 1981-1982 season, Ewing became one of the first college players to start and star on the varsity team as a freshman. In the 1982 NCAA final against the University of North Carolina, Ewing was called for goaltending several times in the first half, setting the tone for the Hoyas and making his presence felt. The Hoyas had a shot at winning the game until Fred Brown threw an infamous bad pass to James Worthy at the tail end of the game. In the 1983-84 season, Ewing and Georgetown took the NCAA title with an 84-75 win over the University of Houston. In Ewing's senior year of 1985, Georgetown was ranked number one in the nation and was heavily favored to beat unranked Villanova in the title game, but the Wildcats shot a record 78.6 percent from the floor (22 for 28) to upset the Hoyas 66-64. Ewing was one of the best college basketball players of his era, as Georgetown reached the championship game of the NCAA tournament three out of four years. He was a first-team All-American.[edit] NBA career
[edit] New York Knicks
We've had the Mikan era, the Russell era, the Kareem era … now we'll have the Ewing era.In 1985, the NBA instituted the first ever Draft Lottery to prevent teams from deliberately losing games to secure a better chance of obtaining the ultimate prize, Patrick Ewing. The Lottery gave the lowest seeded team more chances of winning the first choice pick. The New York Knicks won the Draft Lottery of 1985, and selected Ewing first overall.
—Pat O'Brien, quoting an unnamed NBA scouting director just before the 1985 NBA Draft lottery.[2]
Although injuries marred his first year in the league, he was named NBA Rookie of the Year, 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 also given the honor of being named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history.
The Knicks played the defending NBA Champion Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan in the 1992 Eastern Conference Semifinals. Ewing was unstoppable in game one, finishing with 34 points, 16 rebounds, and six blocks, and the Knicks defeated the Bulls 94-89. With his team facing elimination, game six is regarded as one of the greatest of Ewing's career. The Knicks trailed 3-games-to-2 in the series and Ewing was limited physically by a bad ankle sprain,[3] but he helped beat the Bulls by scoring 27 points. NBC Announcer Marv Albert called it a "Willis Reed-type performance" but the Knicks ultimately were eliminated in game 7.
In a 1993 game[4] between the Knicks and the Charlotte Hornets, the 7'0" (2.14 m) Ewing suffered a moment of embarrassment when guard Tyrone "Muggsy" Bogues, who stands a mere 5'3" (1.60 m), managed to block his shot.[5] The team looked like it was going to advance to the NBA Finals when they took a 2-0 lead over Michael Jordan's 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 of the series in New York after Ewing's teammate, Charles Smith, was repeatedly denied a basket down low by Bull defenders on the game's final possession. The Bulls would go on to win Game 6 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.
With Jordan out of the league, 1993-1994 was considered a wide open year in the NBA, and Ewing had declared that 1994 would be the Knicks' year. He was a key 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 Knicks, with Ewing leading them, had to survive a grueling trek through the playoffs simply to reach the finals. They defeated Scottie Pippen's Bulls 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 in the conference finals, which also took seven games to decide. In the finals, the Knicks stole Game 2 in Houston, but couldn't hold court at home, dropping Game 3 at the Garden, which then hosted the New York Rangers first Stanley Cup celebration in 54 years with their win over the Vancouver Canucks in Game 7 of their finals. The Knicks then won the next two games to return to Houston ahead 3-2. However, the Rockets won the next two games and cost not only the Knicks the championship, but also New York City the distinction of having both NBA and NHL championships in the same year. Ewing made the most of his playoff run by setting a record for most blocked shots in a finals series (only later to be broken by Shaquille O'Neal). He also set an NBA Finals record for most blocked shots in a single game, with 8 (later surpassed by Dwight Howard).
The following year, a potentially game-tying three-foot finger roll attempt by Ewing rimmed out of the basket 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 five games in the second round of the playoffs by the record-setting Bulls, who won 72 games that year en route to their fourth championship.
In the 1996-97 playoffs, the Knicks faced the Miami Heat in the second round of the playoffs. Ewing was involved in a Game 5 brawl where both teams' benches got involved. Ewing was suspended for the next game and claimed he got a "raw deal", despite NBA rules stating that a player is automatically suspended one game for leaving the bench during a fight.[6] The Knicks, who were up 3-1 in the series going into Game 5, lost the next three games and were eliminated.
The next season Ewing's career almost came to an end due to injury. On January 12, 1998, in a game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center, Ewing was fouled by Andrew Lang while attempting a dunk. He then fell to the court hard and landed on his wrist, breaking it, dislocating the bone, and tearing ligaments. The inury was so severe that it required an immediate operation to prevent nerve damage. Ewing, who had only missed 20 games in the previous ten seasons, missed the remaining 56 games of the season due to the injury. [7] However, he was able to rehabilitate the injury faster than expected and as the playoffs began, Ewing was talking about returning. The Knicks avenged their defeat against the Heat in the first round of the playoffs, and Ewing returned for the second game of the second round against the Indiana Pacers. His presence wasn't enough, as the Knicks fell to their old rivals in five games.
The following season, Ewing and the Knicks qualified as the East's #8 seed in a lockout-shortened campaign. Although battling an Achilles tendon injury, Ewing helped lead the Knicks to another victory over the Heat in the first round of the playoffs. They followed that up with a sweep over Atlanta, and defeated the Pacers in the conference finals despite Ewing's injury finally forcing him out of action. The Knicks couldn't complete their Cinderella run, as they lost in the finals to the San Antonio Spurs.
In Ewing's final season as a Knick (99-00), the team finished as the #3 seed in the East behind the Pacers and Heat. The team advanced to the conference finals again, defeating the Toronto Raptors and the Heat for a third straight year, but could not defeat the Pacers and fell in 6 games. During his final season as a Knick, Ewing played in his 1000th NBA game, finishing his Knick career with a franchise-record 1039 games played in a Knick uniform (and the only player to play 1,000 games with the Knicks).
[edit] After the Knicks
In 2000, he left the Knicks as part of a trade to the Seattle SuperSonics. 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. Many would later consider the trade a significant part of the Knicks' disintegration from a former NBA powerhouse to perennial loser. After a year with the Sonics and another with the Orlando Magic, he announced his retirement on September 18, 2002. That season, he took a job as an assistant coach with the Washington Wizards.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 percent shooting percentage.
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 he went to the club and received oral sex twice in the club. Ewing was never charged with any criminal wrongdoing.[8]
On February 28, 2003, Ewing's jersey number 33 was retired by the Knicks, for whom he played 1039 games, in a large ceremony at Madison Square Garden. He continues to be considered one of the greatest players in the Knicks' storied history, as well as one of the greatest in NBA history. Many consider the Knicks' rivalries against the Bulls, Pacers, and Heat - all of which featured Ewing as the centerpiece during his time in New York - as some of the most intense of the decade. In his last year with the Knicks, Ewing had a game winning slam dunk over Alonzo Mourning in game 7 of the second round of the playoffs to lead the Knicks to the Eastern Conference Finals.
[edit] Coaching career
Ewing was enshrined into the Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2008.[10]
Ewing was a key factor in the Magic's run to the 2009 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers. He guaranteed a win in Game 7 of the second round against the defending champion Boston Celtics.[11] The Magic beat the Celtics 101 to 82 to win the series 4 games to 3. As a result, Ewing saw Magic captain Dwight Howard set a new NBA Finals record, for most blocked shots in a single finals game, with 9 in Game 4 of the finals, surpassing the previous record of 8, which Ewing himself set in Game 5 of the 1994 Finals.
In 2010, Ewing finally got the opportunity to coach his son Patrick Ewing Jr. in the 2010 summer league. Ewing Jr. played for the Magic.[12]
[edit] NBA statistics
In 1999, Ewing became the 10th player in NBA history to record 22,000 points and 10,000 rebounds.In 1993 he led the NBA with 789 defensive rebounds. He was top ten in field goal percentage 8 times, top ten in rebounds per game as well as total rebounds 8 times, top ten in points, as well as points per game 8 times, and top ten in blocks per game for 13 years.[13]
[edit] Other work
Ewing was in the 1996 movie Space Jam as himself, one of five NBA players whose talent was stolen (along with Charles Barkley, 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, Herman's Head, Mad About You, and Webster.[14] Most recently, he appeared in a 2009 ad for Snickers, suggesting that those who eat the candy bar might "get dunked on by Patrick Chewing".
[edit] Personal life
After friend and rival NBA center Alonzo Mourning was diagnosed with a kidney ailment in 2000, Patrick Ewing made a promise that he would donate one of his kidneys to Mourning if he ever needed one.[15] In 2003, Ewing was tested for kidney compatibility with Alonzo Mourning but Mourning's cousin was found to be the best match.[16] Ewing's son, Patrick Ewing, Jr., attended his father's alma mater, Georgetown University after two years at Indiana University. Ewing, Jr. wore the same jersey number that his father wore, #33. He was drafted by the Sacramento Kings 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 has been a resident of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.[17]
Ewing, in addition to his son Patrick Ewing, Jr., also has two daughters named Corey and Randi.
[edit] Honors
- Rookie of the Year (1986)
- All-NBA First Team (1990)
- All-NBA Second Team (1988, '89, '91, '92, '93, '97)
- NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1988, '89, '92)
- 11-time All-Star; One of 50 Greatest Players in NBA History (1996)
- 2-time Olympic gold medalist (1984, '92)
- NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player (1984)
- Naismith College Player of the Year in (1985).
- Number 33 Retired for the New York Knicks
- Elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the class of 2008.
[edit] NBA records
[edit] Regular season
Consecutive games with a blocked shot (since 1986—87): 145, from November 5, 1988 to March 23, 1990[edit] NBA Finals
Blocked shots, 7-game series: 30, vs. Houston Rockets (1994 NBA Finals)Blocked shots, game: 8, vs. Houston Rockets, June 17, 1994
- Broken by Dwight Howard on June 11, 2009
[edit] Ranks 2nd in NBA history
[edit] Playoffs
Blocked shots, 7-game series: 30, vs. Houston Rockets (1994 NBA Finals)[edit] Finals
Offensive rebounds, 7-game series: 32, vs. Houston Rockets (1994 NBA Finals)Blocked shots, game: 7, vs. Houston Rockets, June 12, 1994
- Hakeem Olajuwon of the Rockets blocked 7 shots in the same game.
[edit] All-Star
Blocked shots, game: 5 (1990)[edit] Ranks 3rd in NBA history
[edit] Regular season
Consecutive games with a blocked shot (since 1986—87): 88, from December 19, 1990 to January 5, 1992[edit] Playoffs
Minutes played, one postseason: 1,032 (1994)Steals, game: 7, vs. Boston Celtics, May 4, 1990
Blocked shots, one postseason: 76 (1994)
Blocked shots, game: 8, vs. Houston Rockets, June 17, 1994
[edit] Finals
Blocked shots, game: 6, at Houston Rockets, June 10, 1994[edit] All-Star
Blocked shots, game: 4 (1991)[edit] Ranks 4th in NBA history
[edit] Playoffs
Free throws made, quarter: 10, fourth quarter, vs. Boston Celtics, May 4, 1988Steals, game: 6, vs. Boston Celtics, May 1, 1988
Blocked shots, game: 7, vs. Houston Rockets, June 12, 1994
Ranks sixth for career blocked shots in the regular season (2,894) and seventh in the playoffs (303)
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