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Patrick Ewing Bio

Patrick Ewing

Patrick Aloysius Ewing was born August 5, 1962 in Kingston, Jamaica but by the age of twelve, Ewing and his family had moved to the United States. They found their home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Ewing attended Cambridge Rindge and Latin public high school, and for his secondary education, attended Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Towering at seven feet tall, Ewing is widely considered one of the great all-time college basketball stars of our time. Under his leadership, the Georgetown Hoyas attended the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship Final in 1982, 1984, and 1985. The team took the championship in 1984 and Ewing was recognized as the Most Outstanding Player for that year. He even earned the nickname “Hoya Destroya.”

With his highly successful college career behind him, Ewing was a natural and expected choice for the NBA. And that was exactly where he was headed. He was selected first overall for the 1985 draft by the New York Knicks. (Incidentally, this was the first NBA Draft Lottery pick to ever be held.) His first year was difficult but ultimately impressive. Riddled with injuries that slowed his playing, Ewing still managed to secure the title of NBA Rookie of the Year. He averaged an impressive twenty points per game as well as an average of nine rebounds and two blocks per game.

Very quickly, Ewing established himself as one of the most talented centers in the league. Over his career he was asked to participate in the NBA All-Star game eleven times. In 1984, he led the United States to an Olympic gold victory, and in 1992 he contributed to the original Dream Team, and winning another gold medal. His esteemed teammates included Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, Clyde Drexler, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, Christian Laettner, Chris Mullin, Scottie Pippen, David Robinson, and John Stockton. Of the twelve team members, ten would be named in the 1996 NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, an official list of the fifty greatest players of the NBA’s first fifty years. (Laettner and Mullin did not make the list.)

Ewing had won many personal accolades and achieved many magnificent feats in the world of basketball, but his Knicks had never seen victory at the end of the NBA Championships. Instead, close calls punctuated Ewing’s career. In 1993, the Knicks had a two game to nothing lead over the Chicago Bulls, led by Michael Jordan. However, Jordan and his Bulls managed to silence the Knicks with a four game streak to take the series. This was a particularly harsh loss for Ewing since his team had the best record in the Eastern Conference that year, coming in at 62 wins and only 20 losses.

The next year marked another heartbreaking loss for Knicks fans. Losing in the last seconds of game six and seven to the Houston Rockets, it marked only the second time a team had come back from a 3-2 record in the NBA Finals. The next year, the Knicks lost to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals game seven. Ewing missed a finger roll shot—a shot he normally would have dunked—and certain fans have never forgiven Ewing for this decision.

The Knicks did return to the NBA Finals in 1999, but Ewing was absent due to an achilles injury. Without Ewing, the team went down in a 4-1 series with the Spurs. In 2000, Ewing left the Knicks and was traded to the Seattle Super Sonics. The Knicks have never quite recovered.

Ewing spent one year with the Super Sonics and another year with the Orlando Magic. He officially announced his retirement on September 18, 2002. In this year he was also assistant coach to the Washington Wizards.

In a large ceremony at Madison Square Garden, Ewing’s #33 jersey was retired. He remains known as one of the great players of our era. In recent news, Ewing resigned as assistant coach to the Houston Rockets on August 29, 2006.

Ewing has been married once to Rita Williams. The two wed in 1990 and divorced in 1998. They had three children together.