Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
Patrick Ewing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Position | Center |
|---|---|
| Height | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) |
| Weight | 255 lb (116 kg) |
| Nationality |  United States |
| Born | August 5, 1962 (age 44) Kingston, Jamaica |
| College | Georgetown |
| Draft | 1st overall, 1985 New York Knicks |
| Pro career | 1985–2002 |
| Former teams | New York Knicks (1985–2000) Seattle SuperSonics (2000–2001) Orlando Magic (2001–2002) |
| Awards | 1985-86 Rookie of the Year 11-time NBA All Star |
Patrick Aloysius Ewing (born August 5, 1962) is a Jamaican-born American former NBA player. He played most of his career with the New York Knicks as their starting center and played briefly with the Seattle SuperSonics and Orlando Magic. Ewing, Sr.'s son, Patrick Ewing, Jr., plays for his father's alma mater, the Georgetown Hoyas.
Contents |
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Ewing was 13 years old when he arrived in the United States with his family, settling in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he attended Cambridge Rindge and Latin, a public high school. He went to Georgetown University in Washington, D.C..
Patrick Ewing received a scholarship to play for Coach John Thompson at Georgetown University as a freshman during the 1981-1982 season. Ewing was one of the first college players to start and star on the varsity as a freshman. In the 1982 NCAA final against the University of North Carolina, Ewing was called for goal-tending several times in the first half. The Hoyas had a shot at winning the game until Freddie Brown threw the infamous bad pass to James Worthy at the tail end of the game. In the 1984 season, Ewing and Georgetown took the NCAA title with an 84-75 win over the University of Houston. In Patrick 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 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 in 1983, 1984, and 1985.
The 1984 NCAA title was Patrick Ewing's only championship. He enjoyed a stellar career in the NBA but never won a title as a pro.
Because Ewing was considered such a prize prospect and in order to prevent teams from tanking games in order to secure a better chance of obtaining Ewing's services, the NBA introduced a Draft Lottery, which gave each of the 7 teams not in the playoffs an equal chance of securing the first overall pick, a process that was won by the New York Knicks, who selected Ewing first overall in the 1985 NBA Draft.
Although injuries marred his first year in the league, he was named NBA Rookie of the Year by averaging 20 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks per game. Very soon, he became one of the premier centers in the league. Ewing was an eleven time NBA All-Star, was named to the All-NBA First Team once, to the All-NBA Second Team six times and to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team three times. He was a member of the original Dream Team at the 1992 Olympic Games, winning a second gold medal. In 1996, he was also given the honor of being named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history.
In 1993, it finally seemed the Knicks were on their way to the NBA Finals when they took a 2-0 lead over Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls. However, the Bulls stunned Ewing as they won the next 4 games of the series. It was just one more ringless season Ewing had to deal with, despite the fact that the Knicks had the best record in the Eastern Conference with 60 wins and just 22 losses.
Ewing was a key contributor to the Knicks' run to the Finals in 1994, in which the Knicks lost in the final seconds of games 6 and 7 to Hakeem Olajuwon's Houston Rockets. The Knicks took Game 2 in Houston, but couldn't hold court at home, as they dropped Game 3 at the Garden. However, they won the next two games, and headed back to Houston up 3 games to 2. But a John Starks blunder, not passing at the end of game 6, and a terrible performance by Starks in game 7 was too much for the Knicks to overcome. Patrick Ewing made the most of his appearance by setting a record for most blocked shots in a Finals series (later broken by Shaquille O'Neal). Ewing's Knicks defeated Pippen's Bulls in 7 games in the 1994 Eastern Conference semi-Finals, and defeated Reggie Miller's Indiana Pacers in the conference finals (7 games).
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 against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Given this opportunity, Ewing would usually simply slam dunk the ball, but the fact that the clock was winding down forced Ewing to get off a quick shot.
In 1997 Patrick Ewing suffered a potentially career ending wrist injury but worked hard to make an improbable return during the playoffs.(The Knicks returned to the NBA Finals in 1999, but Ewing missed the latter part of their playoff run due to an achilles injury, which contributed to their 4-1 loss to the taller Spurs). In 2000, he left the Knicks, being traded to the Seattle SuperSonics. In the trade, the Knicks sent Ewing to Seattle and Chris Dudley to the Suns, 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. This is considered by many to being a major step in the downfall of the relative success of the Knicks. 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.
On February 28, 2003 Patrick Ewing's jersey with number 33 was retired in a large ceremony at Madison Square Garden. Ewing continues to be considered one of the New York Knicks' finest players of all time, as well as one of the greatest in NBA history. Knicks rivalries against the Bulls, Pacers, and Heat, in which Ewing was a centerpiece, were some of the most intense of the decade. In Patrick Ewing's last year with the Knicks, he had a game winning dunk over Alonzo Mourning in game 7 of the second round of the playoffs to lead the Knicks to the Eastern Conference Semi Finals. It was a great finish to the Knicks-Heat rivalry during the Ewing years. On August 29, 2006, Patrick Ewing signed as an assistant coach with the Houston Rockets because he wanted to spend more time with his family.
As an NBA player, Ewing was renowned for his shotblocking ability, rebounding skills, thunderous dunks, and accurate mid-range jumpshot.
Ewing will be eligible for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.
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. [1]
- 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)
- Two-time Olympic gold medalist (1984, '92)
- NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player (1984)
- Naismith College Player of the Year in (1985).
- 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 [1]. In 2003, Ewing was tested for kidney compatibility with Alonzo Mourning but Mourning's cousin was found to be the best match [2].
- In a 1993 game[3] between the Knicks and the Charlotte Hornets, the 7 ft (2.10 m) Ewing suffered a moment of embarrassment when guard Muggsy Bogues, who stands a mere 5'3" (1.60 m), managed to block his shot. [4]
- 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 claimed to a Sports Illustrated journalist that he was not 7'0" but 6'9"[5]
- Ewing's son, Patrick Ewing, Jr., currently attends his father's alma mater, Georgetown University. Ewing, Jr. is currently in his junior season and wears the same jersey number that his father wore, #33.
- During game six of the 1992 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. He would go down with an injury, yet continue playing and upsetting the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls would wrap the series in game seven and win the championship against the Portland Trail Blazers.
- Ewing posted 24 points, 22 rebounds and 7 assists in game 7 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals, leading the Knicks to victory over the rival Indiana Pacers. His putback dunk of a John Starks miss in the final moments of that game remains a lasting image of his career.
- Ewing plays the Angel of Death in the film Exorcist III.
- New York Knicks' all-time leader in nearly every significant category and the game's 15th all-time scorer with 24,815 points.
- Ewing was ranked #28 on SLAM Magazine's Top 75 NBA Players of All-Time.
- Patrick Ewing was born on the same day that American actress Marilyn Monroe died, August 5, 1962
- ^ http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_25_98/ai_68147572
- ^ http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/lopresti/2006-06-10-lopresti-mourning_x.htm
- ^ http://www.basketballreference.com/teams/boxscore.htm?yr=1992&b=19930414&tm=CHA
- ^ http://www.yaleherald.com/archive/xxii/10.4.96/sports/stoelting.html
- ^ First Person: Dinner At Yao's, published March 14, 2005; article retrieved March 24, 2007
| 1992 Olympic Champions Men's Basketball – "Dream Team" |
|---|
| Charles Barkley | Larry Bird | Clyde Drexler | Patrick Ewing | Magic Johnson | Michael Jordan Christian Laettner | Karl Malone | Chris Mullin | Scottie Pippen | David Robinson | John Stockton |
| Coach: Chuck Daly |
| Preceded by Akeem Olajuwon |
NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player (men's) 1984 |
Succeeded by Ed Pinckney |
| Preceded by Michael Jordan |
Naismith College Player of the Year (men) 1985 |
Succeeded by Johnny Dawkins |
| Preceded by Akeem Olajuwon |
NBA first overall draft pick 1985 NBA Draft |
Succeeded by Brad Daugherty |
| Preceded by Buck Williams |
President of the NBA Players Association 1997–2000 |
Succeeded by Michael Curry |
- NBA.com profile
- NBA.com Ewing History
- Career stats at basketball-reference.com
- Patrick Ewing stats and highlights at knicksonline.com
Categories: 1962 births | Living people | American basketball players | African American basketball players | New York Knicks players | Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball players | Orlando Magic players | Olympic competitors for the United States | Olympic gold medalists for the United States | Seattle SuperSonics players | Naturalized citizens of the United States | Jamaican Americans | Basketball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics | Basketball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics