NBA Legends Explain Why Patrick Ewing Was A Beast

[@fade7755]

Ewings knees gave out way before his heart, pride and fire to complete ...in NY he is loved. The Knicks Franchise let us down, not Patrick!

[@chrisisslick]

If y'all had a second star on the team y'all definitely would've gotten at least one chip.

[@anticorporatists9959]

@@chrisisslick well you can blame that on the Knicks organization for not getting a player good enough to help Patrick Ewing

[@chrisisslick]

@@anticorporatists9959 which is why I agree with the initial comment

[@marinemike1559]

I spent years screaming at the TV. Cheering them on. Watching Ewing, Starks, Oakley, Mason, and the rest take on the Bulls every damn year in the Eastern Conference Finals. I'm still haunted by Charles Smith not going up strong. He was hacked regardless!!!

[@samanthanickson6478]

respect.

[@punaforager]

Gosh he was such a competitor and had the great smile. Much respect to Patrick Ewing!

[@bobdavis3357]

Ewing had knee issues, but it never prevented him from being one of the greatest NBA players ever.

[@JackSparrow-wn1on]

i’m so glad Ewing was able to play with Dream team specially with Robinson. both great centers!

[@alexandrossimitzis146]

Patrick Ewing! The man! The legend! I grew up a Knicks fan and it sucks that we'd lose mainly to the Bulls, and also that we lost to the Pacers, Rockets and Spurs! But Patrick Ewing is one of the GOATS! He's one of the ballers that I grew up on! Dear Pat, thanks for the memories!

[@hitman4hirekillyatwice490]

My dads a knicks fan and growing up in Chicago I was a bulls fan so he hated Jordan 😂

[@alexandrossimitzis146]

@@hitman4hirekillyatwice490 One of my uncles from New Jersey, who's a diehard Knicks fan, to this day, he still hates Michael Jordan and Reggie Miller!

[@Bwwe82090]

I love what Patrick Ewing said about doing a million moves as a basketball player, he said " Do your go to move, do something you're good at and if it don't work, come up with a counter and you will play a long time." First name I think about is Dirk Nowitzski, his signature shot, he does it and it worked for him. Great advice

[@CDiesel720]

My favorite player of all time. I love Patrick Ewing as a player and as a Knick. He was the reason I started following basketball and why I became a Knicks fan. That will never change.

[@ukaszstabrowski8938]

Hey! Come on. :) I just wanted to write exactly, literally the same thing! Same reason, same vibe. That will never change. Thanks man. Cheers!

[@ScottParisi]

Good to see Patrick getting some love. Loved watching him shoot midrange jumpers while still being a beast in the middle. Legend of the Era for sure.

[@jasondyrkacz8270]

The only reason he doesn't have a ring is because of two of the top 3 picks in the 84 draft.

[@seanobrien8861]

​@@jasondyrkacz8270and getting rid of Bernard King and Mark Jackson didn't help.

[@seanobrien8861]

Exactly.

[@larsmenken2679]

Ewing, Mourning, Mutombo - These Georgetown guys don't mind trying to block every shot, even if it hurts or ends up on a poster.

[@mpvanriper]

Patrick Ewing is the Michael Ballack of BkB. EXTREMELY TALENTED and at the same time EXTREMELY UNLUCKY. He was my hero!

[@fourtrees44]

My dad and a couple of the people he worked with shared some season tickets to the Hoyas when Patrick was playing, so I got to go see several games a year when I was in elementary school. Patrick Ewing gave me a love for the sport of basketball and made me a Knicks fan for life, though I grew up outside of DC. My favorite athlete of all time and always will be.

[@vm53506]

The seven foot wonder... You are legendary Patrick.. We love you and owe you soo much for making the Knickerbockers relevant.

[@charlieking3115]

Patrick Ewing the very best big man the knicks ever had. GO KNICKS

[@seventrepound7352]

What about Willis Reed?

[@xaviervega468]

@@seventrepound7352 Ewing was a better overall player.

[@rolandbullock6444]

Yeah the knicks p.a. announcer PAT- RICK-EWING lol , Seattle too with SHAWNNNNNNNNN when kemp scored was great too =)

[@ktapreswreckd921v9]

Marv Albert version of saying "Patrick Ewing" was probably the best?

[@Mulavi]

I have never been so surprised by a player as I was with Ewing, who seemed to make a quantum leap offensively when he got to the NBA. Maybe he always had these skills in college, but he was more known for his standout defense.

[@usmc29er44]

NYC will always love Pat

[@dorkasaurus_rex]

facts

[@Tehui1974]

"Rejected by Ewing!!"

[@noneyabizz8337]

So many greats in that era

[@willn8664]

What Reggie said was right which as a Knicks fan was very heart-breaking when the Knicks lost that close series against the Rockets in the Finals. That was Ewing's best chance of getting the chip. I can't even count that finals against the Spurs a few years later because the Spurs were too good.

[@Nhilzer]

Mostly because Ewing wasn’t playing in the finals and even before, he broke his wrist, in the 1st round I think.

[@dastardlyduke2638]

I blame that loss on Charles Smith. How are you 6 foot 10 under the basket and don’t dunk the ball. This big, for nothing goes for the layup and miss.

[@remnant8898]

@@dastardlyduke2638 I blame John Starks. In that 94 series, he went 2 for 18, and continued to jack up shots, and the Knicks lost by 2 against the Rockets

[@devangpatel5227]

if we were healthy, it would have been a 7 game series. remember, we lost our entire front court vs the twin towers (LJ, Camby, and Ewing) to injuries in the finals

[@Nhilzer]

@@remnant8898 Yeah, plus he took the last shot while Olajuwon switched on him... It was a silly play by him, Ewing was calling for the ball and he probably wanted to be the hero even after being so bad (I think none of us understand how Riley kept him on the court...), I bet Hubert Davis would have helped. In my opinion, we should have won in 6 games, if i remember well, we had a great game in the 6th one, we had the lead during 3 quarters or even 3 and a half, we started missing easy shots and the Rockets were reducing the difference playing simple, they weren’t exceptional but played smart in the last minutes until they got the lead. I’m not sure if it was in the 6th or 7th game, but I remember Ewing got the ball on a fast break but he saw a rocket player coming back on defense, he faked a shot, the guy jumped, then he shot with one hand, the type of shot any guy would score and the fuckin ball hit the back of the hoop and got out of the basket. Some would say he shoukd have dunked it but I think it was an easy basket even with that of shot, we were just doomed probably, I’m so sad that Pat, and all of the guys didn’t get a ring, they deserved it so much... Even if some day our Knicks win another championship, of course I’d be happy but it will never be the same for me, cause these guys were warriors. They fought so many years, some times the refs were clearly against us, like against the Bulls or the Pacers, the Knicks weren’t too much appreciated cause our game wasn’t attractive maybe, but to me, it is the reason why I started loving the Knicks in the 90s, playing tough, giving everything on the court, seing Starks, Oakley jumping on the floor or in the crowd to get the ball.

[@laz0rama]

I’m with you Sean, he doesn’t get his flowers nearly enough. And I have to admit, I am a lifelong knicks fan that was sometimes very disappointed when Patrick didn’t come through when it mattered. But the man always gave it 110%, and he was a great center during the era of best centers. I always thought that if Bernard king didn’t get injured, the late 80s would have looked very different in the eastern conference.

[@laz0rama]

Bernard’s knicks took those great Bird Celtics to 7 games without another (even close to) all star. Imagine if he’d had Ewing!?!

[@briangarrett3668]

I think the loss of King kind of proves what I commented on here in that Pat never had the best teams around him and he should not be solely blamed for their losses. For as underrated as Pat was, somehow Starks was overrated imo.

[@stiltmansstilt1014]

Ewing was a beast offensively...the guy had a back to the basket turnaround fade away...a mid to deep jumper, he hit his FTs, had a ton of finesse on offense...to go with a physical brand of ball on offense.. he was well rounded offensively and did things not many centers can do

[@joel8692]

Ewing was def a beast on both sides of the ball with some great footwork but I think he wasn't as good as hakeem on defense or offense. Ewing was great but hakeem was elite. Also Ewing might be a little better thsn Robinson from midrange but david is a all around scorer and defender.

[@stiltmansstilt1014]

​@@joel8692not many were better then Hakeem. Ewings better then 90pct of centers that played this game. That's pretty good.

[@HB-me3sj]

Patrick Ewing was a great competitive player to watch every single night! Never cheated the game.

[@DudeJones334]

Great player! Very underrated.

[@justinrobicheau4788]

He was the face of that franchise and what joy it was to watch him especially against my Celtics.

[@justinfalzon6854]

I laughed when they showed the clip saying there's people who haven't watched the Knicks since Ewing left and that's me. Hahahah. Its funny because it's true.

[@charlieking3115]

Patrick Ewing was a work horse on the floor. GO KNICKS

[@basicbreakfast]

I grew up watching him swat shots as a Hoya, HUGE influence on my high school game.

[@briangarrett3668]

Maybe the most underrated player at least that I have ever seen. Nobody ever mentions the team around him either. Not even close to what MJ or even other teams had. If you never saw him play, which I think these days is a big reason he's underrated, you just don't know how much of a BEAST he was. Definitely the proper nickname for him

[@christianstokes4111]

LMFAO you officially lost all credibility...STFU that's always everyone's favorite go to about Jordan...he battled the pacers and heat as well. Excuses excuses. Take it as it is and gtfoh. Cry me a river.

[@briangarrett3668]

@@christianstokes4111 lmfao did you know i was a Bulls fan you stupid idiot. Im just giving the man his props bc dumbasses like you have no clue but hey good try moron. Also said Bulls and other teams but just like everyone else you stopped after I said Bulls.

[@Selfloathingmisanthrope]

Imagine if Jordan got drafted by the Knicks. It would be a Kobe Shaq situation for 10 yrs

[@briangarrett3668]

If the Knocks got Jordan, and glad they didn't lol, coupled with Pat? My god they would of ruled the league even more than the Bulls did back then. Admittedly hated the Knicks growing up for above stated reasons but I have always loved Ewing. Good dude. Tough and hard player. Respect. I believe is the word

[@high-defRJ]

90s gave us legendary centers. My favorite of them all was David Robinson, but Ewing was a top 3 center in that era. Championship or not, he is Mr. Knick to everyone who grew up in the 90s.

[@erichvonmanstein6876]

Yeah uh Robinson and Ewing came in the 80's🤨

[@joel8692]

​@@erichvonmanstein6876obviously they were drafted in the 90s but they played most of there careers in the 90s. Just like shaq was drafted i. 92 but he played his prime years in the 2000s

[@erichvonmanstein6876]

@@joel8692 thats great. My statement still stands kid

[@MrLeer294]

My favorite player of all time!!

[@rhoieeichstadt8406]

Ewing is not justba low post player but also has a great shooting touch

[@blaghdad]

Also the most underrated sneaker brand in the game... Ewing Athletics.

[@ludvigborga3676]

Pat was a defensive presence FIRST. The way his offensive game improved with his savage work ethic was impressive. He almost averaged 30 PPG in '90 I believe.

[@tj5180]

He had a season where he averaged 4 blocks or almost did

[@bjjohnson9710]

He almost had 50 blocks in a playoff series … lol

[@glsinsight]

This guy was great. His turn around jumpers at full extension in close could not be stopped.

[@nathanlawson313]

As a Detroit fan, I just thought Ewing got no help. Reminds me of Embiid... Highly-skilled big men, avg 25/12-ish. Similar physicality and both surprisingly quick feet, but Ewing more athletic and better defender. Ewing would be best center in today's game. He just played during the best era for centers (and MJ).

[@BobSmith-un5mw]

If the Knicks and Ewing ever had a 2nd option like Pippen, they would have won champs

[@erichvonmanstein6876]

🙄

[@brown123487]

That Knicks teams was loaded in the 90s,

[@BobSmith-un5mw]

@@brown123487 They never had someone like Pippen, they had Starks but he was no Pippen. Most NBA champs have two hall of farmers, Knicks had one

[@rcole718]

​​@brown123487D efensively, yes. They never had a consistent second option until late in Pat's career, amd by then, he wasn't even the first option anymore.

[@ElectricCool]

They did and foolishly traded him.....his name is Bernard King!!

[@TheBooks810]

thank you for this video.. he's not the greatest but he's great.. patrick ewing is one of my 3 all time favorite players.. i was a knicks fan strictly because of him.. big ups to that man!! ✌🏾✌🏾✌🏾✌🏾❤️

[@joshportie]

I was a Hakeem guy and I always felt this guy was unfairly rated. Poor man's Hakeem is still better than 99.99% of all big men. He would dominate today in his prime and likely wouldn't have had a tenth of the wear and tear. And I seriously don't mean disrespect calling him Poor man's Hakeem. Honestly I intend it as a compliment. That Era was the most talented Era imo.

[@metalmint1870]

I've always looked at Patrick Ewing as the total package of what you want from a center.

[@mickeylee2624]

Ewing played so hard and through significant injuries that he played a significant portion of his career at far less than 100%. In a vacuum regardless of circumstance, the only players better all-around centers I can think of are Hakeem, Kareem, Wilt, and Admiral. Russell didn't have to shoulder the offensive load, while Shaq and Moses were more offensively dominant while defensively lesser. Except Hakeem and Admiral, Ewing had to overcome a weaker supporting cast in the majority of his prime than the rest mentioned... and none of them lived in the same conference for nearly his entire career as MJ.

[@puppethound]

I have been a fan of the Knicks the year before they got Ewing. I watched college ball and he was the most dominant player, on both ends of the floor, that I have ever seen. I knew the Knicks had a chance to grab him if they won the lottery and when they did, I was a Knicks fan for life because of Patrick Ewing.

[@miketimothy6642]

Could not stand him at Georgetown but when Knicks drafted him I loved him. A pure competitor and team player. NBA was just awesome late 80's, early 90's. Those Knick teams with Mark Jackson, Starks, Mason. X-man, Kiki, Oakley.

[@masterdivineallah6758]

As a Knicks fan since the 70s. Thank you for this video. Thank you BEAST for all you gave to the town.✊🏿😎

[@parrishharris3008]

N.Y. should've never traded away Bernard King because obviously had they been patient the Knicks probably would've won a championship or 2 with Patrick Ewing and King as a guaranteed 1-2 scoring punch too combat Michael Jordan and the Bulls 😢😢.

[@FuShengAlex]

Should've never traded Rod either

[@briox53]

Big fella. Love my Knicks beause of Patrick Ewing

[@jefffinlayson3002]

Ewing was definitely a beast and had a long career (17 sea.) too.

[@yanncarduner4516]

Ewing was great!Still my favorite player !

[@DigenisGR]

The best "one hand" dunker ever imho.

[@jaysonraphaelmurdock8812]

My top two favorite players are Larry Bird and Patrick Ewing.

[@bigboy4438]

It wasn't Patrick's fault the Knicks didn't win a championship, it was the Knicks management. They should have never traded Bernard King, can you imagine what they could have done together?

[@riofacts8283]

I love this channel because it shows mad love to the great ballers who didn't win championships. People who would of been Jordan esque like who succumb to injuries. Players that People don't give enough credit to. Pat was PE before Public Enemy.

[@anticorporatists9959]

One of the top 5 centers of all time

[@healthfadsfade]

People forget how great Patrick Ewing was.. i’m a stats junky and that 28.6 ppg 11rpg 4bpg season is pretty insane

[@pierangelosaponaro2658]

He was the only player to average at least 28 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks for a season since blocks were counted based on my research.

[@pierangelosaponaro2658]

At age 35 he was still averaging 20 points, 10 rebounds with two blocks.

[@mobetta2092]

Until the arrivals of Allen Houston, Sprewell, and Camby, Ewing’s best teammate was John Starks. Problem with Ewing was that the as big as a market that the NY Knicks are, they never got him quality help until he was old. (Lakers, Celtics, and Knicks are the biggest markets and most storied franchises in the NBA. Every HOF quality player that the Lakers and Celtics ever had, management provided them with adequate help and a championship was won…but not the Knicks for Ewing).

[@Fair540]

Ewing also didn't have a 2nd top 50 player with him. MJ had Pippen and later Rodman also.

[@llopnikgaharrison3136]

Man, it's a shame that fight in 1997 vs the Heat. Where multiple suspensions cost the Knicks the series. Was looking forward to Bulls vs. Knicks ECF. After they blocked the Bulls from back to back 70 win seasons, it was on.

[@ktapreswreckd921v9]

Great point! Patrick had good offensive help on that team with Larry Johnson and Allan Houston.

[@maxdobasquete]

Much respect! But the MOST DAZZLING play EVER was Jordan half spin on Starks and Oakley and then MONSTROUS POSTER DUNK over Ewing... ... I miss that!!!

[@dannynhl9441]

Favorite NBA player of all time. Ewing, Pippen and Penny Hardaway. I still got my Ewing jersey from 1994 and It still fits. Gonna rock it this summer for nostalgia. Now I wanna play NBA Live 95 and 96. Starks, Ewing, Harper, Oak, Mason.

[@pcorf]

Ewing was a very underrated player. Great playoff battles against the Bulls, Pacers and Heat in the 1990's. And even today the Knicks still have a huge rivalry with the Pacers and Heat.

[@hairjordan2620]

When you think of the top ten Centers of the 90's it's insane

[@ktapreswreckd921v9]

Remember six of them were in the 1996 all-star game too. Good old days of great& good centers.

[@Michael_Page]

I love John Starks. Had his Dunk poster in my bedroom as a child. Nonetheless, the fact that the New York Knicks could not get Patrick Ewing a better teammate than Starks in a decade plus is a damn shame. If Ewing got Pippen, he'd have multiple rings.

[@joel8692]

Pippen on the Knicks would of def been a defensive juggernaut but even with Scottie the knicks still lack a dominant scorer who can take over games and score 40 any given night. Plus both those guys were way to passive

[@Michael_Page]

@@joel8692 i disagree, and would explain why, but I don't argue with people who use "would of."

[@rcdenson1]

Patrick and the Knicks in my mind were simply victims of an era when the Eastern Conference was stacked with some really good powerhouse teams. Allot, and some of histories greatest teams too. The competition was fierce and I mean crazy fierce in an era that was very physical, Boston, Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, Pacers, Bucks, Philly, Atlanta, Miami, a revamped Orlando with Shaq... man the Eastern Comference was a dog fight and all of those teams had heavy weight super stars on them. When the Knicks rose to their highest potential they could not get past the Bulls and Mike, but even then Pat made it a slugfest and often a 7 game series. When Mike retired the 1st time.. guess who dominated the Eastern Conference and went to the Finals... Pat and the Knicks. They lost to Akeem the Dream and the Rockets but they made it and had their shot. Despite coming up, short... Patrick is still one of the greatest and most dominant centers of all time in my book. A lack of rings is the on,y thing missing from his resume. 👍

[@CaptWuppazz]

Dude had a silky smooth jumper for a big man

[@Jaanis_Stepanovs]

Everybody - MJ Grant Hill - Patrick Ewing

[@60515so]

...........but that time Scottie dunked on him!! WOW

[@pop2522]

Grew up on the 90's Knicks. Can't seem to get interested in the NBA as an adult

[@lonnieeastin6401]

There is one thing I have to say about Patrick Ewing! There's so many "dunked on Patrick Ewing" videos. But why is that? If you attack his rim, he's going to step up and try to block. He's the center, it's his job! Much respect to Patrick Ewing. All of those "dunk videos" should be a source of pride for the man! Is there anyone else in the video, protecting the rim? BTW. I hate the Knicks, but Patrick Ewing was a warrior!

[@xaviervega468]

Yup. Ewing contested everything.

[@lonnieeastin6401]

@@xaviervega468 So, you dunked on Patrick Ewing? How did that happen? Is there a "I dunked on Steve Kerr" video? Oh, I don't think there is...

[@fredmitchell5987]

Still has the greatest commercial ever.

[@cheapsticking8130]

Pat is still part of my top 5 centers of all time!! F**k ya'll babies that wants a center that shoot 3's,,

[@2408spydah]

most of the greats in the 90s had a strong 2nd star. ewing unfortunately never had that team8 to get him to the top. starks was jr smith before jr smith

[@percivalpineda3219]

Nice words from Reggie

[@kelefane6233]

Nobody gave their all to a franchise like Ewing did with the Knicks. He bled Knick colors.

[@Proudathiest1]

When I was a kid I collected Ewing Cards. Well those and Jordan, Bird, Hakeem the dream, Steve, Kerr, BJ, Armstrong, Magic Johnson, and a few others with my mom and her husband got divorced. I was in college and I wasn’t able to be there to get all my old stuff and I never saw those cards again

[@jaxjr121]

Big Sweat!! #Salute

[@滋榎本]

I think Patrick Ewing is one of the most underrated players. He was one of the best centers in NBA history until the late 1980s and late 90s due to his soft shooting touch and power. Ewing is a Knicks hero. Ewing's retirement really weakened the Knicks.

[@joshportie]

Agreed, I was a Hakeem fan growing up in Houston. Ewing is highly underrated.

[@rodmansdagoat]

Great video. Thanks for this. Btw, when are we having a BTM video on Kevin Johnson?

[@willienicholson289]

Patrick Ewing was one of my favorite basketball players growing up in New York. It was Patrick, John starks, and Charles Oakley.

[@Mr.Majestic77]

Patrick Ewing: An athletic and more consistent Joel Embiid.

[@bigcohiba298]

The exact comp

[@ziginaigra]

6:26 i got goosebumps whan he said that❤💪

[@funkyflights]

He was a great player no doubt… He even played for my Sonics for a year near the end of his career back in the day, and he did great job for us …

[@shareofmoney]

Patrick Ewing is one of the most underrated and underappreciated NBA players ever in my opinion. Few players carries a whole franchise on their back like Seeing carried the Knicks. Pat was an amazing defensive player with great offensive skill. He doesn't get the love he deserves. Ewing is another one of these players that fell victim to the Jordan era.

[@rodneycoquis5560]

Ewing is one of the most underrated players of all time. He was a beast on offense and defense. Michael Jordan in Ewing's hall of fame induction said it best Ewing has the heart of a champion. Of course to win a championship for a team sport it takes championship level teammates.

[@derkwayne1833]

Jordan didn't win those 6 championships himself. He had a pretty good supporting cast backing him up. Like Barkley told Jordan. Give him Pippen and Rodman and see wins the championships then. The Knicks really should've invested more in surrounding Ewing with better talent.

[@ariurip3751]

Ewing and Hakeem can do everything

[@jcchannel7304]

My favorite player going up

[@markpatterson2764]

New Yorker's love Patrick Ewing,he gets a rousing reception at the Garden,in the 90's there may have been frustration but thats all forgotten,the Knicks were tough but never got him the support to beat Jordan.

[@stiltmansstilt1014]

Part of 2 finals teams with the knicks...and also won Gold...and won a ncaa championship wit Georgetown. He actually went to a couple champ games at georgetown

[@jakubkurzawski9446]

My first basketball shoes were black EWING... Loved the shoes, loved The Beast

[@briannelson6246]

He’s so underrated! He should be ranked so much higher.

[@philliplyn2692]

One of my favorite players of all time he made me want to go to George Town and play if I had the good grades also respected everyone 🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲

[@azwris]

One of my favorite players ever. The marvelous Pat! Even though I didn't like NYK at all.

[@BTI508]

Please do Drazen Petrovich 🤘

[@romangarcia608]

the best player to never win a chip IMO, always loved Pat and still do!!

[@joel8692]

Nah man mallone is definitely the best and Ewing is 2

[@pierangelosaponaro2658]

I got into basketball watching the teams such as the Knicks, Magic and Bulls. Ewing played hard. The Knicks were very good on defense. The centers back then normally tried hard to play defense and did not mind being scored on, especially with a slam dunk. I feel that Joel Embiid is like Ewing in numerous ways. He is not as good on defense, though is getting better and being effective still. He moves very fast and shoot wells and further. He dribbles better and passes slightly better. They are closer in scoring and rebounds.

[@lonniec7603]

Thank You for this! Loved Ewing,even though I loved the Celtics

[@nattyps3160]

I always thought Patrick if he at least got that ring being as close as u can get game 7 of the finals he'd at least have one & all would be right. Wish starks could trade his brilliance in game 6 when it wasn't the elimination game & switch it to game 7 as he had the worst game ever. Some equated the Knicks Ewing years & since still no ring & people thar believe in curses like babe Ruth til 04 is b/c many are positive the 85 first ever lottery draft was created to get Ewing in ny. The lottery was a good idea & it got notice when mj started talking about his first year he broke his ankle & he was recovered but Krause wouldn't let him play. Mj started flipping out saying Krause was doing this so the bulls could " tank" the rest of the season as draft picks were given in order of the worst team. So this lottery system made sense to curb that. Obviously a team in almost last place isn't gonna want their team to go on a surge & move past lower teams cause they will lose the top pick. I have a feeling Krause was really thinking both. Why bother risking mjs ankle as he already was the superstar on the rise. So no point in playing him & being extra cautious & also getting a better pick. This is the event that started the mj Krause bitter fued. Mj is a competitor & as a rookie wanted to play no matter how bad the team was. Didn't they go to the playoffs his 1st or 2nd year & put on a clinic vs that mighty Celtics team ? Anyway Jordan also said he hated how Krause compared Jordan to being their " investment " it made mj feel like they thought of him as property. I think mj took that " too personal" lol honestly all sports are a buisness. The owner cares about $$ since it's his. Krause works for the owner. Anyway I'm convinced the NBA knew about tanking in the revitalized magic bird Era that saved the game. So the Knicks had been bad for years. The NBA of course gets money from TV deals & theirs all kinds of money circulating. So it wasn't good for the NBA to have the richest Madison Ave bucks biggest press & grand stage to not have the ny Knicks as a winner in this emerging NBA Era that started to surpass baseball in 94. Thus roids juicing the ball smaller stadiums more homeruns etc baseball was boring a past time about long dead legends. So w/ the Celtics & Lakers & this new sensation Micheal Jordan ready to take the NBA into global popularity they needed NYC to be part of the plan. So many TV head quarters for national games are in NYC & the NBA makes big money selling their product to CBS than the NBA on NBC. So that lottery actually can start to be rigged for teams that are .500 they like to omg what luck get the top pick. The worse u are the more balls u get. Anyway the first lottery had the much heralded greatest college player a center in Patrick Ewing coming in. Also notably this draft only had Ewing that became great. The scouts saw other than Ewing it was a weak draft year. So even more motivation to get Ewing in NYC. The arenas also have to give a cut to the NBA it's their league so NYC Money forget it. So in conclusion I do think Ewing was rigged to go to ny. People in the room were freaking out & cheering that legendary shot of the gm nervous than pounding his fist in victory. When Ewing was drafted season ticket sales sold out. The announcer Said " bball is back in ny my friends" like wow the poor 2nd place pacers. Everyone who was supposed to be neutral was thrilled that the small market non legendary pacers didn't get the pick. Funny thinking if it really wasn't rigged & the pacers got Ewing how different things would be. Reggie Miller was drafted 3 years later. I always felt what Ewing needed in a 2nd perennial all star option was a tall shooting guard spot. Starks who was such a Cinderella story some guy who want drafted that came training camp went from nice find to 6th man to starter to all star but starks was too streaky. If he had hit that buzzer beater in game 6 to win it all history would be very different & Ewing would have his ring & starks would have had a movie made about his life. Seriously undrafted kid that went from grocery clerk to the Knicks & he wins them a title at the buzzer? People would be calling the organization geniuses for finding starks. Riley's mystique of winning in NYC would be even more incredible. When u are in ny every player of every ny sport always says if u win here ur a forever legend & fans will never forget it. If u lose here they'll blame u forever. Reggie Jackson hitting those 3 home runs in one game off 3 diff pitchers on the 1st pitch would be legendary but doing it for the Yankees? Next level. The 86 Mets they still go over that title team & " the Buckner game " which that comeback was in any other city against any other team than the red sox it wold be incredible but not as huge as it was & still is. Red sox fans hate the Yankees but they also Hate ny fans so that had to add salt. It wasn't the Yankees that did it to them but still ny. Still I think red sox fans don't loathe the Mets like the Yankees. Lastly if Derek Jeter played in some small market team no way would ge be as heralded. Solid player but it's like teams push or market certain people. No coincidence they gave him a single digit number knowing he'd join the other Yankee legends w/ the monuments & retired numbers.

[@theaquariancontrarian3316]

I used to love watching him dunk on sorry asses! 💪

[@janickimusic]

He looks good on Pippen’s poster :) I like Ewing back then and now I like him even more…

[@finstarusa]

Patrick Ewing was a great player that excited a lot of people when he played especially at Georgetown. I use to love watching him play and did not want to miss a game. I used to think he was going to be as dominant in the NBA like college but he was not. Ewing was not dominant like Shaq, consistent and durable like Duncan or finesse like Olajuwon.

[@lavarivy2259]

As a Pacers fan I hate hate hated those Knicks teams. But I have tons of respect for them

[@jkil218]

BEAST!!!

[@viruet2002]

I'm a Knicks fan and grew up watching Patrick. He's my favorite player of all time. The Knicks front office let him down. They never gave him that number 2 and 3 player like Jordan had in Chicago and Hakeem had in the Rockets. Starks was good don't get me wrong. But just as quick as he can shoot you into a came is just as quick as he can shoot you out of a game.