From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids
| Olympic medalist |
Patrick Ewing |
| Medal record |
| Men's Basketball |
| Gold |
1984 |
United States |
| Gold |
1992 |
United States |
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.
[edit] Early life
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Ewing was 12 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.. Ewing is widely recognized as one of the best college basketball players of his era; he helped his Georgetown Hoyas reach the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Final in 1982, 1984 and 1985 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, winning the championship in 1984.
[edit] NBA career
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 of 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 the 50 greatest players in NBA history. In spite of all his honors, Ewing never managed to lead the Knicks to an NBA championship. 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 New York Knicks had the best record in the Eastern Conference with 62 wins and just 20 losses. He 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. It was only the second time in NBA history that a team came from losing 3-2 in the NBA finals and won the next two games to win the championship. 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. (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 play-offs 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 resigned as an assistant coach with the Houston Rockets to spend time with his family.
[edit] NBA statistics
In 1999, Ewing became the 10th player in NBA history to record 22,000 points and 10,000 rebounds.
In 1993 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]
- Games: 1,183
- Points: 24,815
- PPG: 21.0
- RPG: 9.8
- STL: 1,136
- APG: 1.9
- Blk: 2,894
- FG%: .504
- FT%: .740
[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)
- Two-time Olympic gold medalist (1984, '92)
- NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player (1984)
- Naismith College Player of the Year in (1985).
[edit] Trivia
- 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 ft 3 in (1.60 m), managed to block his shot. [4]
- Ewing's son, Patrick Ewing, Jr., currently attends his father's alma mater, Georgetown University, where he will play after sitting out a season (NCAA redshirt rule) for transferring from Indiana University.
- 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 film Exorcist III
- New York Knicks' all-time leader in nearly every significant category and the game's 13th all-time scorer with 24,815 points.
- Ewing missed his last shot in Madison Square Garden - a baseline jumper - in the final seconds as a member of the Orlando Magic.
- Ewing was ranked #28 on SLAM Magazine's Top 75 NBA Players of All-Time.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
