Over his 19-year career, NBA legend Patrick Ewing played with some of the greatest talents the game has ever seen. His best teammates were Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing, two players who completely dominated during their prime.
During an appearance on ‘Club Shay Shay,’ the former All-Star compared the two and explained why Ewing was never quite able to reach Jordan’s level.
“Michael was more of a sexy player, he’s a wing guy. He can rebound, bring the ball down and make plays and make things look easy. He’s a bigger guy. Patrick, he’s a bigger guy, run down the middle of the floor. Gotta wait for you to bring the ball, gotta wait for him to get in the right position. So, I mean, it’s like night and day. I think that’s why you don’t see a lot of centers in the game anymore, everybody wants stretch fours, stretch fives — can make the three. So, it was a big difference. Michael was the ‘it factor’ Patrick was just a player.”
Ewing is an 11x All-Star, 7x All-NBA player, and an NBA Hall-of-Famer. With averages of 21 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game on 50% shooting, he is one of the best players in Knicks franchise history.
Of course, he was no MJ. Despite all that he did, Ewing was never able to bring a Championship to New York City and retired without a single title to his name.
Today, Jordan is considered one of the NBA’s All-Tim greatest winners. He captured six titles in less than a decade and went on to earn a level of fame no other player reached.
Looking back, it’s fair to say that MJ’s run overshadowed what Ewing was doing in New York. Sadly, the Knicks star was just one of many victims of Michael Jordan’s greatness.
