Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing has resided in the United States for decades now, but he was born and raised in Jamaica. Ewing only moved to the U.S. in 1975, and he spoke about his and his family’s journey on The Pivot Podcast.
“It was definitely difficult,” Ewing said. “My mom moved here first. She was a nanny/maid. So, back then, you could move up, work for a certain amount of time, and then you were able to move on. So, she worked for 10 years or whatever it was, got her freedom… My dad, he was in Jamaica saving his money. My mom was up here saving money.
“Then my dad and my sister, that was above me, she came,” Ewing continued. “Then myself and my younger sister came. So, we came up two by two, one by one.”
Ewing’s mother, Dorothy, had found work in Massachusetts, and the family would settle in Cambridge. While the 63-year-old has a lot of love for Jamaica, he is extremely grateful to his parents for bringing him to the U.S.
“My mom was not able to see the fruits of her labor,” Ewing stated. “She died when I was going into my junior year of college. And my dad, so he was able to see it. He was able to see what I was able to become. And every time I go back home to Boston, when I go to their grave site, I always say, ‘Thank you.’
“Because I knew that if I had stayed in Jamaica, the opportunities that I would have had wouldn’t have been the same,” Ewing added. “I would have went down the wrong road. I would have been either dead or in jail. So, moving here and falling in love with the game of basketball, that changed my life and my family’s life.”
You do wonder just how many Ewing’s we never hear of just because they never got the opportunity. He took full advantage of the one given to him.
Ewing would shine at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, after which he headed to Georgetown. He won a national title with the Hoyas in 1984 and made his way to the NBA a year later.
The New York Knicks selected Ewing with the first pick in the 1985 NBA Draft, and he became one of the best players of his generation. He made 11 All-Star, seven All-NBA, and three All-Defensive teams in his 17-year career. The big man was also named to the NBA’s 50th and 75th Anniversary Teams.
While Ewing and the Knicks had a lot of success, they ultimately never won a championship together. He holds Michael Jordan primarily responsible for that. Jordan and the Chicago Bulls eliminated the Knicks from the playoffs in 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, and 1996. The only time they managed to beat the Bulls was in 1994, during his first retirement.
