One of the finest shooting centers to ever play, Ewing left the game as the New York Knicks’ all-time leader in nearly every significant category -- still tops in points, rebounds, blocks and steals -- while ranking as the game’s 13th-ranked all-time scorer (24,815 points) on his exit.
Ewing was drafted by the Knicks with the No. 1 overall pick in 1985, a selection they were awarded in the league's first Draft lottery. At Georgetown, Ewing won one NCAA title, with appearances in two other championship games. The "Hoya Destroya" earned Final Four Most Outstanding Player as a junior and as a senior as well as the Naismith Award.
Career
Named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History after averaging 21.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.4 blocks and 1.0 steals per game across 17 NBA seasons. The 1986 NBA Rookie of the Year and an 11-time All-Star, Ewing earned All-NBA Second Team recognition six times and won Olympic gold medals in 1984 (as a collegian) and in 1992 (with the Dream Team).
Often stymied in the playoffs by Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls teams, the Knicks reached The Finals in 1994 -- only to be turned back by Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets. However, Ewing and the Knicks were nothing if not consistent playoff participants, missing the postseason only twice (1985-86, '86-87) in his time with New York.
Perhaps Ewing's finest individual campaign came during the 1989-90 season, when he ranked second in the league in blocked shots (3.99 per game), third in scoring (a career-high 28.6 ppg), fifth in rebounding (10.9 rpg) and sixth in field-goal percentage (.551). Voted an All-Star starter for the first time in four appearances, the campaign culminated with his only selection to the All-NBA First Team.
In the playoffs, Ewing's biggest moment came in a game when New York needed him to deliver. In Game 7 of the 1994 Eastern Conference finals, Ewing came up with 24 points and 22 rebounds to lift the Knicks to their first Finals berth since 1973.
The Knicks returned to The Finals following the 1999 lockout-shortened season, but Ewing was sidelined by an Achilles' injury along the way. After a muted comeback season (15.0 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 1.4 bpg in 62 games) in 1999-2000, Ewing was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics in a massive four-team deal, finishing his career with the Orlando Magic a season later.
Ewing's No. 33 jersey was retired by the Knicks on Feb. 28, 2003 and he was enshrined along Olajuwon into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the 2008 class.
Ewing embarked on a long coaching career following his playing days, working as an NBA assistant with the Wizards (2003-04), Rockets (2004-06), Magic (2007-12) and Hornets (2012-17) while notable guiding Yao Ming and Dwight Howard to impressive careers in the paint. In April 2017, Ewing left the league's ranks to guide his alma mater, leading Georgetown back to the NCAA men's basketball Tournament in 2021.