Last Updated on July 22, 2026 by Mat Diekhake

Patrick Ewing anchored the New York Knicks with imposing interior defense, polished post scoring, and the resilience to battle through one of the NBA’s most physical eras. Although a championship eluded him, the Hall of Fame center became the face of the franchise for more than a decade and remains one of the greatest big men of his generation.

Here is the detailed information about Patrick Ewing:

  • Full Name: Patrick Aloysius Ewing
  • Nationality: Jamaican-American
  • DOB: Born August 5, 1962
  • Hometown: Kingston, Jamaica (moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA at age 12)
  • Height: 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
  • Weight: 240 lbs (109 kg)
  • Wingspan: 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m)
  • Shoe Size: 15 (US)
  • Number: Wore #33 throughout his career
  • Position: Center
  • High School: Cambridge Rindge and Latin School (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
  • College:
  • Georgetown University (1981–1985)
    • NCAA Champion (1984)
    • NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player (1984)
    • 3× Consensus First-Team All-American (1983–1985)
  • NBA Draft: Drafted 1st overall in the 1985 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks (the first-ever NBA Draft Lottery pick)
  • Teams Played For:
    • New York Knicks (1985–2000)
    • Seattle SuperSonics (2000–2001)
    • Orlando Magic (2001–2002)
  • Career Highlights:
    • 11× NBA All-Star (1986, 1988–1997)
    • All-NBA First Team (1990)
    • 6× All-NBA Second Team (1988, 1989, 1991–1993, 1997)
    • 3× NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1988, 1989, 1992)
    • NBA Rookie of the Year (1986)
    • Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008 (both as a player and as part of the 1992 USA Dream Team)
    • Named to the NBA’s 50th Anniversary Team and 75th Anniversary Team
  • Career Statistics: Averaged 21.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.4 blocks, and 1.9 assists per game over his 17-year career.
  • Post-Playing Career:
    • Ewing began a coaching career after retiring, serving as an assistant coach for several NBA teams including the Washington Wizards, Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic, and Charlotte Hornets.
    • He became the head coach of Georgetown University in 2017, where he led the Hoyas, his alma mater, for several years before being let go in 2023.
  • Championship Rings:
    • Ewing never won an NBA Championship as a player, though he led the New York Knicks to two NBA Finals appearances (1994 and 1999).
    • He did, however, win an Olympic Gold Medal as part of the 1992 USA Dream Team in Barcelona.
  • Kids: Patrick Ewing has three children: Patrick Ewing Jr., Corey Ewing, and Randi Ewing. His son, Patrick Ewing Jr., also played basketball and briefly appeared in the NBA.
  • Siblings: Patrick Ewing is one of seven children. His siblings include brothers and sisters, but details about them are not widely available.

The player archetype of Patrick Ewing was a franchise center who combined imposing interior defense with polished low-post scoring. His size, strength, and long reach allowed him to anchor the paint for New York, routinely challenging shots at the rim while controlling the defensive glass against the league’s most physical big men. Ewing’s offensive game extended beyond traditional back-to-the-basket play, featuring a reliable face-up jumper from the elbows and baseline that complemented his hooks and power finishes inside. He carried a heavy offensive burden throughout much of his career without abandoning his defensive responsibilities, often logging major minutes against elite centers. That combination of rim protection, dependable scoring, and rugged physical play made him the foundation of one of the NBA’s toughest teams during the 1990s.

Scouting Report

Patrick Ewing always looked most comfortable dictating where the game would be played. Rather than chasing defenders around the floor, he pulled them into his territory, establishing deep position with strength, then flowing into a polished series of face-up jumpers, turnaround fadeaways and quick baseline spins that punished defenders who leaned too heavily in either direction. The interesting thing is how much of his offense came before the catch. He constantly fought for angles, sealing his man early or sprinting into transition posts that forced help to arrive immediately, and once double teams came he was patient enough to wait for the second defender to fully commit before finding an open teammate cutting along the baseline or spotting up on the perimeter. Defensively, Ewing anchored the paint with disciplined footwork instead of chasing every block. He understood verticality, stayed balanced in drop coverage and made ball handlers hesitate simply because they knew he was waiting at the rim. That’s where his presence changed possessions that never showed up in the box score. Plenty of drives ended in pull-up jumpers or rushed floaters because attacking him directly wasn’t the preferred option. The trade-off was that offenses built around repeated spacing actions and perimeter switches could pull him farther from the basket than ideal, where his impact naturally declined against smaller players changing directions in open space. Even so, he rarely lost track of his primary responsibility, recovering toward the paint and finishing defensive possessions with secure rebounds rather than hunting highlight blocks. To me, he’d thrive alongside a creative pick-and-roll guard and multiple floor spacers, giving him room to alternate between post seals, short-roll touches and elbow actions without overcrowding the lane. It’s easy to remember the scoring, but his ability to control defensive geometry through positioning may have been just as valuable over the course of a game. Stylistically, there are shades of David Robinson’s interior command and Alonzo Mourning’s defensive presence, although Ewing blended those qualities with a smoother face-up scoring package that allowed him to punish defenses from just beyond the low block as comfortably as he did on the interior.