Biography
Patrick Ewing is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Georgetown University men’s basketball team. Moreover, he played most of his career as the starting center of the NBA’s New York Knicks and also played briefly with the Seattle SuperSonics and Orlando Magic.
Ewing played center for Georgetown for four years—in three of which the team reached the NCAA Championship Game. ESPN designated him the 16th-greatest college basketball player of all time. He had a seventeen-year NBA career, predominantly playing for the New York Knicks, where he was an eleven-time all-star and named to seven All-NBA teams. The Knicks appeared in the NBA Finals twice (since 1994 and 1999) during his tenure.
Early life
Ewing was born August 5, 1962 in Kingston, Jamaica. As a child, he excelled at cricket and soccer. In 1975, 12-year-old Ewing moved to the United States and joined his family in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Similarly, he learned to play basketball at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School with the help of John Fountain. With only a few years of playing experience, Ewing developed into one of best high school players in the country, and among the most intimidating forces ever seen at the level given his size and athleticism.
Due to his stature and the team’s dominance, Ewing was subject to racially fueled taunts and jeers from hostile away crowds. Once rival fans even rocked the team bus when Ewing’s squad arrived to play an away game. In order to prepare for college, Ewing joined the MIT-Wellesley Upward Bound Program.
College career
As a senior in high school, Ewing signed a letter of intent to play for coach John Thompson at Georgetown University. Ewing made his announcement in Boston, in a room full of fans who were hoping for him to play for local schools Boston College or Boston University; when Ewing announced his decision to play at Georgetown, the fans left the room. During his recruitment, Ewing was very close to signing a letter of intent to play for Dean Smith and the University of North Carolina, however, while on his recruiting visit, he witnessed a nearby rally for the Ku Klux Klan, which dissuaded him from going there.[10] Ewing made six recruiting visits in all; he also visited UCLA and Villanova.
NBA career
Ewing was expected to be the top pick in the 1985 NBA draft. The team that selected him would be making history by doing so. From 1966 until 1984, the NBA draft was conducted similarly to the NFL draft, where teams are awarded draft positions based on winning percentage.
The difference was that instead of the team with the lowest percentage automatically being awarded the top pick, the NBA held a coin toss between the teams with the worst records in each conference and the winner of the coin toss selected first with the loser automatically picking second. This practice tended to encourage teams to purposely lose games in order to improve their draft position and potentially get into the coin toss.
Other work
In the summer of 1984 Ewing had an internship in the office of Senator Bob Dole. Ewing was in the 1996 movie Space Jam as himself, one of five NBA players. Those talent was stolen (along with Charles Barkley, Shawn Bradley, Larry Johnson. And Muggsy Bogues). Similarly, Ewing had a brief appearance, again as himself, in the movie Senseless starring Marlon Wayans.
Ewing made cameos as himself in the sitcoms Spin City, Herman’s Head, Mad About You, and Webster. Most recently, he appeared in a 2009 ad for Snickers, suggesting that those who eat the candy bar might “get dunked on by Patrick Chewing”. He also made an uncredited cameo as Angel of Death in The Exorcist III. He co-wrote In the Paint, a painting how-to book for children.
Endorsements
Ewing’s first sneaker endorsement was with Adidas in 1986. Later, in 1991, Next Sports signed a licensing deal to release footwear under Ewing’s name in the United States. Similarly, under a new company, Ewing Athletics, which would operate until 1996. Later, in 2012, David Goldberg and his company GPF Footwear LLC successfully teamed up. That was with Ewing to resurrect the old Ewing Athletics line. And bring it back into stores, capitalizing on the current retro trend in the footwear market.
Personal life
Ewing tied a knot to Sharon Campbell from 1983 to 1998. They had seven children including Patrick Ewing, Jr.. Ewing, Jr, transferred to his father’s alma mater, Georgetown University after two years at Indiana University Bloomington. Ewing, Jr. wore the same jersey number that his father wore, #33.
He was drafted by the Sacramento Kings in the second round with the 43rd pick of the 2008 NBA draft, but was then traded to the New York Knicks, his father’s old team. Further, he did not make the Knicks’ final roster, however. He has spent most of his career in the NBA D-League and in Europe. On May 22, 2020, Ewing announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19.
Overview
- Full Name: Patrick Aloysius Ewing
- Date of Birth: August 5, 1962
- Age: 57
- Birth Place: Kingston, Jamaica
- Nationality: Jamaican / American
- Listed height: 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
- Listed weight: 255 lb (116 kg)
- High school: Cambridge Rindge and Latin (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
- College: Georgetown (since 1981–1985)
- NBA draft: 1985 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1st overall
- Selected by the New York Knicks
- Playing career: since 1985–2002
- Position: Center
- Number: 33, 6
- Coaching career: since 2002–present
- Position: Head coach
- League: Big East Conference
- Net Worth: $85 Million
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