Patrick Aloysius Ewing, a.k.a. ‘Hoya Destroya,’ was born in Kingston, Jamaica, on August 5th, 1962. In 1975, at the age of 12, Ewing and his parents, Carl and Dorothy Ewing, emigrated to the United States, where they settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
As a junior in high school, Ewing, who was already over 6 feet, was first introduced to the game of basketball. By his senior year, he had already established himself as a star player.
As a freshman at Georgetown University, Ewing excelled, winning the National Collegiate Championship, earning three All-American selections, and winning the Most Outstanding Player award in the 1984 Division I basketball tournament.
A year later, Ewing became the first overall draft pick for the New York Knicks in the 1985 NBA drafts. In his almost 20-year career, Ewing made NBA history, often clashing with legends like Michael Jordan. Ewing, a Hall of Fame basketball player, is considered one of the NBA’s finest shooting centres and one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.
He retired in 2002 and found a second career as a successful coach at his alma mater, Georgetown University.
To commemorate his 62nd birthday, we have compiled a list of interesting and fun facts about this legendary player and coach.
Subject of Discrimination
Ewing passed on an opportunity to attend the University of North Carolina, after witnessing a nearby rally for the Ku Klux Klan. However, he was not spared from racial discrimination at Georgetown as he 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.
Education Key for Ewing
Education is of utmost importance to Jamaican parents, which may be why, unlike many of his contemporaries, such as Olajuwon, Jordan, and Barkley, who left college early to join the NBA, Ewing stayed all four years, earning a bachelor of arts degree with a fine arts major.
As you can imagine, the unusual decision to complete college caused quite a stir. On one side, there were ‘a few men’ who would ‘rather have had him playing for them in the National Basketball Association’, while on the other ‘a few sceptics’ who believed Ewing ‘wasn’t being educated as much as he was being protected.’
However, according to his then coach, ‘he did what he thought was right rather than worry about what people would think,’ and he was respected for his convictions.
Most Successful Collegiate Run
Ewing’s four-year college career with the Georgetown Hoyas is cited as one of the most successful college runs of all time. As a freshman during the 1981-1982 season, he became one of the first college players to start and star on the varsity team as a freshman. ‘Ewing’s pro career was presaged by four superb years at Georgetown. Besides his team accomplishments, he was named the Final Four Most Outstanding Player as a junior and as a senior, and his long list of honors included The Sporting News College Player of the Year Award and the Naismith Award.’
First Ever NBA Lottery Pick
Ewing was the first ever “lottery pick” in the NBA draft. The New York Knicks won the rights to the first pick (which became Ewing) in the 1985 NBA Draft by means of a “ping-pong ball” lottery involving the teams that had failed to qualify for the NBA playoffs the previous season.
A Franchise Saving Player
Over 15 seasons with the New York Knicks from 1985 to 2000, Ewing set a number of outstanding records with the franchise. He is the Knicks’ all-time leader in nearly every significant category (points, rebounds, blocks, and steals) and is the NBA’s 13th all-time scorer with 24,815 points.
2-Time Olympic Gold Medalist
Patrick was a member of two gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic basketball teams. He competed in both the pre-professional Olympics in 1984 and in the 1992 games as a member of the ‘Dream Team,’ which included basketball greats John Stockton, Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan, and Magic Johnson. Ewing, widely regarded as the most valuable player and ‘Team USA’s most productive true center, averaged 10.3 points and 5.4 rebounds while shooting 62.3 percent from the field in both games.
Named One of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History
Ewing was ‘indefatigable and relentless in pursuit of an NBA championship’ with ‘impressive‘ career stats to include 11 All-Star berths, an All-NBA First Team bid, six Second Team selections, NBA Rookie of the Year in 1986, and twice leading the Knicks all the way to the NBA Finals. And although he ultimately failed to win a ring, he was a consistent top-ranking player in blocked shots, scoring (with a career-high 28.6 ppg), rebounding, and field-goal percentage.
2-Time Hall of Fame Inductee
Ewing is a two-time inductee into the Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2008 he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame alongside counterpart on the Rockets, Hakeem Olajuwon and again in 2010 as a member of the 1992 Olympic “Dream Team.”
In his Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Speech in 2008 Ewing said ‘it’s ironic that a young kid from Kingston Jamaica can come to this United States and Excel at a sport … I was at the park watching these guys playing basketball as a 12 and half year old kid … they needed another to help them so I played the game and I found out that I loved it and it’s been in my blood ever since.’
Successful Second Career Coaching
Ewing retired from professional basketball as a player in September 2002 and soon after started his second career as a coach with several teams to include the NBA’s Washington Wizards, the Houston Rockets, and his alma mater Georgetown, where he led the Hoyas to several NCAA Tournament appearances.
First NBA Player to Own a Sneaker Brand
In 1989, Patrick Ewing became the first NBA player to own a sneaker brand when he founded Ewing Athletics, a line of branded basketball shoes. The company has released several iconic models, most notably the 33-Hi and the Eclipse, the sneaker that Ewing wore while playing with the Dream Team at the 1992 Olympic games.
That move led to Ewing becoming the highest-paid player in the league at the time, with sneakers sales rivalling Reebok, Nike, and former brand partner Adidas.
“I think during my first two years with the Knicks I got hurt, and I was with Adidas at that time. Adidas came to me and wanted to reduce my payment because they said that I wasn’t the player that they thought I was going to be. So, I told them to buy me out.
They bought out my contract, and Roberto Muller came to me with the idea of starting my own company. My agent David Falk and I thought it was a great idea.”
After folding in 1996, Ewing Athletics relaunched in 2012 and has since re-released the Ewing Eclipse Olympics shoe.
