NBA: 1990s All-Decade third team

Third Team: C – Patrick Ewing:

1990s Resume: 10 seasons, one NBA Finals appearance, one All-NBA First Team, four-time All-NBA Second Team, eight-time NBA All-Star, 23.5 PPG, 10.9 RPG and 2.7 BPG, 22.2 average PER

Poor Patrick Ewing. A lot like Carmelo Anthony now, Ewing is one New York Knicks star that might always be remembered for never bringing a championship to the Big Apple. Unlike Melo, however, Ewing came agonizingly close on multiple occasions, and it’s one major point that separates him from David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon in the era.

Before his knees began to break down on him, Ewing was a true defensive force in the paint. Despite playing most of his career on those bum knees, Ewing was the centerpiece of New York’s brutally tough defense and had a surprisingly efficient jump shot on the other end. Unfortunately for Ewing, he played during Michael Jordan’s prime and the Knicks were never able to get by the Bulls and into the NBA Finals until Jordan’s baseball sabbatical.

During that 1993-94 season, the Knicks were narrowly defeated in seven games by the Houston Rockets, dropping Games 6 and 7 in the final seconds. Ewing was outscored by Olajuwon in every game of the series, though Ewing out-rebounded and out-blocked Houston’s legendary center. If not for MJ, John Starks’ abysmal Game 7 Finals performance (2-of-18 from the field) and the infamous missed finger roll in Game 7 of the 1995 Eastern Conference Semifinals, we might remember Patrick Ewing’s Hall of Fame career a little differently.

Check back tomorrow for Part 2 of our 1990s NBA All-Decade Team, where we move on to the Second Team!